To foretell Christ’s coming, Isaiah exclaimed, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come…” (Isaiah 60:1). Jesus identified Himself as “…the light of the world…” (John 8:12), and His disciples are called the “…children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), in contrast to the children of darkness. The world in the first century was described prophetically as in “…gross darkness…” (Isaiah 60:2). Jesus himself said, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matthew 13:15). Rome ruled blindly, having abandoned the judgment of statesmen and just men, while bureaucrats lived luxuriously as they taxed the middle class out of existence. Violence was in the streets and lustful immorality was the fashion of the day.
Even Israel, the privileged nation of God’s revelation and law, had exchanged God’s doctrine for the tradition of men (Mark 7:8). Under these conditions, Christ was introduced by John as the “…light of men” (John 1:4) and the light that “…shineth in darkness…” (John 1:5). “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9).
Darkness was not limited to the generation that nailed Jesus to the cross. What of our own attitude toward God and His Word? Has not our generation done all within its power to thwart God’s law and raise up an army of rebels in high-handed sin? Do we not laugh at the adulterous flaunting of sex on every side and bring it into our living rooms for family viewing? Has not our society trampled almost to death the God-ordained home? Few couples take seriously the meaning of their vows. Children, if allowed to live at birth, are seen not as blessings from God to be nourished in the bread of His Word, but are seen as burdens and hindrances to pleasure, to be farmed out to day-care centers.
The truth of Christ openly contradicts the philosophy of man, which at the moment, is subjective irrationalism. In everyday words, this means that men follow trends as they appeal to their emotions. They see nothing as absolute truth. Every new idea that is flashed across the horizon of man’s emotionally charged perspective is judged on the basis of how he “feels” about it, and his feelings are influenced by how popular the idea is with his peers. There is no certainty. Nothing holds him to a firm cause through adversity and conflict, for he has no bed-rock upon which to stand. He is carried about by every wind of doctrine. Jesus is popular at Christmas because a “good feeling” is created by the commercial world; but, of course, the same is true of Santa Claus.
Nowhere is the subjective irrationalism more evident than in the churches. They compete for new “ideas” of how to appeal to the mindless masses. They must continually change the format of worship and recreation because the masses are fickle and cannot follow any ad very long. Instead of letting the light of Christ shine forth to reveal the eternal truth, modern churches advertise the latest popular illusion. The darkness is not simply black; it comes in various shades.
Acceptability in such a society requires the sacrifice of Scriptural doctrine. It is okay to be religious, but disgraceful to hold to a definite Scriptural doctrine. Doctrine is belittled. To believe is permitted, just don’t believe anything in particular. Your doctrine is not important, but your sincerity is! But how can one be sincere if he has nothing absolute and in particular about which to be sincere? The sincerity simply amounts to a deep feeling, belief based not upon reality but upon subjective irrationalism. We call a man insane if he sincerely thinks that he is Napoleon, but it is normal and highly religious and acceptable for one to sincerely think he is a Christian when he has not given even the slightest indication that he has met God on the terms of the Gospel, to repent and believe and live in obedience to God’s Word.
Such a philosophy leads to frustration and helplessness, insecurity, and, of course, eternal damnation. Christ is the light that reveals the bed-rock of truth; where one may get off the merry-go-round of irrational relativism and stand on divine revelation.
Christ is the light of reality, which produces faith; not faith that is a product of feeling, which may change with the weather, but faith based upon facts revealed. Deep feelings of peace and joy are results of the faith, not the cause of it. Jesus did not begin His ministry with a jovial “Ho, Ho,” but with a solemn “…repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Those who reject Him to follow their own ambitions, fear and despise the Light; and they raise up the substitutes of religious fantasy and legend.
To all who love God and desire His purpose and will, the Light is a joy to behold. The desire of every true Christian is to draw nearer and nearer to Him. “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21)
“Arise, shine; for they light is come…”
