In Colossians 2, Paul agonizes over the danger of Colossian believers being deluded or led away from God’s truth by false teachers. Relativism is a problem in our culture today. We see people’s rejection of God and Christianity all around us. We know that absolute truth has been abandoned in a pluralistic society that wants to eradicate the concept of right and wrong, of moral, cultural, and theological standards. From courts to schools to social media, the plague of moral and cultural relativism is widespread. There are no masks to protect us or vaccines to inoculate us against it. I believe the greatest danger facing the world is relativism in the Church and among the people of God.

What can be done about relativism, especially if the Church is its newest residence? What’s needed is a greater depth of spiritual understanding; knowing what faith is and living out our identity in Christ. We are not just sinners saved by grace; we are saints indwelt by the all-powerful Spirit of God. We are not free to do as we please so long as it doesn’t harm anyone else; we belong entirely to Christ. “As people of the Book, we are beholden to a system of absolutes; a system of objective, God-given truth. This truth underlies everything we believe in. Thus we must stand strong against the relativism that is in our schools, our workplaces and perhaps even our churches.” (Tim Challies)

It is only in Jesus that we find spiritual understanding. Paul prays that the Colossians may have all the riches of complete understanding (Col.2:2) because in Jesus they have been made complete (2:10). What you and I have in Jesus is truth, absolute truth. Truth that is wisdom, truth that is freedom, truth that is life. This truth will keep us from being diluted by competing spiritual thoughts and opinions, from being deceived by that which masquerades as truth.

The key to resisting relativism is an ever-deepening sense that Christ is enough! Christians are those embraced by Truth, made whole and set free from self, made complete in Christ. When we understand who Christ is, it keeps us from slavery to false teachings so we can walk in truth.When we fully know that Christ is enough, we are truly done with the self-centered sinfulness of relativism. We will be people who have not only received Christ Jesus as Lord, but people who continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as we were taught, and overflowing
with gratitude.” (Col.2:6-7)