Taking scripture down off the wall and turning it over in your hand, hmm, how do we apply this?

I have recently brought up George Barna's name. (see here) It was his polling group that found out that one type of fruit of the modern evangelicalism in Amercia has been the erosion or walking away of 80% plus of our youth by the college yrs. This came out about 4 yrs or so ago. At 49yrs of age I had already seen this happen in one church where we had attended for about 12 yrs and was thinking that I was seeing it happen again at my last church. This finding rocked the modern church and the search was on for what to do. Within about 1 or 2 yrs afterwards, Barna had another book out showing....

...more often than not, what a person decides about truth, sin, forgiveness, and eternal consequences during the pre-teen years is the same perspective that person carries to the grave..... Pg55 George Barna "Transforming Children into Spirtual Champions"

...."Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life," the researcher stated....

His book...."Transforming Children into Spirtual Champions" I'm paraphrasing here, anyone who wants to borrow the book can read it, tried to drive home that we must inculcate into our kids a more encompassing world view, that all church and Sunday school were doing was leaving young kids with a faith that was disconnected from most of life and they were easy to pick off by college professors or the kids adopted their parents world view which was add Jesus where you want to, for example let me give 2 quotes from Barna's recent study...

"...Many of the same people who claim that their faith is very important to them and that they are absolutely committed to Christianity also say that they face no spiritual challenges in life. Many other adults are only vaguely aware of such challenges, and do not put much energy into addressing them..."

"...Americans focus on what they consider to be the most important matters; faith maturity is not one of them. The dominant spiritual change that we have seen - Americans becoming less engaged in matters of faith - helps to explain the surging secularization of our culture..."

It's not that parents want to leave their kids unprepared, although there are some that are too self-absorbed, but that I think most parents cannot see just what it is they should be doing differently. Because they are doing what everyone else is doing in the church and what is the church, on the whole, teaching differently...

I think many though are held captive to the same world view that was inculcated into me through public school, movies and tv. That we are individuals, an egalitiarian view of man and women, a secular/sacred distinction, an acceptance of what labels our society or culture has placed on top of God's creation rather than only accepting a biblical definition.

Now for 27 plus years I have had a steady diet of a lot of teaching and hearing a lot of phrases like this, I'm sure you will recognize them too....." let's stay focused on Jesus..."..."To mature to the measure, the standard of Christ in you..."......"a transformation of our life to show the world..."....."That it is in Christ alone..."....."Raised to walk in newness of life..."....."The Spirit to work thru you.."...."to do more than we ever thought we could do..."....."Trusting in Christ alone.."...."Work the work of Christ in you..."

Now just like when Bahnsen gave the example of "A surge of pious agreement came over me the first time I heard someone confidently assert that "The Word of God no more needs defense than does a lion in a cage. Just let the lion loose, and it will take care of itself!" There seemed something very right about that sentiment. seehere

There is much very right and truthful with the phrases I have put up, but at the same time if we do not ever flesh out what they mean or can mean or how they can applied, or how they should change how we think and view life then everyone can ascribe their own comfortable meaning to them, the whole congregation can nod their heads in unison and we can (I said we can, not we have) in effect bear false witness to the Word of God. We can deny it of its ability to change us and situations if we do not see how to apply it as God would want it done. If we do not go beyond just quoting these type of lines and verses we too will head for an 80% attrition rate. I can put verses and phrases all over the walls of my house but if I do not have some way to apply them, to really walk them out, what good are they? (Yes, they are still God's Word and so there is an intrinsisc goodness and truth to them.)

Because I really believe those phrases mean something and that it is for our Father's glory that we must search it out and apply ourselves to it. And not just for ourselves, but for future generations too, that they can receive blessings and not curses, and that we will be found to be obedient to our calling and election.

Now from the Word I don't see anything automatic about growth in our walk with the LORD after we have been saved. Other than when we die we will by then, at that moment, for sure be attained to his likeness. If it is automatic why would Paul warn in Col 2:4 now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words...and in v8 beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. .why also warn us in Eph 4:17 that you should no longer walk as the rest of the gentiles walk in the futility of their minds. Unless it really is possible for saved people to walk as the gentiles walk and be deceived, for saved people to be... tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning, craftiness of decietful men.Eph 4:14 Now I look at modern Chrisitanity and I think, maybe a lot of people are being decieved...Or some, I know, will take choice B those people cannot be saved. But I can see how many ways I have been decieved and am now just starting to see clearly on some stuff, did I really just get saved or was I decieved?

The word is just loaded with statements like, I press on that I may lay hold of... Phil 3:12, press toward the goal... Phil
3:14, forgetting those things which are behind and reach forward to those things that are ahead.... Phil 3:13, run the race...? , laying aside everything that hinders....?, these all speak of applying God's truth.

Here's the kicker, What I have personally experienced is if you try to show "hey, this is how we can apply this"... you can bet someone will suggest were being legalistic or suprise!.. someone will opine that we really should just focus on Jesus. doh!?! thankfully I have only heard one, " ..that's too hard..." Now if someone does suggest something, it doesn't mean you have to do the same thing, there might be a hundred other situations and ways to apply a truth from God.

Now Paul said in Phil 3:17 brethren join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. ..."stinking legalist"...."sounds like works"...." shouldn't we focus on Christ rather than men"....ok,ok, I am having fun :)

I'm bringing this up as I think I am going to continue to see and hear more, not less of this. Also we can all examine ourselves and see how we might respond in the future when someone trys to apply the Word in a manner were not use to. (Remember the first time you heard Doug Phillips, ok, so not a good example, as I was ready to stand on my chair and clap at the time. I did wonder at the time why so many women were walking out?.... Strange....) Maybe we will hesitate when we get sent outside to get the firewood to burn the heretic.

So as most of the church is functioning today it is giving us an 80% loss rate of our children. So if we stand pat with what has been done before, what reason do we have that we will see anything different? That is a definition of insanity to continue to do the same thing while expecting different results. Don't kid yourselves we have been qouting these verses and phrases for a long time as evangelicals while at the same time not really seeing what to do with them. 50,75, 100yrs. ???

I thank God for men like Phillips, Sproul, Swanson, Wilson, and Rushdoony who have been faithful to try and help the church see that we are wet, and to take the desert island challenge, etc, for what we have just taken for granted for so long.

All standard disclaimers apply, this is not about works, our righteuosness before God, our salvation experience ...this is about Eph 4:13 till we all come..to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. v15...but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things may into him who is the head-Christ- Col 1:18 ...that in all things he may have preeminence.