The Disservice we do when 

we don’t tell it like it is

 

Can we talk just a bit about a worrying concern in regard to the upcoming generations and possibly something you have faced too?

Do you agree with me that all too often our world is handed a very shallow version of Christianity? Maybe you were brought up in a church culture that promoted youth groups, Sunday school classes, worship nights, camps, conferences, Bible studies and the like, which, by the way, are all good things. Maybe there were altar calls and emotional decisions made under pressure and you wanted and desired to ‘feel close to God’ but for some reason there wasn’t any depth.

There was very little actual discipleship. Maybe you weren’t taught how to study the Bible or defend the faith or how to stand firm on what you believed or even articulate what you believed.

And now, as the world around you gets darker and more hostile towards the Christian faith, you realise that the Christianity you were brought up with was very shallow.

Maybe you weren’t taught much theology. Don’t be afraid of that word. In a nutshell, it just means the study of the nature of God and his truth.

Maybe you weren’t taught how to study the Bible for yourself, instead relying on the Pastors and teachers in your church to do the hard work and spoon feed you. Possibly you weren’t taught well how to persevere under pressure or how to exercise discernment.

You were taught of God’s love and how to respond emotionally to the invitation, the lights, the music. You were taught that Jesus is the way and he can make your life better. You were taught that he was the source of your fulfilment. There was a lot of feelings, but not a lot of strong, deep-rooted faith.

And then adulthood hit. And life got hard. Marriage was difficult. Child raising was on another level. Prayers went unanswered for months or years. Anxiety was at all-time high. Your faith started costing something. And suddenly, the Christianity built mostly on feelings was no longer enough.

Emotional Christianity works fine when life is easy and things are going well. But what happens when your world comes crashing down? What happens when life gets hard and the struggles pull you to pieces? What happens when unexpected suffering arrives and the waves crash heavy overhead?

A faith built mostly on feelings will eventually collapse. It cannot be sustained. It won’t survive the storms.

I say this with humility and without any sense of pride as one who has it all under control. Because I do not. And I did not. That’s not to say that I wasn’t brought up with the right values and the right tools. It’s just that I have spent years realising that I didn’t know much. And that’s my fault. For a long time, I didn’t see the need to be discipling myself in the Word of God. I didn’t see the need for in depth study.

And I think this is why so many are ‘deconstructing’ their faith now. Not because they didn’t love God, but because there wasn’t much of a foundation underneath the emotional Christianity they experienced. They are deconstructing a faith that had very little theological foundation to begin with. They were handed a shallow version of Christianity based on feelings and emotional experiences and not biblical discipleship.  

I wonder if many Christians feel betrayed. They were told that being a Christian would make their life better, and they would be fulfilled, whole, successful, happy. And then life hit. Real life. The nitty gritty hard things.

The Word of God and Jesus himself never promised a bed of roses. He never promised an easy life. He told us to remain steadfast. Endure hardship. Overcome temptation. Stand firm. Persevere. Expect tribulations and trials.

But our modern church culture wants to keep those things hidden behind a curtain and instead portrays a very different sort of Christianity. It’s exciting. It promises wealth. Happiness.

God is love. God forgives. God cares. God will prosper you. God cares for you.

And yes, all of these things are true and backed up by Scripture. But we are doing the new Christians a disservice by not teaching them the hard truths and by not being diligent in our discipleship of them.

We are neglecting to teach them how to study the Word of God for themselves and the need to ‘try the spirits’ (1 John 4:1) to keep from falling prey to false teachers or to “search the scriptures daily” as did the Bereans in order to make sure what Paul and Silas were teaching was legit. (Acts 17:11)

I, for one, don’t want my children or grandchildren raised on emotionalism or feel-good Christianity. I want them grounded in the Word. I want them to know what they believe and why they believe it. I want their faith to be firmly rooted in Scripture. I want them to know truth. To learn from it. To practice biblical discernment. I want them to love God deeply and not crumble when life gets too hard. I want them to stand firm and hold fast even when it costs them something.

I want them to have a love for God and for his Word. I want them to be always searching and learning more of what the Bible teaches. I want them to be able to interpret verses, in context, and expound on them to others, humbly accepting correction if they have something wrong. I want them to have a desire for the whole counsel of God. Not just the easy, feel-good parts or the promises that bring comfort. I want them to feel uncomfortable with hard truth. I want them to let the Word of God pierce them (Hebrews 4:12) just as it does me the more, I read and study it.

Ask yourself this question. “What kind of faith are you passing down to your children? What kind of Christianity are you teaching in your Sunday School classes? Your youth groups? Your Bible studies?”

Perhaps some of today’s generation are beginning to search for something more solid. Maybe they are done with the lights, the fog machines, the hype. But what do we have to offer?

Only ritualism and traditions? Or do we have an authentic, Bible based, God-fearing, but loving Christianity?

Are we training our men and women to search out the Scriptures? Are we truly discipling them?

There is a growing problem in our world today amongst Christians. Bible illiteracy. Bible illiteracy is widespread. Bible literacy is not dependant on church attendance – sitting in church each week doesn’t guarantee you will go home with a better understanding of the Bible or who God is.

Bible literacy involves a deeper awareness of the meaning of what’s in the Bible. It’s the ability to rightly read and understand the Bible by using the proper tools of study.

Bible literacy involves a person’s ability to read the Bible with enough understanding to explain its basic meaning and comprehend what is meant.

Bible Study goes even deeper than Bible literacy - it is more rigorous and detail-focused. It is research focused interpretation (known as exegesis- the careful analytical study of scripture). It involves more than reading for meaning. Bible study focuses on the world behind the text such as the biblical culture and context, the archaeology and geography that support the Bible.  The social issues and events at the time the writers wrote the text.

Bible study looks into the heart of the text through word studies and language meaning etc. But Bible study doesn’t need to be complex. (More on this is this post - Bible Study)

Studying the Bible naturally leads to increase in Bible literacy.

I think this is where we are failing our new converts. We are not properly teaching them how to read and study their Bibles. And it’s a shame. It leads to shallow Christianity. And shallow Christianity doesn’t hold up under pressure.

Discipleship is hard. And if you are someone who is working with a new Chrisitan, you’ll know it’s no walk in the park. But it is so worth it. We need to be raising a new generation of strong, faith-filled, deeply rooted, discerning, obedient, tested and tried and come forth as gold, Christians!

Let’s forgo the shallow Christianity and replace it something real! Don’t hide the truth. Let the truth speak for itself. Teach the truth. All the truth.

John 8:32 KJV - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.