Why Are Young People Really Leaving the Church?

Posted on July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 by Petros

Many have come forward with the solution to keeping young people in the Church. God, through Scripture, says that if you train up the child in the way that he or she should go, that child won’t depart from it when he or she is old. What does it mean to train up the child. God says a lot about this in Scripture. How many parents follow the pattern of Scripture, though?

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:” Deuteronomy 11:18-20

If you look at God’s pattern for the home, you are to speak to the children constantly about what God is saying to you. This requires that you walk closely with the Holy Spirit leading you constantly into all truth. The kids often get put into Sunday school once a week, but do the parents speak to the child when the child wakes up, all day long, and when the child goes to bed? Parents hope the kids get some kind of experience in Church services in some cases. Maybe, there is some mention of Christ and what He’s doing in the home during the week, but often not. By the time kids are 12 or so, parents would like to approach some subjects, but those subjects are foreign to the home. Often, there isn’t even a daily time of prayer and Bible-reading as a family, so it’s weird to pray or mention God in the home. These things seem strange and boring to the kids who have centered their lives on things other than Christ. It’s an uphill battle at that point, Secularist schools or not. If these things have been discussed openly from an early age, and if it’s not just an intellectual exercise but a constant spiritual (not emotional or intellectual) experience (experiment), and if the kids have learned the power of God and if they have a robust two-way communication with God, there is very little that can come against them. In fact, they are likely to be a force for good in the schools and in the world.

What will young people say if asked this question: “Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?” Kids may know the theory of God and the theory of Jesus, but we wonder why they don’t make it through the tax-supported onslaught we label as “education.” It’s because they never knew Him. They never developed their spiritual senses. They have never eaten spiritual meat because they never had their spiritual senses exercised by reason of use.

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

There is often great emphasis placed on scientific reasons to believe in God. As a result, the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus is sometimes lost. Some Christians have thought that we must all have a PhD in the sciences in order to come to Christ. That’s just not true.

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3

The simplicity is in Christ, not in theories or theologies about Christ. You have to know Him to experience this. Note that this Scripture isn’t about a simplistic view of Christ. Christ isn’t simple. Knowing Christ is simple. Theology becomes complex and boring. The Holy Spirit speaks to each of us in simple ways that can be understood. Following Him results in having your senses exercised to discern both good (there’s none good but God) and evil (the natural human intellect is deceitful and desperately wicked to the point where it can’t be figured out).

While there’s nothing wrong with teaching the scientific reasons to believe in God, intellectual exercise isn’t what is needed. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your child through the Creation. Teach your children to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, to hear His leading, and to respond in submission to do His will. This is the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. He lives within. He flows out through thoughts, prayers, words, and actions. Whatever is not Him living through us is sin. Whenever we fail to hear His Voice and yield to the Spirit, we have slipped or stepped off the Way. That’s what sin is. Jesus is the Way.

Teach your children that there are only two sources of knowledge in the final analysis. One is centered in Christ. The other is centered in Satan. The human mind is deceitful and desperately wicked to the point that we can’t know it. God is working with whoever is willing to overcome this. The process is dying to self and living to Him. Faith, grace, and works are central to this whole issue. God is setting us free from self. God speaks. We acknowledge Him. His faith comes. Faith gives access to grace. Grace thinks His thoughts, speaks His words and does His works through us. That is the definition of righteousness. That is the narrow way Jesus spoke of. It’s very constricted since everything must start with God speaking and faith (imparted certainty) coming. “Whatever is not of faith is sin.” The word, “sin,” is translated from a handful of words. One of those words means “leaving the way” or “missing the target.” Another means, “stepping across.” Another means, “slipping across.” Whatever doesn’t start with God speaking is either stepping off the way or slipping off the way. Righteousness leads to holiness. Holiness is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Righteousness is Christ working through us by the process of grace through faith. This is a moment-by-moment thing. When you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit and alert to His leading, you can do your job better than if you are just leaning on your own understanding.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8

God speaks of the double-minded person through the Book of James in the Bible. When we were born again, we found ourselves with two minds. We have a natural mind. We are the mind of Christ. The problem we all have is a problem of the heart, the innermost mind. A part of this has to do with worldview. A worldview is a complete inner representation of reality. Everyone has a worldview. Worldviews are created from what we once thought of as true. Worldviews also tend to be internally contradictory. We generally try to preserve our worldviews and not allow them to be subjected to the scrutiny of others. Jesse Nirenburg, in his book, “Getting Through to People,” wrote about how people become defensive if asked too many questions that expose their inner conflicts and contradictions. Your children need to have their senses exercised by reason of use. They need to look into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty and see the Christ in themselves and see how they fit into the Church as a member in particular. This doesn’t happen automatically. If you, as a parent, are not there to guide and direct them, someone else will certainly step in to lead them. Remember that God speaks through multiple confirmations of His Divine revelation. One of the ways that He speaks to children is through their godly parents who speak by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. If your children aren’t taught to discern the Body of Christ to see that it is Christ speaking to them, they will think that it’s a matter of wills–the parent against the child.

We can’t trust our own minds. Teach this to your children. Teach them how to seek the Lord and to know His will. Teach them at a very young age. Show them by example. We can try to trust our own minds plus God’s Mind, but that’s being double-minded. Another option is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understandings. It’s a choice. Even when we do this, we’re still plagued with the natural mind that wants its way and doesn’t want to die out. The process of dying to self and living to Christ is one of maturity. Each obedience, each time we trust the Lord rather than our own mind, is a step toward spiritual maturity. The reverse is also true, however. We can actually go toward spiritual immaturity. The light in us can become darkness.

The human mind has a limitation in knowing the difference between reality and make-believe. Thought would need to start from an absolute standard, but there is no absolute Secular standard, so Naturalists must base thought on assumption. We live in a Naturalistic world. Even much of the Church is convinced of the philosophy of Naturalism where there can be no absolute standard and all thought must be based on assumption. A chain of thought is as strong as its weakest link, so assumptions are hidden beneath many smokescreens. There’s only one solution for this. Get close to Jesus Christ. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. Be humble enough to hold your opinions and theologies loosely enough so that the Holy Spirit can do His work. Teach your children to do the same. Teach them humility and respect for God.

The human mind is corrupted since the fall of Adam and Eve through listening to Satan rather than God. There’s a spiritual principle: “Whoever you yield yourself to obey, that’s whose servant you are.” This slavery has been passed from generation to generation. Christ came to set us free, and He’s done the work. We just have to accept the work He’s done. That means dying to self, to this inner slave that each of us have. It’s a transfiguration process by the renewing of the mind. The Holy Spirit does the renewing. There’s much more to this. You can read about it at http://www.SeekFind.net.

God speaks through Scripture and through every means mentioned in Scripture. He speaks through His creation. He speaks through Christians who are giving Him the glory.

“…or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.” Job 12:8.

God speaks through Scripture, prophecy, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, dreams, visions, a still small voice, godly counsel, and His peace that He imparts when you are in His will. He speaks by opening and closing doors. He speaks to the saved and the unsaved. In fact, through Creation, God tells every Secularist everything that can be known about the Godhead. In Christ is hidden all knowledge, and God imparts knowledge even to those who refuse to acknowledge that the knowledge came from Him. That’s how Secularists can know that natural laws are dependable. However, in their worldviews, they must attribute this knowledge to assumption, so, to them, it’s assumption, not knowledge. It’s an opinion based on nothing–they think. Yet, they wouldn’t say that. They would say that they know. They can’t explain how they know, but they say that they know. If your child has not been taught the difference between assumption and Divine revelation, how will he or she be able to discern reality when confronted by a Secularist. Without Divine revelation, every thought is based on assumption. Assumptions turn into stories. Stories seem real and become worldviews. Worldviews seem like reality, though they are vapor. The child can’t tell the difference between reality and make-believe. Your task as a parent is to make sure that this doesn’t happen. The way to keep this from happening is as follows:

God is speaking to you. The Holy Spirit is leading you. Listen. Pray for a submissive heart. Teach your children to do the same.

Soon to be released: “Reason,” a book about the basis of thought and how to be rational taken from the Ken Ham-Bill Nye debate.

God Speaks Many Ways

Posted on July 9, 2015July 9, 2015 by Petros

Rationalism is make-believe. The human mind can’t really self-generate knowledge without the benefit of observation or Divine revelation. There’s a difference between reality and make-believe. Rationalizing blurs the difference.

When looking at things in the present, there are two ways to try to know how they got the way that they are. One is rationalism. The other is Divine revelation. Rationalism can go anywhere. Divine revelation is restricted to what God is saying. Faith (certainty of belief) comes by hearing and hearing by the rhema of God. “Rhema” is a Greek word that means “utterance.” God speaks through Scripture and through every means mentioned in Scripture. Our part is to acknowledge Him. When He speaks, certainty comes regarding whatever He said. As soon as we add anything to what God said or take anything from what God said, we are rationalizing, and our thoughts are based on vapor.

Soon to be released: “Reason,” a book about the basis of thought and how to be rational.

Righteousness to Holiness

Posted on July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 by Petros

“Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.” Romans 6:19b This is how it works. “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” Romans 14:23b “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous” 1 John 3:7a “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15;10 “gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 5:2 in part) “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word (literally, utterance) of God.” Romans 10:17 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

False Objectivity

Posted on July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 by Petros

Christians and unbelievers alike often are deceived into thinking that they can be objective. It’s known as the ontic fallacy. Often, Christians state theological views and declare them to be Scripture. Often, scientists state theological or philosophical views and declare them to be scientific observations or evidence. They are not. They are interpretations. Interpretations add information to what can be known. God speaks through Scripture and through His Creation. Assumptions always add to His Words. Human interpretations always add to His Words.

Anyone who’s concerned about reality should realize that nothing can be known if it’s dependent on even a single assumption. In fact, if you allow yourself even one assumption, you can prove anything to yourself.

Knowledge of reality requires a true premise. Without Divine revelation, how can you know that a premise is true? With another premise? How can you know that premise is true? It isn’t rational to keep making up premises that need other premises that remain unknown. Yet, that’s what people do. Then, they claim that they’ve proved something or done science.

Knowing reality requires a true premise, but you can’t possibly have a true premise without Divine revelation. Now, the skeptic will claim to have infinite knowledge by making the bare assertion that Divine revelation isn’t known either. By doing this, the skeptic is claiming to know the inner spiritual experience of every person who has ever lived. That’s an amazing claim.

Every person who follows Christ is led and taught by Christ. While we are still learning to discern His Voice from all the other voices in the world, including the voice of the self, we are making progress in those things where we respond in submission to the Holy Spirit. Without this, there would be no hope of ever knowing the difference between reality and make-believe. A rational person wants to know the difference between reality and make-believe. A rational person realizes that assumptions can never be a basis for knowing.

Accept No Substitutes

Posted on June 28, 2015June 28, 2015 by Petros

The problem is not reason versus Scripture or reason versus Divine revelation. The problem is the foundation of reason, including the interpretation of Scripture. Only one Foundation will work: Jesus Christ. He gives a basis for reason through the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through Scripture if we are willing to acknowledge Him. If we are walking in the Spirit, then we are learning to discern His Voice from all the other voices and to respond to Him in submission. We are allowing Him to think His thoughts, speak His words, and do His works through us.

Let God Reveal Reality

Posted on June 27, 2015June 28, 2015 by Petros

God speaks. He progressively reveals Himself and His will. Let God bring Scripture to life and tear down all theological constructs, replacing them with actual vision of reality.

Theological Constraints

Posted on June 26, 2015July 29, 2015 by Petros

I used to think that God gave us the Bible and sort of an intermittent leading of the Holy Spirit, mostly leading us to try to figure out the Scripture with our human minds. I thought that God was leading me in a greater understanding of His word and leading me to apply this understanding in my life. At that time, I defined “understanding” as a construct of theology. The problem was that it was me applying a theological construct in my life rather than me submitting to the Holy Spirit as He led and taught me moment by moment, bringing Scripture to mind as it applied or reaching me through my conscience and giving me the faith of God which gives me access to God’s grace, then submitting the members of my body to His Anointing so that He does His works through me. Instead, I was trying to think His thoughts, say His words, and do His works by human effort rather than the moving of the Holy Spirit. This resulted in me trying to figure out the Scripture with my fallen human mind and to apply it to my life on a moment-by-moment basis using my fallen human mind. That didn’t work. It frustrated the grace of God.

One thing that God has shown me very clearly is that the human mind can’t be trusted. It’s deceitful and desperately wicked. While Christians are supposed to moving from glory to glory, we have not yet arrived at the full completion. I know that every denomination claims to have arrived. One says that they “teach the Word of God in its truth and purity.” Another says that it is the “full gospel.” Yet, God has much more for us all. He says, “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show you great and mighty things which thou knowest not.”

Every human mind is in the condition of being deceitful and desperately wicked. Mine is no better than yours. Groups of people of like minds bind together, but that doesn’t make their group-think any better than anyone else’s group-think. If we make a single assumption while interpreting Scripture, we have added to God’s Words. Rather, the Holy Spirit speaks to us through Scripture and through every means of speaking to us that He mentions in Scripture. He will correct us. Yet, we can resist His correction and yet remain Christians. Not only can we, but we do.

Every one of us has a worldview, a paradigm. That paradigm is a fake reality. It seems just like real reality. In fact, it seems more real, to us, than real reality. By it, we filter real reality, accepting some things that God is showing us and rejecting others. Worldviews, are conceptual. They are not reality. Part of your worldview and part of my worldview is our concept of Scripture. Related to that is a part of our worldviews that consist of our theologies. Theologies are always conceptual. They are not reality. They seem real, though. Often, theologies seem as if they were Scripture itself. They are not. They are conceptual frameworks that filter what the Holy Spirit can tell us through Scripture. When a brother or sister in Christ says something by the Holy Spirit that conflicts with our inner worldviews, it often seems to us as if they are saying something that conflicts with Scripture. We might even accuse them of saying things that conflict with Scripture when the Holy Ghost has merely challenged our worldviews. This is our plight. Yet, there is hope. Only the Holy Spirit can set us free from our theological frameworks where they conflict with real reality–however, our fallen natures resist Him. This is very similar to what happens to Scientists when they are looking at the Creation. They fill in the blanks from their worldviews. Their assumptions actually come out of their worldviews. However, they add to what God is saying through Creation just as assumptions from theological worldviews can add to what God is saying through Scripture. Peer reviews don’t work for scientists who limit their peers to those who agree with their own scientific theories. In the same way, peer reviews don’t work for Christians who limit their peers to those who agree with their own theological constructs. I have found that the Holy Spirit instructs me that I must hold my own theology loosely enough that the Holy Spirit is able to correct me and teach me. As Jesus said, “You can’t put new wine in old wineskins.”

How Do You Know?

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 by Petros

When you draw a line in the sand, you know that it is you who has drawn the line. That means you can move the line just as easily as you drew it in the first place. If you think you know something, ask a few simple questions. If someone tells you something, ask them these questions.

“Why draw the line there and not somewhere else?”

“How do you know?”

“Is this Divine revelation or is it human speculation?”

“Have you made any assumptions, adding to God’s Words?” “Dear Lord, what do You say about this?” In fact, I was out in my shed thinking about something, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me, “Ask Me what I say about that.” I find that it’s very easy to lean on my own understanding and very difficult to acknowledge Him in all my ways.

I find that it’s very easy to lean on my own understanding and very difficult to acknowledge Him in all my ways.

Ask the Holy Spirit, “What do You say about this?”

I find that it’s very easy to lean on my own understanding and very difficult to acknowledge Him in all my ways. How about you?

Ever Learning

Posted on June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 by Petros

Realize that if what you think you know requires even a single assumption, you don’t know it. It’s a bare assertion.

2 Timothy 3:2-9 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

The Holy Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son to teach us all Truth. Jesus is Truth.

Science is Knowledge