The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
October 31, 2004
In
This Issue:
How
do we Know That we are Right?
by
Steve Klein
Are
We Secularizing Our Children?
by
Sewell Hall
How Do We Know That We Are Right?
All of us have had the experience of being dead sure that we were right about something, only to find out that we were wrong. As troubling as that is, it brings up an even more disturbing possibility -- the possibility that at this very moment we could be wrong religiously and not know it. If we spend a lot of time dwelling on this, it can easily grow from a nibbling doubt to a gnawing fear, robbing us of the joy and assurance that should be ours in Christ.
The Epistle of 1 John was written in part to allay such doubts. The phrase "we know" occurs seventeen times in this short epistle. John wants us to be fully assured that we truly can "know" certain things. Among them, we can "know that we are of the truth." The evidence to support such a conviction is threefold. We can know that we are of the truth&ldots;
1) Because we love the brethren. John assures us that "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). And he says that by loving our brethren in deed and in truth we can "know that we are of the truth" (1 John 3:19). Plainly, if we don't love our brethren, we can't possibly know and love God, and so we can't possibly be "right" (1 John 4:20-21).
2) Because we listen to the apostles. The apostles were given authority to "bind on earth" things that would be "bound in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). Whatever they wrote and said through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is absolutely right. John says of himself and his fellow apostles: "We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6). Heeding the words of the apostles is a straight path to being right in what we believe and practice.
3) Because we do not sin. Obviously, we cannot be right if we are doing what is wrong! So John writes, "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him" (1 John 5:18).
While no single one of these three reasons gives complete assurance by itself, the three of them together (if true in our lives) provide us with a lot of confidence and boldness, so that we may stand firmly in our convictions.
By Steve Klein
Several years ago, a Christian who was the president of a large state university, stated his belief that students do not lose their faith because of evolution in the science department or humanism in the philosophy, psychology, or sociology departments. Rather, he felt that they become so absorbed with secular studies and secular activities that they do not take time for spiritual things. They neglect attendance at services, neglect Bible study and make their friends among worldly people. They die spiritually, not from poison but from spiritual malnutrition. Today, this is happening to children long before they get to college. And some of the finest, best intentioned and most sacrificial and loving parents are contributing to it.
Please pardon a personal reference. My parents were very concerned about keeping control of their children. My father complained 50 years ago that the schools were trying to take over the rearing of children and he was determined not to let that happen to his family. Anything the school planned that conflicted with church activities was considered an encroachment by the school. We did not participate in organized sports, either in school or in summer programs. We did not play in the band or join the scouts. As a rule, when school was out we came home.
You may think my parents extreme. Perhaps they were. But one thing was certain: We had time for whatever Christians were doing anywhere in the areas where we lived. We not only attended every regular service and every service of gospel meetings in our home congregation, but we attended most services of any meeting anywhere in driving distance even when meetings lasted the greater part of two weeks. Preachers who came preaching in the area learned to expect the Hall family near the front of the building night after night. I never remember going out of town for a ball game, but I remember many trips out of town to gospel meetings and lectureships. Those gospel preachers became our heroes and the members of those congregations became the friends whose respect and confidence we most desired.
This is not to say that all parents should adopt the policies of my parents. I did not adhere to all of them in raising my children. But surely some limits need to be imposed on the run-away secularism now so common. Children are the busiest people in town. Schools have lengthened the school day and long bus rides often require children to leave home very early in the morning and return late in the afternoon. Then they have homework to get. Much extra time in school is spent in humanistic activities. Children are constantly exposed to vulgarity and profanity not only from fellow-students, but even from teachers. They desperately need counteracting spiritual influences.
Many conscientious parents, however, want still more secular opportunities for their children than the standard curriculum provides. They encourage participation in extra-curricular sports organized by the school and in others that are privately organized, occupying afternoons and Saturdays and even portions of Sundays as well as the summer months. Students not inclined to sports are encouraged to join the band with long hours of after-school practice, summer band camps, and compulsory Friday night football in the fall and concerts in the spring. In addition, there are often private music lessons. Scouts also provide wholesome experiences, and parents want their children to be involved. In fact, they feel that their children are deprived if they miss any of these opportunities, and so, to provide them, parents pack their own schedules full, taxiing the children here and there and sacrificially spending their energy and money.
What is wrong with these things? Generally nothing. The problem is that they are dominating children's lives. No wonder it has become impossible to plan a gospel meeting at a time when it does not conflict with some kind of secular activity! No wonder it is exceptional when students attend every night of such a meeting! No wonder very few parents and even fewer young people are to be seen at special services beyond their own congregation!
A negative attitude seems to be developing toward anything the church plans beyond the usual Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night assemblies or toward any extension of evening activities beyond one hour. The church is considered insensitive when anything is planned that encroaches on children's busy secular activities.
When do we expect our children to change from this heavily weighted emphasis on this world to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?" If they become accustomed to a secular schedule in elementary school, high school will only increase the pressure. College allows still less time for the Lord unless there is a purposeful determination to keep the lid on secular demands. If such priorities have not been learned under the guidance of parents, it is unlikely they will be developed when students are on their own in college. By the time those school years of immersion in secularism are over, there is usually very little spiritual life left in them. And it all begins when they are young!
.by Sewell Hall