Do Today’s Youth Accept Absolute Values? - Part 2

By Tom Rose

In part 1, the author presented evidence that many of today’s youth do not accept absolute truth.  Because of this, many youths are making wrong choices.  Part 2 presents a classroom illustration of this issue and provides some action steps parents and religious educators can take to address this problem and why it is extremely important.

Consider an activity in which a group of high school Christians were challenged to grasp the reality of Jesus’ resurrection as objective truth. A jar of marbles was placed in front of the class and students were asked, “How many marbles are in the jar?” They all respond and record their different guesses. The jar was then emptied, and the marbles counted. They quickly determined who had the closest guess and that the number of marbles was a matter of fact, not a personal preference. Next from a bag of Starburst candies, one was given to each student, and the question posed, “Which flavor is right?” The students saw this as an unfair question because each person had a preference that was right for him or her. The class all agreed that in this situation it was a matter of subjective opinion, not objective fact. The teacher then asked, “Is the resurrection of Jesus like the number of marbles in the jar, or is it a matter of personal opinion, like candy preferences?’ Most students concluded that the question of the resurrection belonged in the category of candy preference.

The instructor then concluded the activity by talking about the nature of Jesus’ physical death and resurrection. He proposed, “If we had been present at the cross, we could have felt the warm blood of Jesus trickling down the wooden timber or even watched Him take His last breath (Jn. 19:29-35). And if we had been at the tomb on Sunday morning, we would have seen the stone rolled away and the loincloth of Jesus laying inside (Jn. 20:1-7).” The teacher then reminded the class that while many people may reject the historical resurrection of Jesus, it is not the type of claim that can be “true for you, but not true for me.” The tomb was either empty on the third day, or it was occupied – there can be no middle ground.

What should be done to help our youth become healthy and mature relationally, morally, and spiritually? Josh McDowell in his research identified four components listed in order of importance. Parents (and religious educators) should see that:

1. Teenagers experience a transformed life in Christ.

2. They know why they believe what they believe.

3. They develop healthy relationships with faithful Christians of all ages.

4. They learn to resist ungodly influences and learn how to make right choices.

In closing, we must ask, “Why is this important? What difference does it really make?” Consider that most religions of the world are based on philosophical propositions or theological ideologies. Their observance usually centers around a creed book, catechism, or mantra. Remove its founding prophet or guru and that religion remains essentially intact. That is because these religions are largely based on the teachings, not upon the founding teacher. That is not true of Christianity; it is unique. Christianity isn’t a mere religion. It is not simply based upon various teachings. Christianity is based on the life, character, and identity of a person – Jesus Christ. Christ did not come to earth to teach Christianity, Christ is Christianity. (“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6). And to us and our loved ones as believers, that makes all the difference both in this life and the next…for “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).

Do Today’s Youth Accept Absolute Values? - Part 1

By Tom Rose

When we speak of challenges today among Christians, few are more critical than those involving our families – particularly the need to raise faithful children. A prayer heard at many weddings includes the phrase, “if children be born to this union, may they be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Perhaps you know of a strong Christian couple, whose children no longer assemble with the saints, and who speak out of firsthand experience when they observe that converts from the world often appreciate the Lord more than their own children. Why are the ranks of young people in our congregations thinned as they grow toward maturity? Perhaps, the answer might lie in the way they view Truth.

A majority of our young people – even the brightest and best of them – have adopted the view that moral truth is not true for them until they choose to believe it. For example, ask both a teenager and an elder “Why do you believe the Bible to be true?” The younger will usually answer, “The Bible is true because I believe it.” The older will likely respond, “To me, I believe it, because it is true.” In effect, youth often believe that the act of believing makes things true. And those things will be true only until they choose to believe something else. As soon as something more appealing comes along, they are likely to begin believing that – whether or not it’s biblical.

Over the past couple of decades, tens of thousands of high school young people have taken a pledge to be sexually pure until marriage (Heb. 13:4). These kids participated in the “True Love Waits” campaign and took a stand for the truth on sexual purity. Although this was an encouraging stance in the midst of a promiscuous society, most young people heard that truth through their own mental “filter” which told them that all truth is subjectively determined. In other words, premarital sex was wrong only if they personally believed it was wrong. So while our youth may be willing to state that certain things are right or wrong, they believe it applies only to them personally.

Therefore, it should not come as a shock that research has found seventy percent (70%) of our churched young people believe there is no absolute moral truth. In other words, the vast majority of our youth do not believe there is a truth outside themselves that determines right from wrong. They do not believe there is a universal truth that is right for all people, in all places, at all times. (“Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Ps. 25 :4-5). In today’s culture, even church-going teenagers have been conditioned to see truth in the area of religion and morality as a personal, private matter. Furthermore, they often surmise that no one should be allowed to impose his or her own ideas of what is right or wrong on another.

However, the attempt to determine spiritual and moral truth by personal preference leads only to certain disaster as it did in ancient Israel in the time of the Judges when “everyone did whatever he considered right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). The resulting anarchy led to unprecedented depravity and wickedness. Treating universal truth as personal preference is always disastrous because God never intended us to see scriptural Truth as optional or to position ourselves as the sole arbiters of what is right or wrong. But isn’t that precisely what many young people are doing? Consequently, they are making wrong choices …while thinking they are right (see Col. 2:8).

(Part 2 next week)

Born To Stand Out - Part 2

By Tom Rose

To gain further insight into the distinction of being Godly as portrayed in Psalm 1 and what it would 'look like' in real life, consider the true story of an early Christian.  It was the middle of the second century, during the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius. Christianity was illegal, and believers throughout the Roman Empire faced the threat of imprisonment, torture, or death. Persecution was especially intense in southern Europe, where Sanctus, a deacon from Vienna, had been arrested and brought to trial. This young man was repeatedly told to renounce the faith he professed, but his resolve was undeterred. No matter what question he was asked, he always gave the same unchanging answer. According to the ancient church historian, Eusebius, Sanctus "girded himself against [his accusers] with such firmness that he would not even tell his name, or the nation or city to which he belonged, or whether he was bond or free, but answered in the Roman tongue to all their questions, 'I am a Chistian.'" For Sanctus, his whole identity – including his name, citizenship, and social status – was found in Jesus Christ.

This same perspective was shared by countless others in the early church. It fueled their witness, strengthened their resolve, and confounded their opponents. At the moment when life itself was on the line, nothing else mattered besides seeing themselves as His servant. For these faithful persons, the name "Christian" was much more than a general religious designation. It was an entirely new way of thinking – one that had serious implications for how they lived – and ultimately how they died. The label underscored their love for the Savior along with a willingness to follow Him no matter the cost. It displayed the wholesale transformation God had produced in their hearts, and how they had died to their old way of life, having been born spiritually into the family of God.

The conclusion of this psalm as well as this article can be summed up by observing: when we call ourselves Christians, we proclaim to the world that everything about us, including our very self-identity, is found in Jesus Christ. We can choose to stand apart from the world, as "a people for God’s own possession" (1 Pet. 2:9). As people of God, we can deny ourselves in order to follow and obey Him. He is both our Savior and our Sovereign, and our lives should center on totally pleasing Him. Contrary to much current religious thinking, there are no relative or half-measures of a righteous life. Rather, the scriptures (including Ps. 1 :5-6) portray a judgment with no in between points. It will either be "God’s Way" or "No Way At All." One will either prosper or perish.

People frequently ask me why I work so hard on preparing my comments when presiding at the Lord’s Table. I always offer the same answer, "I want people not to observe out of habit or ritual, rather I want them to think about what they’re doing." Today millions of Christians live in a sentimental haze of vague piety. Their religion is a pleasant thing: divorced from the will, divorced from the intellect, and demanding little except lip service to a few platitudes. I suspect that Satan has called off his attempt to convert these people to agnosticism. It’s much safer, from Satan’s point of view, to vaccinate a man with a mild case of Christianity so as to protect him from the real disease!

Born to Stand Out - Part 1

By Tom Rose

In many churches today, we hear a message that fits our modern sensibilities. God loves people unconditionally and wants them to be all they want to be. Personal ambition, personal fulfillment, personal gratification – these have all become part of the lexicon of evangelical Christianity – and the essence of what it means to have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Christians in the first century were different. Truth be known, the gospel is not simply an invitation to become Christ’s friend, associate in battle, or companion on the journey. The Bible includes an unmistakable mandate to become His righteous servant. To gain some insight and understanding of how God portrays such a person, take a moment to read Psalm 1:1-6. Some scholars refer to its mere 128 words as the wisdom psalm – effectively introducing the entire Book of Psalms. Its theme is as big as the whole Bible because it tells of people, paths, and ultimate destinations. Using two elements of contrast, this psalm separates all people into their respective spiritual categories – the Godly and the Ungodly. This psalm is wholly about man – with every verse making reference to him and his ways. By observing the conduct of men, God pictures the Godly (vs. 1-3) and the Ungodly (v. 4), then from the fruits of their lifestyles they are judged either to prosper or perish (vs. 5-6).

In the beginning verses it seems a righteous life is composed of both doing and not doing. Given three negative examples (v. 1), the righteous: walks not, stands not, and sits not in the way of the ungodly. Rather, the righteous delight in God’s law and meditate on it, centering their life on God’s Word and His will (v. 2). Verses 3 and 4 describe the consequences of taking two different paths in life. The godly are illustrated as a tree living in harmony with nature, producing seasonal fruits, and remaining hearty and ever prospering regardless of conditions. The writer contrasts this scene using only five, powerful words exclaiming, “The ungodly are not so!” The unrighteous are pictured as unprofitable chaff. Verse 5 announces that the ungodly are found guilty by God and cast out.

Upon closer examination one finds this psalm explains what it means to be “blessed” by God. [It should be noted that this word in the Hebrew language really means “blessednesses,” and is always plural. There never was a singular form of the word because there was no such thing as a single blessing from God!] Verse 3 shows the righteous defy the wind (a metaphor for adversity) because their “leaf shall not wither,” while verse 4 shows the unrighteous are driven away by the same wind. Additionally, the righteous know God (v. 2) and are known by Him (v. 6). This suggests the life of the Christian is regulated by the Lord through a knowledge of His Law. The child of God also takes comfort in that the Lord knows the way of the righteous. Hence, the faithful believers have a complete sense of who they are and who God is.

(Next week: The condition of being Godly will be illustrated by the example of an early Christian, and some conclusions will be drawn for everyone to consider.)

Some Marks of the Maturing Christian

By Tom Rose

We all know maturity when we see it in everyday life. Some examples would be: a painter efficiently trimming a window with no paint on the glass; a veteran teacher keeping track of individual student skills while instructing a room full of kids; and an experienced mother exuding patience and persistence calming a distraught child. Likewise, God expects all His believers to improve their life and walk as a Christian. Indeed, Paul reminds the Ephesian church that regardless of their role, they are "all to come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect* man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). *[Perfect in this context means “fully developed.”]

In her column, the late Ann Landers described maturity as “the ability to do a job whether you’re supervised or not; finish a job once it’s started; carry money without spending it; and last, but not least, the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.” The writer of the Hebrew letter expressed a similar thought when looking at the lack of spiritual progress among the brethren. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:12-14).

First, maturity in Christ is a shift from reading the Word to believing and living it. God is not impressed with what we know. How could our feeble efforts to know impress Him who is Omniscience? Rather, it is the degree of our faith and devotion to Him. It is not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that makes us Christians. This is the place God has chosen for us: to be obedient servants, and not all-knowing scholars.

Secondly, maturity in Christ is developing your faith beyond rules to relationships. Many Jews in the first century were a devotedly religious people, and their religious activity was “doctrinally sound.” Yet, because they did not know their God and did not seek to know Him, it was all meaningless. God wanted a people who wanted Him. Today, we need to emphasize Jesus as the center of a joyful, fulfilled life (see Gal.2:20).  We need to spend hours, days, and a lifetime of seeking to reach His head in prayer and devotion. To some, Christianity is an argument. To others, it is a performance. But, to those who truly want to find Him, it is the experience of a wonderful relationship with Jesus Christ.

Finally, maturity in Christ is integrating childlike qualities into our adult behavior. Children exhibit an openness when meeting a new person. In about five minutes, they relate like lifetime friends – honest, open, and real with each other. Because children don’t expect too much, they aren’t often disappointed. Eager, enthusiastic, energetic, and playful, they have the ability to make even the most mundane task incredibly exciting and special. Additionally, since children haven’t really learned the meaning of the word “failure,” they possess the desire to “go for it” most of the time. They take risks in life because they intuitively know that to risk is to learn and to grow. Moreover, children seem to realize that happiness is an attitude they create. Perhaps that’s why children often act silly or cheery and frequently make jokes. They know how to cultivate a sense of humor that keeps them chronically happy. Lastly, children are filled with unconditional love. Have you noticed how quickly they forget their anger and forgive others, letting go of grudges? Children accept you totally for your good points, and your not-so-good points. Most children are prepared to accept people as people, even if offended or hurt, as they will come back to forgive and love over and over again. Our Lord’s words, "Let the little children come to Me, ...for of such is the kingdom of God" (Mk. 10:14), reminds us of the importance of becoming like children.

In closing, consider that a standard piano keyboard has 88 keys. The same keys can be used to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto, No. 2 in C minor. It just depends upon the time and effort one takes to mature their skill at the piano. The same is true for a maturing child of God. Unfortunately, the religious convictions of many people are but thinly veiled rationalizations for their conduct, rather than a transforming influence upon it.” The aged and worn apostle Paul, taking stock of his own maturity, told the Philippians, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14).