Those who remain in church:)

3 Common Traits of Youth Who Don’t Leave the Church

What is it that sets apart the kids who stay in the church? This does–and it’s a must read.

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“What do we do about our kids?” The group of parents sat together in my office, wiping their eyes. I’m a high school pastor, but for once, they weren’t talking about 16-year-olds drinking and partying. Each had a story to tell about a “good Christian” child, raised in their home and in our church, who had walked away from the faith during the college years. These children had come through our church’s youth program, gone on short-term mission trips, and served in several different ministries during their teenage years. Now they didn’t want anything to do with it anymore. And, somehow, these mothers’ ideas for our church to send college students “care packages” during their freshman year to help them feel connected to the church didn’t strike me as a solution with quite enough depth.

The daunting statistics about church-going youth keep rolling in. Panic ensues. What are we doing wrong in our churches? In our youth ministries?

It’s hard to sort through the various reports and find the real story. And there is no one easy solution for bringing all of those “lost” kids back into the church, other than continuing to pray for them and speaking the gospel into their lives. However, we can all look at the 20-somethings in our churches who are engaged and involved in ministry. What is it that sets apart the kids who stay in the church? Here are just a few observations I have made about such kids, with a few applications for those of us serving in youth ministry.

1. They are converted.

The Apostle Paul, interestingly enough, doesn’t use phrases like “nominal Christian” or “pretty good kid.” The Bible doesn’t seem to mess around with platitudes like: “Yeah, it’s a shame he did that, but he’s got a good heart.” When we listen to the witness of Scripture, particularly on the topic of conversion, we find that there is very little wiggle room. Listen to these words: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17) We youth pastors need to get back to understanding salvation as what it really is: a miracle that comes from the glorious power of God through the working of the Holy Spirit.

We need to stop talking about “good kids.” We need to stop being pleased with attendance at youth group and fun retreats. We need to start getting on our knees and praying that the Holy Spirit will do miraculous saving work in the hearts of our students as the Word of God speaks to them. In short, we need to get back to a focus on conversion. How many of us are preaching to “unconverted evangelicals”? Youth pastors, we need to preach, teach, and talk—all the while praying fervently for the miraculous work of regeneration to occur in the hearts and souls of our students by the power of the Holy Spirit! When that happens—when the “old goes” and the “new comes”—it will not be iffy. We will not be dealing with a group of “nominal Christians.” We will be ready to teach, disciple, and equip a generation of future church leaders—“new creations”!—who are hungry to know and speak God’s Word. It is converted students who go on to love Jesus and serve the church.

2. They have been equipped, not entertained.

Recently, we had “man day” with some of the guys in our youth group. We began with an hour of basketball at the local park, moved to an intense game of 16” (“Chicago Style”) softball, and finished the afternoon by gorging ourselves on meaty pizzas and 2-liters of soda. I am not against fun (or gross, depending on your opinion of the afternoon I just described) things in youth ministry. But youth pastors especially need to keep repeating the words of Ephesians 4:11-12 to themselves: “[Christ] gave…the teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Christ gives us—teachers—to the church, not for entertainment, encouragement, examples, or even friendship primarily. He gives us to the church to “equip” the saints to do gospel ministry in order that the church of Christ may be built up.

If I have not equipped the students in my ministry to share the gospel, disciple a younger believer, and lead a Bible study, then I have not fulfilled my calling to them, no matter how good my sermons have been. We pray for conversion; that is all we can do, for it is entirely a gracious gift of God. But after conversion, it is our Christ-given duty to help fan into flame a faith that serves, leads, teaches, and grows. If our students leave high school without Bible-reading habits, Bible-study skills, and strong examples of discipleship and prayer, we have lost them. We have entertained, not equipped them…and it may indeed be time to panic!

Forget your youth programs for a second. Are we sending out from our ministries the kind of students who will show up to college in a different state, join a church, and begin doing the work of gospel ministry there without ever being asked? Are we equipping them to that end, or are we merely giving them a good time while they’re with us? We don’t need youth group junkies; we need to be growing churchmen and churchwomen who are equipped to teach, lead, and serve. Put your youth ministry strategies aside as you look at that 16-year-old young man and ask: “How can I spend four years with this kid, helping him become the best church deacon and sixth-grade Sunday school class teacher he can be, ten years down the road?”

3. Their parents preached the gospel to them.

As a youth pastor, I can’t do all this. All this equipping that I’m talking about is utterly beyond my limited capabilities. It is impossible for me to bring conversion, of course, but it is also impossible for me to have an equipping ministry that sends out vibrant churchmen and churchwomen if my ministry is not being reinforced tenfold in the students’ homes. The common thread that binds together almost every ministry-minded 20-something that I know is abundantly clear: a home where the gospel was not peripheral but absolutely central. The 20-somethings who are serving, leading, and driving the ministries at our church were kids whose parents made them go to church. They are kids whose parents punished them and held them accountable when they were rebellious. They are kids whose parents read the Bible around the dinner table every night. And they are kids whose parents were tough but who ultimately operated from a framework of grace that held up the cross of Jesus as the basis for peace with God and forgiveness toward one another.

This is not a formula! Kids from wonderful gospel-centered homes leave the church; people from messed-up family backgrounds find eternal life in Jesus and have beautiful marriages and families. But it’s also not a crapshoot. In general, children who are led in their faith during their growing-up years by parents who love Jesus vibrantly, serve their church actively, and saturate their home with the gospel completely, grow up to love Jesus and the church. The words of Proverbs 22:6 do not constitute a formula that is true 100 percent of the time, but they do provide us with a principle that comes from the gracious plan of God, the God who delights to see his gracious Word passed from generation to generation: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Youth pastors, pray with all your might for true conversion; that is God’s work. Equip the saints for the work of the ministry; that is your work. Parents, preach the gospel and live the gospel for your children; our work depends on you.

R13 Matt Chandler

R13 Greg Laurie

R13 Matt Chandler

R13 Greg Laurie

Kevin DeYoung

Standing Firm!!!

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Part One: The Ultimate Proof

Can We Prove the Bible Is True?

by Mike Matthews

February 23, 2011

Layman

Keywords

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Jesus Christ and His followers were fearless when it came to proclaiming God’s Word. What gave them such boldness and self-assuredness? They knew without a shadow of doubt the eternal power and absolute trustworthiness of each word in scripture. They also knew that the Holy Spirit went before them, impressing hearers with the truth of His Word.

You’re sharing the gospel and out of the blue you’re asked, “How do you know the Bible is true?” How would you answer?

If you’ve read much on the subject, you’ve probably come across long lists of “proofs”—amazing prophecies, archaeological discoveries, and the like. Yet this emphasis can get some important points backward, if the Bible is to be our guide.

Jesus Christ’s own conversations shed light on the correct approach. Through His often-surprising responses, we see that Christ’s goal was to honor God’s Word and expose His hearers’ pride and their failure to submit to the Father’s unquestionable authority.

Special Section: Can You Prove the Bible is True?

Part One: The Ultimate Proof

Part Two: Seven Compelling Evidences

1. God’s Character
2. Claims of Divine Authorship
3. Unity of the Bible
4. Fulfilled Prophecy
5. Scientific Accuracy
6. Archaeological Finds
7. Life-Changing Power

While the Bible doesn’t give a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all formula for defending itself, it does give us all the guidelines we need. After all, God gave us the Scripture so we could be “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17).

First, Understand the Root Problem: Unbelief, Not Ignorance

God tells us in bold terms the root problem. It’s not the nonbelievers’ view of the Book; it’s their view of the Author. All people already know God because He is clearly seen in His creation, and His moral law is also written on their hearts (Romans 1:20; 2:15). But they “suppress,” or hold down, the truth in unrighteousness because their proud hearts are rebellious and they do not want to submit to the truth (Romans 1:18, 21–23; 2:14–15).

When people reject the Bible’s historical accounts of Creation and a global Flood, for example, Peter says they are “willfully” ignorant (2 Peter 3:5). It’s not a matter of evidence; they just don’t want to be convinced.

So it is a mistake to proceed as though the main problem is a lack of knowledge. Your hearers have a heart problem. They have rejected the God of the Bible even before they begin to consider whether His Word could be true.

Second, Rely on God’s Spirit and God’s Word to Convince Hearers

Modern intellectuals are no different from the proud Greeks of Paul’s day, who lived “in the futility of their thinking.” They were “darkened in their understanding . . . because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17–18).

How do you break through the darkness? It’s not enough to demolish their wrong beliefs by cold, hard logic. Blind men cannot see the truth except with new sight given by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Thankfully, God’s Spirit is already at work convicting sinners of their unbelief, using His Word as His primary tool. By relying on the Scripture’s own claims, rather than your wisdom or clever arguments, God empowers His words to convict hearts and point them to Christ (seeJohn 16:12–15 and Hebrews 4:12).

Knowing this, the apostle Paul did not rely on “persuasive words of human wisdom” to overwhelm his listeners with intellectual arguments, which they might not even grasp (1 Corinthians 2:4). Instead, Paul spoke plainly to sinners “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that their faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).

Yet God does not demand blind faith. Our faith is reasonable. In fact, it is the only logical and reasonable choice available to mankind. And explaining that simple fact is the secret to a biblical defense of the Bible.

Third, the Bible Is—and Must Be—Its Own Ultimate Proof

Jesus indicated that the Bible gives enough information so that everyone can know the truth.

Jesus indicated that the Bible gives enough information so that everyone can know the truth and no other resource is better. “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,” Jesus told His Jewish listeners, “neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Even though Jesus was not addressing Gentiles, His words are based on a universal truth: the Bible is—and should be—our most persuasive tool.

How Do We Know Anything Is True?

Even though lots of other evidences confirm the Bible (and you should discuss them), your conversations aren’t likely to get very far unless you address the deeper question: “How do you know anything is true?”

When debating ultimate questions, everyone must eventually appeal to an ultimate standard. We can’t keep appealing to a higher and higher standard because the stairs must end somewhere.

Even secular logicians recognize this problem. Every philosophical system must start with presuppositions—starting points or assumptions— that cannot be proven from anything more basic, but are accepted up–front as the foundation for all subsequent reasoning.

The Bible claims to be this ultimate standard of truth, the “Word” given by the Almighty Creator God (see “2. Claims of Divine Authorship,” pp. 56–57). Most people point to one of three standards: their own personal opinion, public consensus, or great moral literature. But that is not an option if the Bible is true.

An appeal to any other standard, such as the opinions of people, automatically means you must reject the Bible as your ultimate standard. Don’t miss this point; it’s worth repeating! (Once you point this out, most people will recognize the problem.)

How Do We Choose the Correct “Ultimate Standard”?

Since we must appeal to some ultimate standard, the next question is how to determine the right one.

One—and only one—logical solution is available. The standard itself must be “self-attesting” and “self-authenticating.” In other words, it must speak for itself and defend itself in such a way that it (1) passes all its own standards of truth and (2) gives a foundation for successfully interpreting all other claims to truth.

Even before modern logicians recognized this limitation to every logical argument, God’s Word had already acknowledged and solved it.

Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6) and “God’s word is truth” (John 17:17). Jesus claimed to define what truth is, and He said God’s Word is the ultimate judge of truth (John 12:48). No truth exists apart from Him. As the Bible explains it, “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). So the Bible clearly claims an exalted position as the ultimate authority.

Moreover, God’s Word concludes that all other standards outside of Christ must be “empty” because they depend on “the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). For the Bible to appeal to any other authority would be to deny its own place as the ultimate standard. (We don’t need to bludgeon people with this truth, but the rightness of our position should encourage us.)

As it turns out, the only ultimate standard that can be logically self-authenticating is one that exactly matches the unique God of Scripture, who is true, holy, just, eternal, unchanging, and “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). He alone provides a solid foundation for knowledge and attests to His own truthfulness.

Your hearers won’t find an alternative that comes close to matching the biblical God, no matter how hard they try. But you don’t have to belabor this point. (They could spend many lifetimes searching!) A positive proclamation of the reasonableness of the Christian faith is enough to highlight the shortcomings of alternative worldviews.

God Appeals to Himself as the Ultimate Standard

God consistently appeals to His own word as the final authority. A good example is His promise to bless all nations through Abraham. How did He reassure Abraham that His words were true? He appealed to Himself as the highest court of appeal—“By Myself I have sworn” (Genesis 22:16).

Logically God can appeal to nothing higher than to Himself. As Hebrews 6:13 explains, “When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.”

Later, Christ made a similar claim. When the Roman governor Pilate questioned His authority, Christ appealed to His own authority: “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.”

Then Christ added, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Nobody recognizes His authority except those who are “of the truth”—those who first listen to Him! Christ didn’t even try to convince Pilate. Instead, He stated the truth as it really was and left Pilate to consider the weight of His words.

Pilate responded cynically, “What is truth?” but then, apparently moved by Christ’s words, he went out to tell the waiting crowd that he found no fault in Christ. The Son of God’s words had effectively spoken on His behalf.

An Appeal to the Bible Is Not Arbitrary

The Bible repeatedly claims to be God’s Word, the ultimate source of all truth, and it rejects all other claimants (again, see pp. 56–57). The Bible offers no neutral ground, which is the only reasonable demand from a source that claims to be the truth above all others.

The Scripture also says it was inspired by a God who sees everything, knows everything, communicates perfectly, and always tells the truth. In fact, He strongly desires to share the truth (see “1. God’s Character,” pp. 55–56). So choosing such an ultimate standard is not arbitrary!

The Bible is also consistent with itself, as any correct standard must be (see “3. Unity of the Bible,” pp. 58–59). Furthermore, it provides a robust foundation for correctly interpreting the world around us (see “5. Scientific Accuracy,” pp. 61–62). Despite centuries of merciless attacks upon its accuracy, the Bible has consistently proven to be true (see “6. Archaeological Finds,” pp. 62–63).

Fourth, Explain Other Evidences

Although God’s own assertion is the ultimate proof, it is proper and biblical to seek additional evidence.

Although God’s own assertion is the ultimate proof of the Bible, God encourages us to corroborate His testimony. Jesus did not expect His hearers to accept His testimony merely on His say-so. He said, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true” (John 5:31–32).

According to Jewish law, two or three witnesses were required to establish the truth of a matter in court (Deuteronomy 19:15). It is proper and biblical to seek additional evidence.

Jesus gave several other witnesses to the truth of His claims. For one, he mentioned John the Baptist, who was considered a prophet of the highest integrity among the Jews. But Jesus said He had a higher testimony than John’s: “I have greater witness than that of John” (John 5:34–36). Jesus cited these primary evidences to corroborate His claims:

1. His many miracles and other works (John 5:36)
2. The testimony of His Father, who spoke audibly from heaven at His baptism (John 5:36–37)
3. The witness of the Scriptures (John 5:39)
4. His coming bodily Resurrection (John 2:22)
5. The witness of the Holy Spirit, which continues to this day (John 15:26).

We weren’t present to hear John’s testimony, or to hear the Father speak from heaven, or to see Christ’s miracles and His resurrected body. Yet God gives us “a more sure word” (2 Peter 1:18–19, point 3 above) and the ongoing witness of the Spirit (point 5).

God understands our spiritual blindness, especially with regards to heavenly things, which we can’t see. Lots of other amazing evidences confirm Scripture. For example, any book inspired by a holy, righteous God should be error-free. And that’s just what we find.

God talks about earthly things, which we can see (see John 3:10–13). The Bible is filled with specific claims about history, human nature, science, and prophecy. After centuries of trying to find errors, skeptics have only succeeded in reaffirming the Bible’s pristine beauty, as the other articles in this special series attest.

Yet be careful not to rely on external evidences. Since all people are blinded sinners, they resist the truth and refuse to believe even the most obvious evidences, assuming they just don’t have enough information to prove you wrong. You will end up talking in circles.

Based on the Bible’s own example, you should point them to the only true ultimate standard, the Bible’s own claims about itself. Ultimately we trust the Bible, not because we can prove it from other sources but because we trust the One who made us and then gave us His Word.

Historical reliability of the Bible!!

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6. Archaeological Finds

Seven Compelling Evidences

by Scott Lanser

March 20, 2011

Layman

Keywords

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• archaeology
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• bible
• infallibility-and-inerrancy-of-scripture

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Archaeologists once boasted that the Bible was full of errors because no independent, historic evidence had been found to confirm the Bible’s claims. But a slew of astounding discoveries has put a damper on their boasting.

Archaeology provides us with fascinating and amazing affirmations of Scripture’s accuracy and trustworthiness. Indeed, it is one of the most effective ways to open a conversation with your friends about the Bible.

After two hundred years of archaeological excavation and discovery, we have a powerful arsenal of important finds that will leave the most adamant skeptics of the Bible pondering! As you talk to people about these discoveries, help them to clear away their doubts and the lies they have heard—and maybe even come to believe—about the Bible.

Here are a series of astounding discoveries that you can share with those who question the Bible’s veracity. This list covers approximately one thousand years of biblical history from the time of King David down to the time of Jesus. As you read this list, note how the accounts of so many key events and people of the Bible are confirmed by these amazing archaeological finds. It would be well worth your time to study and memorize these important findings.

The Tel Dan Stele (900–850 BC)

A stele is an upright stone that is inscribed and used as a monument of an important event or achievement. Rulers and peoples from Egypt, Israel, and across Mesopotamia used these steles to commemorate great victories and accomplishments. This particular stele is extraordinary because carved on its stone face is the expression, “House of David.” This stele affirms that the United Monarchy under King David existed in history and flatly contradicts the long-held opinions of skeptics who denied that David ever existed.

©2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com

The Meesha Stele (846 BC)

Popularly known as the Moabite Stone, it records the revolt of Meesha, King of Moab, against Israel. This incredible stele mentions Omri, King of Israel, and David of the United Monarchy. It even refers to Yahweh, the unique name of the God of Israel! Together with the testimony from the Tel Dan Stele, we have a powerful external witness that the Bible records the true history of the kings of Israel and their interactions with foreign kings.

BiblePlaces.com/Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

The Nabonidus Cylinder (550 BC)

King Nabonidus of Babylonia left a magnificent cuneiform cylinder (wedge-shaped letters inscribed on a clay cylinder) mentioning his elder son, Belshazzar by name. Critics of the Bible had claimed for many years that the account in the book of Daniel was wrong; they said Belshazzar was never a king in Babylon and that Nabonidus was not his father. The discovery of this cylinder clearly showed that these scholars were dead wrong. Indeed, we can now understand the meaning of Daniel 5:16 more precisely where it says, “Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom” (italics added for emphasis).

This text now makes perfect sense because Nabonidus was in a coregency with his son Belshazzar, who was the crown prince of Babylon. So that would make Daniel the “third ruler in the kingdom.”

©2011 The British Museum

Caiaphas Ossuary

An ossuary was a box constructed to hold the bones of the dead after decomposition. In 1990 a startling discovery was made that shook biblical scholars and archaeologists alike. In the Peace Forest section of Jerusalem was discovered a burial cave containing twelve ossuaries, one of them being none other than that of Caiaphas, the high priest who presided at the trial of Jesus. This amazing discovery provides us with a powerful historical connection to the events described in the Gospels.

©2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com

Pilate Dedication Stone

In June 1961 an inscription on a limestone block, found at a Roman amphitheater in Caesarea Maritima, rocked the scholarly world. The block, which was once used as a dedication stone of a nearby temple and now reused for seating at the local amphitheater, had an extraordinary inscription. It read: “Tiberieum, (Pon)tius Pilatus, (Praef)ectus Iuda(eae).” Those scholars who questioned Pilate’s existence (and the gospel accounts generally) were silenced with this amazing discovery!

©2011 Zev Radovan, www.BibleLandPictures.com

Many more archaeological discoveries wait to be uncovered and shared with your friends. If someone raises a question about some biblical claim that has not been independently verified, you can share some of these examples to show that “silence” is not evidence against Scripture.

I also hope that this brief list will inspire you to dig deeper and use archaeology as a powerful tool in contending for the Word of God and the faith that has been entrusted to us!

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