Walking Away

According to a Christian apologetics website, "The statistics still indicate that approximately 70% of children raised in Christian homes WILL WALK AWAY from Christ when they start college with less than half that returning later in their adult lives. Why? The reasons vary, but the most common one we come across is easily avoidable. They were not prepared for common secular objections against the existence of God and the truth of Christianity." What are we to make of this? One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to never accept the premise of an argument. When it comes to children "walking away" from Christ when they start college, the question should be, "What is their understanding of the Gospel?" The Bible talks about different gospels, half gospels, and false gospels. If you understand the true Gospel you know that you cannot "walk away" from Christ. He goes with you. What people are walking away from is the error they believe. 

Shrugged their Shoulders

Years ago, a self-proclaimed Christian friend and I were having a conversion. Along the way, I asked them a question. "What is your understanding of the Gospel," I said.  They looked at me sheepishly and did not say a word. They shrugged their shoulder to symbolize, "I don't know." I followed up with two questions. "What is it that you accepted that allows you to call yourself a Christian?" Then I asked, "What do you tell others about Jesus Christ?" I don't remember their reply. It may not sound like it, but this was a conversation between friends. I was not trying to put them on the spot or trying to make them feel as if they weren't Christians or that I was the authority in their life. It was my curiosity. Unfortunately, the response of my friend is not uncommon. Could these college students be like my friend? Not knowing the basics of the faith, yet calling themselves Christians? It is a lot easier to be led astray when you don't know the foundation of what you claim to believe. The Bible says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16)." If you are shrugging your shoulders about the Gospel, it is time to ask God if He is within you at all and if He will explain the Gospel to you. 

Set up for Failure

"One of the main reasons is that most Sunday school curricula only teaches disconnected Bible stories. They don't teach how we know the Bible is true, how to defend the faith, and how to answer the skeptical questions of today." This is a quote by Christian author and speaker, Ken Ham. This may give us insight as to why college kids "walk away" from Christ. Before a person becomes a college student, they are a high school student. Before they are high school students, they are middle school students. Before they become middle school students, they are elementary school students. Before they are elementary school students, they are in kindergarten. But, one thing that is common between these levels of education is that they have parents they come home to each night. Ephesians 6:4 says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." How can you train and instruct your children in the things of the Lord if you are not doing it at home? Secondly, are the parents trained and instructed in the things of the Lord? If they are not, we cannot expect them to teach their children. This leads to them being trained in the things of the world (evolution, moral relativism, secular humanism, all religious beliefs are equal, etc) from godless public schools, universities, and even many Sunday School classes at churches all over the world. And we can't forget the influence of pop culture as well. Kids are being set up for failure from the beginning; left to face the world with no fuel in their spiritual gas tank. Is it surprising the percentage of college kids who "walk away" from Christ isn't higher than 70%?

The Wrong "god"

How many of us are familiar with verses like Jeremiah 29:11, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 7:7, 1 Peter 2:24, and similar verses? These verses have been twisted, misused, and used as proof texts so often that it leads to Christians believing God for things He has not promised and not believing in those things He has given to them as an inheritance of their faith in Jesus Christ. They end up thinking God wants them rich, healthy, in happy marriages, with perfect children, having great careers, etc. Often, these rewards are tied to the individual's behavior as measured by personal or church standards, but rarely by God's. When their lives are the opposite of what they believe God has planned for them, they "walk away" from Christ. Who wants a God that doesn't live up to His promises or makes the requirement to receive them impossible to achieve? The question to ask people who have "walked away" for these types of reasons is, "Do you feel you have the wrong god?" If they answer, "Yes, I do," then they are in a good place. God didn't promise us physical blessings. He promised us Himself. Knowing the difference will change your life. The Bible teaches us that we will "always have the poor (John 12:8), that "in this world, you will have trouble (John 16:33)," and not to think "something strange were happening to you if you suffer for being a Christian (1 Peter 4:12)." This is not to say that things like health, wealth, and happy lives are anti-Christian. It is to say that they are not promised to us. 

Walk with the Lord

What is a Christian home? Most estimates say that there are about 2.4 billion people in the world identifying as Christians. According to Live Science, "There are more than 45,000 denominations globally." Regardless of whether these numbers are accurate, the point is easy to see. If there are 2.4 billion Christians in the world, there are probably the same amount of definitions for what is a Christian. Therefore, you probably have just as many answers to what is a Christian home. If the percentage of college kids purported to have "walked away" from Christ is accurate, how many of those 2.4 billion Christians are ready to leave or have left their faith? Thankfully, the Bible tells us "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:33)." Since God is not behind the confusion that means we can leave it up to Him to discern what is true and whose hearts are truly His. God knows His children regardless of what categories we put ourselves and others in. This doesn't mean that all these different beliefs and denominations are true. There is only one truth on every subject and God knows it. The Church is not made up of denominational affiliations nor is God hindered by all our poor teaching and discipleship that permeates the body of Christ. If a person is truly born-again of the Spirit of God, it may be a good thing that they "walked away" because God can now work on them at His pace apart from the noise that pushed them away. God said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)." What we define as someone "walking away" from Christ, could be the first time in that person's life that they can begin to "walk with" the Lord. Be encouraged.