America’s laws are changing so rapidly, drastically, and have become so diametrically opposed to God’s holiness, that the time has come for Christians to increase their commitment to the church and family. Coincidentally, I was listening to a popular “Reformed” evangelical program, when a professing Christian “Sunday school teacher” asked; “How do we help our children as our culture rapidly and morally decays?” I was stunned by his question. Patiently, the host provided encouragement to this man, by suggesting that he teach the basic tenants of Christianity laid out in God’s word, but ended his answer by stating; “Children ought to be sitting in pews alongside their parents, listening to sound preaching and teaching and not dropped off at Sunday school and ought to be homeschooled where they can learn God’s truth unhindered”. Great answer, I thought. But, I was troubled, as to why any qualified “man of God” would call a show and ask such a fundamental question, as this man did, when we should be able to trust the leaders of our evangelical churches. Yet it was a dark glimpse of our current culture.
As a “family” of believers we must do all that we can to encourage the children in our churches. We are a universal “family” of brothers and sisters, and God commands us to love one another. Therefore if we see any younger people in our churches we need to mentor and guide them, and give our full support to their parents. As parents, God has entrusted our children to us, to instruct them with great wisdom and do everything possible to saturate children’s minds with the word of God (Duet. 6:5-9). One way this can be achieved is by eliminating the life-robbing, mind-numbing, highly destructive entertainment, that we know pollutes the innocence of their minds, destroys their ability to “think”, and corrupts their hearts away from God. Statistics prove the current “techy” generation has scored significantly lower in every area of academics. So in the place of “entertainment” we ought to provide daily opportunities for our youth to hear and read the sanctifying Scriptures; they need to know that they are part of God’s family. Part of this encompasses being seated in pews alongside their parents, listening to sermons, hearing the rich theology of hymns and participating each Lord’s Day with the family of God. Furthermore, church leadership as well as parents ought to encourage instilling of family devotionals as part of their regular diet, and each child should have his or her personal Bible, with daily time alloted for reading alone and with family. Additionally, it would be tremendously helpful for children to witness their parents behaving as paradigms of godly living (1 Cor. 11:1), witnessing their parents engaged in frequent prayer, reading their Bibles, serving in a ministry, displaying love toward neighbors; basically imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we are in an era where the Bible is being mocked, marginalized or Scripture’s sufficiency is being denied. As Christians, we must bolster this generations’ faith and trust in God’s word, His promises, and passionately teach all of Scripture to our younger generation. Sadly, they have lived through the “post modern-secularizing-evolutionism philosophies-psychotherapies fix all-materialististic-technology & entertainment-at-all-times-antifamily-assault” from school, government, media, television, entertainment, and culture; all mitigating God, in every possible way. Therefore we must help them, and finally provide Truth! If we all (as a spiritual family) choose to teach the children of our churches, daily, with God’s Word, they will have the tools they need to bring morality back into our godless nation, and they will gain confidence with a growing Christian worldview and foundation for their own lives. This will occur by biblical truth saturating into every area of their lives, whether it’s theology, history, geography, science, politics, relationships, work, ethics, morality, ect. (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Teaching children to sing the beautiful great hymns and Psalms each day; so rich with theology, will certainly fill their minds with wisdom, and hearts with deep joy, and it will bring a closeness and intimacy irreplacable to the family. Those of us who have hymns memorized know how quickly they restore the heart to gladness and peace.
However, we must not delay nor hesitate with our children, and must teach the whole council of God, and by doing so, they will have the necessary foundation to remedy this past generations’ weak and faulty responses which lapsed into a lawless and immoral cultural breakdown, with our nation legalizing immorality and removal of Christian freedoms. In essence, we need to help our children and their future generations so the church can return to a “holy nation”, separate from the immoral, ignorant and defiant rebellious God hating culture. And as our children embrace God’s wisdom and love they will finally know peace. Then they will possess the knowledge of the amazing sacrifice of God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins, thus providing eternal reconciliation and peace with God; which will become the message they herald to future generations! And as a stronger, bolder more courageous, holy generation they will be able to endure the cross they must carry. What a God-honoring world we all can look forward to-but we must invest with every ounce of our being, fully committed with our time, resources, knowledge, wisdom, love, given to our children. Only by leading them away from “this world” and to the One True God, will they be capable of glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless our holy endeavors to make our church family strong again! Amen!