Truth Really Matters

Multitudes of American Christian parents raise their children to understand the Gospel, to profess Jesus Christ as their Savior, to abhor worldly sins, and to embrace a Biblical worldview. Then the kids go off to college or into the workplace and . . . about 90% of them . . . reject everything to embrace the world’s culture of fornication, drinking, money-grubbing, sensual entertainment, ambition, pride, self-centeredness, and/or, occasionally, phony religions. I’m talking about really born again Christians parents, not just churchgoers, who are losing their kids to Satan’s world system.

Of course, the problem is that these kids never were born again, despite whatever youthful protestations they may have made. The evidence is overwhelming – no repentance, no new birth, no new creature, no abhorrence of sin, no interest in God’s word, no interest in righteousness, and no agreement with God. Disagreeing with God on the essentials means no faith . . . no saving faith.

So how can you raise your children so that they truly repent and come into agreement with God, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ in everything, and so that they acquire eternal life, not a superficial ‘belief’ which vaporizes when they get their first apartment or when they take a philosophy course and get exposed to Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, or Marx . . . or McLaren, or Osteen, or Warren?

This is a big subject, right? In this blog I’ll focus on just one piece of the puzzle, one vital piece that is so woefully neglected. Here it is: you must teach your children to contend for the faith, specifically by teaching them to do 121 (one-to-one) evangelism. So you think that your children were saved at a young age? If so, then your job is to disciple them!! Discipling includes teaching them how to share the Gospel, doing the Great Commission. In the 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension of Christ, the New Testament records the Lord’s exhortation to GO on five different occasions. Sharing the Gospel was the number one topic on the Lord’s mind for His followers as He was leaving this Earth. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to them, which He did at Pentecost – with power – power to preach the Gospel boldly!

So teach your children, parents! Oh, but you don’t actually do any 121 yourself? So how could you teach your children? Repent, sluggard, and get with God’s program! If you love your children, you want them in Heaven and not in Hell, right? You must test their understanding of the Gospel by teaching them to articulate it . . . to the lost, who will contend with them. The young Christian doesn’t know what he knows until he can contend against opposition. During the process of contending, the youngster may actually come to understand and believe what he is preaching! Wicked are the parents that provoke a simple profession from a young child and rest in a false hope . . . “Whew, ok, well at least my little girl is saved now, whether or not she ever lives the Christian life.” Thus multitudes of false converts swell the ranks of Satan’s army.

As you train your child to contend with the lost – compassionately, logically, wisely, Biblically, and boldly – he will understand not only the Gospel, but the ridiculously bankrupt philosophies of the world system. By the time he is ten years old, he will have heard about every ridiculous excuse under the sun from atheists, post-modernists, Roman Catholics, Muslims, New Agers, etc. When he gets to college, he won’t be surprised or shocked to hear the same garbage coming from tenured professors. Tenured professors who are skilled in mocking, sneering, and constructing erudite and elegant rhetoric to dress up the same phony argument that he heard from a gang-banger ten years before.

Let’s review some of the world’s philosophies . . . stripping them naked, exposing them with blunt honesty. Imagine that we pick a representative ‘evangelist’ from each camp and give him a truth serum that forces him to explain his position in ordinary, blunt language. Here’s how it might go . . .

Alaghsas Atheists . . . “You should become an atheist because only morons believe in God. Look at all of the smart people who are atheists and think that Christians are idiots, like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett . . . you mentioned creationists like Isaac Newton, Lord Kelvin, and Raymond Damadian? Well, the majority of the members of the National Science Foundation . . . no, I’m not just arguing that I’ve got better experts. Science establishes evolution and, therefore, atheism . . . ok, I admit that there is no scientific theory or any experimental evidence for how the first cell could have formed from primordial goo . . . yeah, there are no solid transitional fossils to connect microbes to invertebrates, or invertebrates to fish . . . or to reptiles or birds or mammals . . . well, we’re still looking for fossils that simply must be there! Now, if you have faith in evolution, we can all agree that there is no objective morality. Sexual freedom for everyone! And when you die, you go out of existence . . . ok, so there is no point to life . . . What do you mean that I don’t exist in my worldview? Sure, everything I say is just the result of brain chemistry because matter is everything and there is no soul, no spirit . . . ok, so what if ‘I’ don’t exist? But logic demands . . . ok, there is no LOGIC in a molecule, no LOVE, no JUSTICE, no HOPE, no REASON, no BEAUTY. You just have to face up to the pointlessness of existence. What? You’re still not convinced?”

Suwa Post Modernists . . . “There is no such thing as absolute truth. And there is no such thing as sin or evil. You have your truth and I have mine. No absolutes at all . . . Yes, I’m absolutely positive about that! Morality is my own choice or a culturally agreed upon norm. Tolerance is our creed. The only evil is intolerance. Am I tolerant of Christians? Absolutely not! Christians are exclusivists, believing only they are right, which makes them wrong . . . Of course I AM RIGHT about that! Why don’t I criticize Muslims like I criticize Christians? No, I’m not a coward! I just . . . haven’t . . . well . . . gotten around to that. Besides, the Muslim narrative is truth for them . . . You ask about jihad, terrorism? Well, we must have offended them somehow . . . Hitler and the Holocaust? Lots of malicious propaganda there. If everyone would just agree to get along and listen to each other’s stories! What? You’re still not convinced?”

Marxists . . . “The sweep of history is inevitable. Hegel laid it out – thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Man will only realize his potential when individual freedom disappears and everyone is part of a state system that controls everything! Won’t that be glorious? Well, sure, it hasn’t worked yet . . . yeah, in Russia, China, Vietnam, North Korea . . . but those guys never really committed to socialism . . . no, men and women are not corrupt. We can trust those who are the brightest and best to rule. After all, someone has got to be in charge . . . yeah, I would be a good judge of who qualifies – me, for example. What? You’re still not convinced?”

Muslims . . . “Simply confess that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is his prophet. And make a pilgrimage to Mecca at some point, and fast during Ramadan, and keep the law of Moses, etc., . . . well, sure, nobody keeps the law perfectly, but Allah is merciful . . . yes, I think I am self-righteous enough to enter into Paradise . . . besides, if you can afford it, you can have up to four wives! . . . No, I wouldn’t say that Islam is for men only. And if one of my wives objects, I can divorce her by declaring it three times! Besides, you had better convert soon. Once we have a majority and the sword in our hands . . . What? You’re still not convinced?”

Roman Catholics . . . “It is presumption to claim assurance for salvation, but you have some hope to be saved if you go to Mass faithfully, receive the sacraments, obey the Pope, cardinals, and priests, and avoid mortal sins. Then you should only have to spend a few thousand years in Purgatory. And recent good news! If you follow the Pope on Twitter, you will earn indulgences to reduce your time in Purgatory! Look, all you have to do is start attending Mass and you’re likely to get a really strange mystical experience . . . yeah, all the robes, incantations, incense, etc., it’s really spiritual. And just embrace the core of our Catholic experience: swallowing the wafer that is actually the body of Jesus Christ. Yes, it really is Him, once an ordained priest says the magic words that pull Jesus out of Heaven and insert Him into every wafer. But when you pray, make sure you pray to Mary because she is more compassionate than her Son, and she is your Redeemer, too. What? You’re still not convinced?”

Mormons . . . “If you strive hard you can become a god over your own planet and your wife can pump out spirit babies to populate that planet with beings who will worship you. After all, the Father God who rules over Earth was once a man like you on the planet Kolob . . . Wait! Stay a bit longer so I can convince you!”

Pentecostals, Emergents, New Agers, New Apostolic Reformationists . . . “The ‘full gospel’ means that you can be healed just by having sufficient faith. It’s ‘faith’ that counts, regardless of your actual concept of who God is . . . yes, I know that Pentecostal preachers get sick, grow old, and die, too. That’s beside the point. Don’t you realize that God’s anointed preachers today (especially the televangelists!) are receiving new revelations and new prophecies? Sure, they’re not always right, but nobody’s perfect, right? In fact, if you have faith you can be a little god yourself, claiming God’s promises to manipulate your reality. And bring unity to the entire world. We can establish the Millennium of peace, harmony, love, and the age of Aquarius if we concentrate really hard and meditate . . . come on, now, empty your mind . . . Ooommm . . . Hey! Why are you laughing?”

Calvinists . . . “Don’t worry. You’re either elect or you’re toast. If you’re elect, God will zap you with irresistible grace and convert you. If not, then it is ordained from before the foundation of the world that you are condemned to Hell for eternity without recourse . . . and that’s for the glory of God! And don’t worry about what’s going on around the world or even what Satan is doing. EVERYTHING that ever happens, every thought, sneeze, butterfly wing flap, act of charity, or murder, rape, or Holocaust is an ordained part of God’s sovereign plan . . . all for His glory! What do you mean, ‘That’s not Christianity!’ TULIP IS THE GOSPEL! What? You’re not convinced? You must not be elect!”

Nominal church goers . . . “Yeah, I’m a Christian, too. I go to church on Sunday. Just don’t get so worked up about it. Only guys like Hitler go to Hell. God wouldn’t send to Hell someone like me or my mega-church pastor or those hot babes on the worship team. What’s important is living life now. Hey, my favorite TV preacher says that I should have my best life now. So grab the gusto now and go to Heaven in the end anyway. Yeah, Christianity is a good deal.”

Now, we’ve just sampled a bit of the flotsam that represents the best of the world’s philosophies. Your kids have nothing to worry about if they simply understand the truth of the Bible, the love of God, the nature of man (who willfully rebels against God and despises his neighbor), the absoluteness of righteousness and unrighteousness, the certainty of justice (judgment and Hell for the determined rebels), the promise of the Savior and His offer of salvation and adoption, and the New Heaven and the New Earth to come. In comparison, the bankruptcy of Satan-inspired philosophies is easy to discern.

All non-Biblical worldviews are internally inconsistent. They don’t make sense even one level deep. And nobody can consistently or honestly live by any of them. Only the born again Christian, as he chooses to follow the Lord Jesus Christ by Biblical instruction and the leading of the Holy Spirit, has a chance to live a rational life.

Why don’t atheistic feminists fight against Islam? After all, Islam enslaves half a billion women. Answer: Feminists and Muslims are on the same team. Why don’t New Age environmentalists, who fight to save the whales, give a flip about saving unborn babies? Why do atheists insult Christians and not Hindus or Muslims or, usually, Roman Catholics. Same team. Similarly, because Biblical inerrancy is a TRUTH issue, note that advocates of modern Bible versions don’t attack each other’s versions. They all gang up on the KJV and its foundation stones – the Hebrew Masoretic text and the Received Greek Text. That gang is fighting for the wrong team. Bottom line: If you’re not Biblical, you’re not rational.

Children that ‘fall away’ when they leave home never did understand either the truth or the lies that lead them astray. They don’t know the Bible and they are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who can warn them against error and destruction.

Dad, Mom – it’s your job to disciple your children. Take them with you. Knock on some doors. Stand on a corner and chat with lost people as they walk by. Hand out tracts. Ask the lost what they believe and why they believe it. You’ll be amazed. The Ph.D. scientist is as clueless as the gang- banger. In fact, the latter is usually more honest about who he is and where he is headed.

I know what your problem is, parents. You don’t want to do 121 evangelism yourself. Of course you don’t! But if you choose to love God (to obey Him) and love others enough to offer them both a warning and the Good News, then you have a chance to save your children.

– drdave@truthreallymatters.com