Returning to God’s Standards in a World Without Truth
The Church of Jesus Christ today faces intimidation and spiritual poverty. Much like Israel in the book of Judges, we find ourselves oppressed by forces that steal our strength, erode our faith, and seek to silence our witness. But in Judges 6, God reveals timeless principles of victory—principles America desperately needs to recover.
Max Lucado once told a story from naval history: two battleships were maneuvering in stormy waters when the lookout spotted a light ahead. The captain, realizing a collision was imminent, ordered the other vessel to change course. But the reply came back: “No, you alter your course.” Furious, the captain declared his authority—“I am a captain!”—only to hear in response: “I am a lighthouse. You alter your course.”
That is how it is with God. He does not bend to our ways; we must align with His. Israel learned this lesson the hard way, and so must America. Judges 6 tells us, “The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Because they abandoned Him for false gods, they became intimidated, impoverished, and enslaved.
Is this not where we are today? We have forgotten the God who gave us liberty. We have traded the fixed standards of His Word for the shifting sands of relativism. The book of Judges says, “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” That verse could be written over the headlines of our nation.
Adrian Rogers explained four tragic shifts that have brought America here:
From authority to relativism – We no longer believe in absolute truth. Everyone defines right and wrong for themselves.
From truth to pragmatism – We no longer ask, “Is it true?” but “Does it work?” Religion has become man-centered instead of God-centered.
From reason to feelings – Theology is replaced by psychology. Sin is not the problem—“sadness” is. As long as people feel good, truth no longer matters.
From convictions to opinions – Absolute moral standards are replaced with personal preferences. “What’s true for you may not be true for me.” The result? A generation confused about right and wrong, unable to tell good from evil.
We live in a society where sin has been renamed, guilt has been erased, and everyone is treated as a victim. Criminals are rewarded while the innocent suffer. The word “sin” has become outdated, but make no mistake—our battle is real. It is a war between light and darkness, God and Satan, truth and lies.
And yet, just as in Gideon’s day, God raises up voices and leaders to call His people back. Judges 6 shows us that before victory came, there had to be vision. Gideon, hiding in fear, encountered the Lord and discovered that God saw in him a “mighty man of valor.” When Gideon turned his eyes away from the enemy and back toward God, everything changed.
That is where victory begins for us, too. We must return to the fixed standard of God’s Word. We must reclaim courage, vision, and faith. And we must remember that true freedom does not come from doing what is right in our own eyes, but from humbly aligning our lives with the God who is our lighthouse—the unchanging standard in a world adrift.
