JP’s Mind

Recently I had been involved in a discussion about our youth losing their faith while attending the nation’s universities. It was suggested that the universities have turned from their religious traditions and have become increasingly hostile towards Christians. Because of this hostility, young Christians have lost their faith in record numbers.

I completely disagree with this idea.

Universities, and the world in general, have always been hostile towards Christianity, and Christians have always maintained, or have forsaken, their faith in the face of that hostility. It is not the university which is to blame for the loss of faith; it is the lack of strength of the faith of the individual Christian. A faith untested is not faith, it is mere convenience, and it seems that the youth are going out into the world armed not with a true faith in Christ, but of a faith of convenience held not by conviction but because they were told to believe.

What does this mean for us? Simply that as Christians, as the body of Christ, we have failed in following the commandment of our Lord to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Mat 28:19)

Discipleship is the issue in question. Certainly we evangelize, we spread the Gospel and bring new souls to Christ, but are we discipling? Do we even fully understand what it is to make disciples, or to be disciples?

The dictionary defines disciple as:
One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another;
an active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.

John Piper of Desiring God Ministries described it as “one who believes His doctrines, rests upon His sacrifice, imbibes His spirit, and imitates His example.”

What does that mean for us in relation to the command of our Lord? In verse 20, Jesus explained a bit more: teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you… Piper says;

“Verse 20 shows that making disciples means more than getting conversions and baptisms. “ Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you …” Conversion and baptism are essential, but so is the on-going teaching of what Jesus taught. The new life of a disciple is a life of obedience to Jesus’ commandments or it is not a new life at all. It is worthless to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in baptism and then ignore his commandments. So all disciple-makers must be teachers and disciples must be continual learners.

But teaching people to obey Christ is not easy. Obeying Christ in all he commanded is harder yet. It requires tremendous spiritual power. And Christ was so gracious to leave us with a word of comfort and power: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (v. 20). The reason that promise is packed with power is that the one who made it has all authority in heaven and on earth (v. 18). He is not powerful and far away. Nor is He present and weak. But He is with us and He is all-powerful—forever. The great commission is sandwiched in powerful grace, and so are we.

Part of our failure to disciple our youth is our inattention to what and how they are being taught regarding the things of God, and the simple fact that in many cases they are not being taught at all. Some of the largest, best known publishers of youth curriculum; publishers such as Youth Specialties, Group Publishing, Gospel Light Publishing and Cook Publishing promoted this attitude in the teaching of our children in church:

Imagine if you were trying to find a church that offered a sound Children’s Ministry or Youth Group and those were the things told to you by the leaders of those groups. Would you allow your child to attend? Would you take action if you knew those types of things were being advocated by your current churches youth program or Sunday school? Well it is happening everywhere and many of us do not even realize it.

2Ti 3:16 tells us that All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,… how then can we justify the assertions of those who assert the ‘self-esteem’ of the student takes precedence over the Word of God? We cannot in good conscience, yet we do so in ignorance or apathy.What is even worse is the trend in many contemporary Christian Churches of not offering Sunday school classes. Many churches have weekly services, small group bible studies (mainly for adults) and get together meetings during the week where the youth can come and play games, hang out, and be with fellow ‘Christians’. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having the church’s children spending time together in a safe environment – but where is the meat? Where is the instruction?

When do we begin to disciple our children and new believers to build scriptural knowledge, and strengthen the faith which will sustain them when they go out into the world and are faced with objections to their beliefs? How do we expect them to withstand and effectively confront evidence that seemingly contradicts scripture, and ridicule for blindly accepting God without consideration of the ‘wisdom’ offered by science and philosophy?

When do we begin to follow the command of our Lord, begin making disciples, and quit throwing the lambs to the slaughter?