Pastor's Page

What is the heart cry of many Christian parents today?

We are surrounded by Christian parents who are grieving because their children have de­parted from the Christian faith or never really embraced it in the first place. They may be in­volved in alcohol, drugs, rebellion, immorality or humanistic philosophy—all bringing shame on their families and the cause of Christ. Others may choose to silently drift further and further from the Lord “doing their own thing.” A frequent comment that one hears from such parents is that, “We have tried our best to teach our child what is right and they have chosen to rebel against God and go their own way. Where did we do wrong?” Parents have ceded to others the primary responsibility of teaching and training their children and are suffering the consequences.

What do many Christians adequately fail to realize?

Many Christians fail to realize that we live in a foreign country and that this world is not our home, nor is it our friend (Jas. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15-17).

1. We are surrounded by people who don’t honor God as God by giving Him His rightful place.

2.We are surrounded by people who do not know, accept, believe or live according to the truth of God’s Word, but rather believe that everything is subjective and relative (Jn. 3:18-20).

3. We are surrounded by people who are spiritually blind, deaf and dumb and under the dominion of the evil one (2 Cor. 4: 4; 1 Jn. 5: 19).

We are the outsiders; this world is not our home. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. We are described as aliens and exiles on our way to a place that Jesus has prepared for us. (John 14:2, 3) We are subject to the ungodly influences around us; Scripture warns us not to love the world or the things of this world (1 Jn. 2:15). We are exhorted not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed (Rom. 12:2).

Why is “believing” not enough?

Today, “believing” is not enough. It’s not that believing isn’t important; it is. In our time, believ­ing is made out to be more of a preference based on one’s subjective feelings at the moment rather than a strong conviction based on sound evidence. We live in a culture that’s radically different from the one the baby boomers experienced in their formative years. In today’s culture, many beliefs are subjectively determined and therefore, may frequently be subject to change. It’s “politically correct” in our culture to be tolerant with everyone except those who believe in objective truth. Those who hold such a position are subject to widespread scorn and ridicule. They aren’t likely to uphold or maintain such beliefs without having strong convictions concern­ing the truth. It’s not enough to merely believe or give mental assent to biblical truths about God. We need to develop inner convictions which will enable us to stand alone against those who subscribe to a secular humanistic worldview (Jas. 2:18-20).

Next week: The Impact of Political Correctness on Personal Christian Convictions.