Standards in Life I. Introduction A. Humans, having been blessed with capacity for reason and thought, all live according to some form of standard B. Why such standards? 1. We all are born without much knowledge, and must learn how to act and cooperate with others 2. We base our behaviors on some code, some standard 3. We may not be aware of them, but they exist as our deeply held assumptions about what is right and true, wrong and false C. Standards vary 1. Oneself 2. The majority view 3. Authority figure: monarch or law 4. Culture/society/traditions 5. God, through His Word D. To what standard ought we hold ourselves accountable? E. Let us examine the various forms of standards and determine what is best II. The Standard of Oneself A. There are many who consider themselves the standard 1. Consciously: they truly believe that what their perceptions show them is the totality of what is true and real 2. Unconsciously: people who do not necessarily think of their own judgment as their standard, but their lives speak against them B. One is guided by his conscience 1. When it comes to matters of morality and ethics, the one who has oneself as his standard must follow his conscience 2. If it does not make him feel guilt, he acts; if it does, he does not act or cause his conscience to suffer C. Can one be the standard? 1. Empirical analysis can show this to be wrong 2. No human being has the capability of perceiving all things truly as they are 3. If 4 people witness an accident, you get 4 different stories based on perception: is one any more right or wrong than the others? 4. If one is the standard for oneself, then anyone else is their own standard: if there is disagreement between two persons, can both be right? 5. If one person sees red, and another blue, can they both be right? What if, in truth, the color is green? 6. Nature itself teaches that humans do not perceive all things; a human, therefore, cannot be a proper standard D. Is conscience a good enough guide? 1. Paul said that he acted with a good conscience throughout his life (Acts 23:1) a. Yet he had Christians imprisoned and killed (Acts 9:1-3)! b. He considered himself the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) 2. One can sear one's conscience (1 Timothy 4:2) 3. The conscience is not an instinct: it is only as good as its training (Hebrews 5:14) 4. Since conscience is a standard of shifting sand, it cannot possibly be a sufficient standard for our life E. Thus, Jeremiah 10:23 1. It is not within a man to direct his own steps! 2. Therefore, one cannot be one's own standard! III. The Standard of the Majority A. Many live according to the way of the majority B. After all, the majority will determines many other things 1. Officials are elected by majority will 2. Decisions are made on the basis of majority will in business and government 3. Why cannot right or wrong be based on majority will? C. History has shown the existence of many heinous acts based on majority will 1. The majority willed the crusades in the 11th century 2. The majority in America willed for, or at least tolerated, fewer rights for some races until the middle of the 20th century 3. Many a genocide, persecution, and other violations have occurred based on majority will D. The majority will of the Israelites involved serving idols (cf. 2 Kings 17:1-23)! E. Jesus on the majority: Matthew 7:13-14, Luke 13:23-24 F. The majority, therefore, can and often goes down the wrong path morally and ethically; it cannot, therefore, be a sufficient standard for life IV. The Standard of Authority A. Many people look to civil authority: either in a person, like a king, or in a law code B. Can a government be a sufficient standard for authority? C. In theory, government exists to provide for protection for its citizens, and in doing such must work to keep peace and order, which requires a set of laws espousing sound ethics D. Wherever one's choices do not impact the state, however, government rarely intercedes E. Furthermore, government in reality often is either a tool of the majority view or will itself enact heinous legislation/deeds for its own purposes 1. Classic example: Nazi Germany 2. Many states have espoused a certain religion/denomination, leading to persecution of other religions/ denominations F. In Israel, as the king went in terms of religious action, so went the people: for good (e.g., Hezekiah, or especially Josiah) or for evil (e.g., Ahab, Manasseh) G. Since governments and laws constantly change, and can come under the influence of particular worldviews that lead to unethical behavior, government cannot possibly be a sufficient standard for living 1. Romans 13:1-7: Christians are to respect the government and its officers and obey its laws 2. Acts 5:28-29: yet Christians are to obey God rather than man 3. Government has its place in society, but what a government legislates is not automatically God's legislation, and can work against God's purposes! V. The Standard of Society/Culture/Tradition A. Many people govern their lives based on the ethics they receive from their upbringing along with cues from their society/culture B. These standards can be essentially boiled down to traditions, since societal/cultural norms tend to be ethical traditions handed down, or new traditions brought into play C. Should society and culture determine a standard of living? D. Societies and cultures have often radically different standards 1. Compare Arab culture with Indian culture and European culture and American culture and the differences between all of them are stark 2. Which one should we choose to make our standard? 3. Is whatever culture/society we are born into sufficient enough as a standard? E. We could compare the various cultures of the ancient world and receive the same impressions: the licentiousness of paganism, the legalism of Pharisaical Judaism, etc. F. Furthermore, societal/cultural norms can and do change 1. Look at what is happening in modern America! 2. The values society upholds are changing: things previously prohibited are now allowed, things not done in public not many years ago are now allowed, formerly popular views are in retreat, etc., for better and worse! G. The inherent conflict between various societies and cultures, along with their transitory nature, do not make for a sufficient standard of authority 1. Romans 12:2: culture of the world; we must not be fashioned by it! 2. Matthew 15:1-11: just because something is traditional does not make it right! VI. Worldly Standards: The Judiciary Example A. A very good example to understand worldly standards would be our court system B. In America, our criminal judicial system represents a mix of standards regarding which we have spoken C. Our concept of trial by jury of peers is a tradition as old as ancient Athens D. Innocence or guilt is determined by the judgment of 12 persons who must be in agreement to reach a verdict E. A person is on trial because of the claim that he or she has violated some law(s), and the case exists to prove he has violated law or has not F. While we all pray that this system does get it right most of the time, that guilt is established rightly or that innocence is demonstrated... G. ...it is well-known that many innocent people are incarcerated for crimes they did not commit and guilty parties walk free H. Does the standard of oneself: manifested in each individual juror: truly establish guilt or innocence? Each juror is to make his decision on the evidence, and that decision may not necessarily reflect the truth of the situation I. Does the standard of the majority, the whole of the jury, truly establish guilt or innocence? Many times, possibly, voices of dissent may conform to the majority opinion to reach a verdict, and that verdict may not reflect the truth of the situation J. Do the laws establish guilt or innocence? Even though they are on the books, the matter ends up being how persuasive arguments are for guilt or innocence independent of the law K. Does society or culture well-establish guilt or innocence? We have established the system of 12 jurors, as opposed to one judge or a religious authority: does this guarantee a more accurate verdict? L. In the end, none of these standards is absolute, because they are all somehow based on humanity: oneself, the majority of oneselves, the system established by humans to regulate humans, and a system of actions that previous humans determined to do M. Since these standards come from fallible, mortal men, the standards are likewise fallible VII. The True Standard: God and His Revealed Word A. We must then find an infallible, immortal standard B. We have been given one: God and His Word C. God is the standard 1. He is the Creator: Isaiah 40:12-14, Isaiah 45:5-7 2. He wields ultimate control: Isaiah 40:15, 17, Matthew 28:18 3. He is superior to us: Isaiah 55:8-9 4. Since God is our Creator, superior to us and in control of all of us, we should look to Him for our standard D. He has provided us His Word for guidance 1. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 2. Romans 15:4 3. Since new revelation has ceased (1 Corinthians 13:8-10), we rely on the revealed Scriptures as our standard VIII. Using the Standard A. Many people recognize that God is to be our standard, and even believe that His Word is the source of guidance for us B. Yet, by their actions, they show that their standard truly is somewhere else: either in themselves, the majority, laws, or tradition C. When people look into the Scriptures, and see something that they don’t particularly like, perhaps sex limited to marriage only, lack of alcohol consumption, etc., they will determine that for whatever reason that does not apply to them and thus make themselves the standard 1. Likewise, just as many people violate their consciences... 2. ...many people will still believe what the Scriptures say about some sin, yet will commit the sin anyway D. Many people determine what they believe and what they don't believe in the Bible based on a majority view 1. They will go along with whatever a church or denomination says 2. Or they will float along with what the majority feels, and compromise Biblical truth to fit the majority 3. cf. Romans 14:23 E. When government starts making Christianity or some of its truths illegal, many follow the government and not God 1. Witness the ancient examples of people offering sacrifice to Caesar rather than professing Christ in truth 2. cf. Matthew 13:20-21 F. Many times, societal customs and cultural norms trump Biblical truths, and religious traditions trump Biblical book, chapter, and verse 1. Witness current controversies over homosexuals in churches, women in leadership roles, etc. 2. When the Gospel goes to pagan cultures, does the Gospel win or is Christianity there conformed with the paganism? 3. Witness the Roman Catholics still having a Pope ("Father") despite Matthew 23:9 G. We can see, then, that merely professing the standard does not make it true that you use the standard: one can allow other, faulty standards to get in the way of the True Standard H. We ourselves are not immune from this: whenever we attempt to circumvent Biblical teachings because of our personal feelings, what the majority thinks, what the government says, or the dictates of society/culture/ tradition, we are no better! IX. Conclusion A. We have examined various standards for living B. Ourselves, the majority view, government, society/culture/tradition: all of them are fallible and insufficient C. God, and His Word, are the only sufficient standards of authority D. We must actually heed this standard, and not allow ourselves to make the Bible conform to some fallible standard of our own E. Songbook F. If you have lived without Christ, your standard of living has not been sufficient 1. You are not the measure of things; the majority goes to perdition; government cannot save you, nor can society, culture, and tradition accurately represent the way you should go 2. Come to God, make His standard the basis of your living, and you will find yourself far better than now 3. Obey Him today G. Perhaps you have come to Him before but you have not used the proper Standard: we can help encourage you today H. Or perhaps you simply require encouragement to keep up the fight: if we can help you in any way, come to the front as we stand and sing Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). Many make their own judgments the standard of right and wrong, but no one is ever always right. We do well to recognize the truth in Jeremiah's statement: we cannot trust in the validity of our own assumptions about how life should be! 2: "Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby" (Matthew 7:13). While "majority rules" in many aspects of life, just because a majority believes, feels, or acts a given thing does not make it right. Jesus warns us that the way of the majority, in fact, ends in destruction! Let us not look to "majority rule" to establish what is right and true! 3: And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). The deeply held assumptions of many are fashioned by their culture, government, and/or society, yet all those standards fall short of God's standard. As Christians we must not allow culture, society, or government to fashion our ideas, but allow our Christianity to inform how we live in our culture, society, and towards our government! 4: Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All human standards fall short since humans are fallible; we must look to God our Creator for a fully right and true standard. He has not left us as orphans; He has given us His Word to guide us unto every good work. Let us make God the standard of our lives, serving Him according to the revelation found in His Word!