tual passivity in Christian men traces its roots all the way
back to Genesis, to the very beginning of mankind itself.
Instead of protecting and shielding his wife from the
serpent’s influence, Adam stood idly by while she was
tempted into sin. When husbands and fathers fail to
initiate that leadership and influence, a void is created,
and women typically see the need and step in to fill it.
According to Scripture, the home, above everywhere
else, is the epicenter of spiritual development. It is the
primary place where the baton of faith is passed on or
dropped. God’s command to Moses in Deuteronomy
6:5–9 speaks to the practical, daily nature of imparting
faith to our children. It begins by “loving the Lord your
God with all your heart.” A dynamic relationship with
God is a dad’s greatest asset. And that requires knowing
both God’s Son, Jesus, and God’s Word, the Bible.
Unfortunately, in our fallen world, many homes are
broken. Mothers and others must often raise the children
alone. But God promises to fill the gaps for the “father-
less and widow.”
The Role of the Local Church
Through what Paul called a “falling away from the faith”
(1 Tim 4:1, ASV), many churches and even denomina-
tions have abandoned the faith Jesus commanded them
to pass on. What was Paul’s remedy for this coming
epidemic of apostasy? Stay true to the Word of God (1
Tim 4:16)!
Paul admonished pastor Timothy with these timely
words: “But you must continue in the things which you
have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom
you have learned them, and that from childhood you
have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus” (2 Tim 3:14–15).
Two words stand out in Paul’s admonition. The first
is “learned.” Timothy had been taught the Scripture
“from childhood,” faithfully passed down to him from his
grandmother to his mother, and then finally to Timothy
(2 Tim 1:5). And now Timothy was doing the same thing
with “faithful men,” who in turn were to “teach others
also” (2 Tim 2:1–2).
Many churches today are focused on using their church
services and ministries for evangelistic purposes, often
“If the education system
is not for Christ, then it
is against Him.”
to the neglect of equipping believers. But the church’s
primary job is to train (disciple) followers of Christ, not
to reach the world (Eph 4:11–16). Believers themselves
are to be salt and light, reaching the lost with the gospel
“as they are going” into the world (Mt 28:18–20). We are
to gather for edification and equipping and to scatter
into the world for evangelism.
Sadly, many churches think entertainment is what the
twenties generation wants, instead of giving them the
answers they need to know so they can trust God’s Word
from the beginning. Personally, I’ve found the twenties
generation are hungry for answers! But the church also
needs to be involved in training men to be husbands and
fathers, and women to be wives and mothers.
What this says to us is that pastors should teach the
whole Bible to the believers in the church. Not that they
have to cover every detail in Scripture’s 66 books, but the
idea is that fathers and families are given a solid working
understanding of the Bible as a whole, along with an
ability to understand and articulate a defense of God’s
Word and God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Public School, Private Decision
Earlier I pointed out that an “elephant in the room” was
the fact that so many Christian leaders have compro-
mised with millions of years or ignore this strategic issue.
But there’s another “elephant in the room.” Nearly 90% of
kids from church homes attend government-run schools
in the United States.
Both the National Education Association teacher
union and the Department of Education claim that
public schools are neutral and not religious. But that
is simply untrue. Through required curricula, public
schools are imposing the religion of naturalism or athe-
ism on generations of students.
Now, I realize this is a very emotional topic for people.
But I ask you to consider it from a biblical perspective.
The Bible teaches, “He who is not with Me is against Me,
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