We live in a world where everything is relative. Most people in today’s post-Christian culture don’t believe in any absolutes. You don’t have to cut corners or hedge the edge when there are no corners or edges. Morality is what I want or what the majority decides to enforce. Right now, the majority seems content to allow almost anything, except for someone with a set of absolute values.

    So, the question must be asked, “What can I trust? Is anything dependable? Is there a standard?”

    When people look to religion, what do they find?

    Pretty much whatever they want to find. Even turning to what the world would call Christianity, a person can find almost anything he or she chooses to find. Because there are so many conflicting positions taken by those who claim Christ as Lord, they get to decide what is right by what seems best to them. In other words, rather than worshipping a Holy God who sets standards and defines character, we have made the Christian religion into a shopping mall that allows us to choose the store that demands little of us. We get to choose what seems best for us because there are no standards.

    At the entrance of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, a set of standards are permanently part of the wall. The first is the length of a yard. The second is a round circle which shows the standard circumference for a loaf of bread. Each of these two standards, one embedded and one carved, were place there to assure the people of that day that they were not being cheated by others. These were standards they could use to check and compare. A yard meant a yard, and the standard was a steel rod embedded in the wall. A round loaf of bread had to be a certain size, or it wasn’t a full loaf of bread. If the street vendors and merchants didn’t have standards, at least the Church would display standards that no one could dispute.

We have two standards as Christians that are immutable and the starting point of any discussion of values, character, and absolutes.

    That principle works pretty well for measuring a yard and the minimum size of a loaf of bread. However, is there anything that we can take away from this example from the world of commerce and apply to our churches and ourselves?

    Yes, I believe so. I believe that we have two standards as Christians that immutable and the starting point of any discussion of values, character, and absolutes. One is embedded in our hearts; I’m talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The other standard is carved into the fabric of our identity; I’m talking about the crucified and resurrected Christ. These are our starting points, our finishing points, and our standard of measurements.

    Jesus is God’s final Word (Hebrews 1:1-3), the Message of God made clear and plain in human flesh (John 1:1-18). He is our goal (Galatians 4:19; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 1:28-29; 1 John 2:6). Our conduct and character are determined by his life, his crucifixion, and his resurrection (Eph 4:17-32; 1 Cor 11:1). He is our example on how to treat people (Eph 4:32). He is our hero on how to serve (John 13:14-15; Phil 2:5-11). We find the basis for leaving sin behind in his crucifixion (Rom 6:1-14) and we find the power and motivation to live the new life in his resurrection power (Col 3:1-4).

    Our other standard is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brought us God’s Holy Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21). Not only did the Spirit give us these Scriptures, but he gives us spiritual wisdom to understand them (1 Cor 2:10-15). He is our anointing (1 John 2:20-27) and helps us know the things of God and discern those that are false (1 John 4:1-3). The Holy Spirit leads us (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18) and helps form God’s character in us (Gal 5:22-25).

    So how do we use these standards?

    The more we know about Jesus, the more we can be like him and his standard shows up in our lives. That means that we are going to literally wear our Bibles out reading the Gospels. We are going to want to know what Jesus did so that we can be more like him! So if you want to place the standard of Christ in your life, make a commitment to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) regularly.

    The more we do the things that fill us with God’s Spirit,* the more the Spirit influences our lives and guides our steps. So let’s do the things that open our hearts to God’s Spirit in our lives. Let’s recognize that the Spirit will call us to holiness and the things of God, not away from the them. Even more, let’s pray expecting God to more completely fill and empower us by his Spirit.

    So let’s make a commitment to place these two standards in our lives and do all that we can to make them real in how we live.

*Paul describes the causes (or possibly the evidence) of being filled with the Spirit in Eph 5:17-21: speaking to one another in song, singing, making music in our hearts to the Lord, giving thanks, and submitting to one another. (They are grammatically linked and either imperatival participles or explanatory participles.) In addition, he adds praying in the Spirit (Eph 6:18-19) and recognizing the Word of God releases the Spirit’s power in our lives (6:17). Worship, Word, and sacrificial service clearly are Christ-like activities that release the power of God’s Spirit in our lives to lead us.

Title: "A Standard You Can Trust"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: August 13, 2001

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