What Does It Look Like to Entrust Our Kids to the Lord in a Secular World?

What does it look like to entrust our kids to the Lord in a secular world? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

And we do get some difficult ones at times. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. You can watch Adriel live in the studio right now on our YouTube channel and send us a message through YouTube. And of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Glenda. There is a saying that, once saved, always saved. I've seen in my family that people, once they get saved, they believe they can do whatever they want, and they'll be saved.

I don't know if it's antinomianism, but can you please, Pastor, elaborate on this false teaching? Once saved, always saved. Thank you, Pastor. I still enjoy your radio show.

Hey, Glenda, thank you for that question. Yeah, it is truly a tragedy when you have individuals who say, oh, you know, I believed in Jesus. I said a prayer. You know, went up for the altar call or raised my hand when the pastor said, would you like to accept Jesus into your heart?

And they did, right? They did this prayer. Sort of went through these motions, but continue to live as an enemy of God, frankly, rejecting his word, rejecting his truth, rejecting his law. Now, that's what antinomianism is. Antinomian, it refers to lawlessness. It's a rejection of God's law. And of course, any Christian who says that the law of God doesn't matter today, that we're not called to obey God's law, the moral law, there's serious issues there. And with regard to the question of once saved, always saved, I mean, I think there's another issue there as well.

It sounds to me like this individual is maybe appealing to that phrase in order to give themselves comfort. I do believe that once an individual is born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that they're kept by the Lord, that they'll persevere in faith and that God is going to sanctify them by his Spirit. But there is false teaching out there with regard to this. I mean, one passage of scripture that I think you might share with this family member, with friends who seem to be living this way. Paul says in Romans chapter 6, and really after talking about the Gospel for a couple of chapters of salvation that we've received, he says in Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? When you preach the free Gospel, when you say God forgives sinners freely, solely on the merits of Christ, people say, well, if that's the case, then I can just go on sinning, living however I want. God forgives me, and I'm just going to go and continue to do what I want to do.

Paul says, no, you've missed it. Should we go on sinning, continue in sin so that God's grace may abound even more? By no means, he says, how can we who died to sin still live in it. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. If you believe in Jesus Christ and you've been sealed by the Holy Spirit, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1, your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, and you are called, we are called as Christians by faith, in love, to follow the Lord, to fulfill, Paul goes on to say in Romans chapter 8, the righteous requirements of the law through Christ by faith. And so, brothers and sisters, this is a serious thing, and I would encourage you and maybe this family member to dig into Romans chapters 6 through 8, and to really see, I mean, if he is just, you know, I accepted Jesus into my heart and now I'm living, you know, however I want, to really see just the deception there. This individual is deceived, not understanding the grace of God, it seems like, not understanding the severity of sin and what God calls us to in repentance, and so really important that we get this right and appreciate, Glenda, that you've called in with this question. Glenda, thanks so much for your question and for listening to CORE Christianity.

Our phone lines are open. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, the number is 833-THE-CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Steve calling in from Orangeburg, Missouri.

Steve, what's your question for Adriel? Well, we've always heard that Jesus is referred to as the Son of God, and I was wondering why that is. Yeah, why is Jesus in the Gospels referred to as sometimes the Son of Man, sometimes he's referred to as the Son of God. One passage of scripture, I think, that highlights what's going on there is found in the Gospel of John in John chapter 10, a really interesting back and forth between Jesus and the religious leaders.

I'm going to begin in verse 31 of John chapter 10. The Jews picked up stones again to stone Jesus, and Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father, for which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him, It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.

Now, why are they thinking this? Well, in part, it's because Jesus was referring to himself as the Son of God. And so, again, he goes down in verse 34, Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, You are blaspheming because I said, I am the Son of God? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.

But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works. Believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. So here, in one sense, one of the things we get really clearly here is a claim to deity. Jesus saying, I am the Son of God, equal with the Father. And this gets into the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as well, Steve. We believe that God the Father is unbekotten, eternally unbekotten, if you will. The origin, the source, that Jesus is the eternal Son of God.

Begotten of the Father before all worlds, that is not in time, but eternally. Jesus didn't begin to be the Son of God at his birth, during the time of the Incarnation. He's always been, according to Holy Scripture, the Son of the Father.

And the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally, we believe, from the Father and the Son. And so, one, we're getting into the doctrine of the Trinity, but two, and just based on that that passage that I read to you there in John chapter 10, Jesus referring to himself as the Son of God, highlighting the fact that he is so much more than just a good teacher, a moral example, a spiritual guru. Too often, today, that's what people assume that Jesus was, that Jesus was a great religious teacher. I like the teachings of Jesus.

Well, no, Jesus claimed to be so much more, and the people that lived in Jesus' day, the religious leaders who heard him speaking, realized that he claimed to be so much more, and that's one of the reasons they picked up stones to kill him there in John chapter 10, or to try to kill him there. And so, Steve, thanks for your question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to a voicemail that we received from one of our callers earlier this week. I was just wondering if you have any verses of encouragement for parents nowadays, just with all the things our kids are facing. I've got little kids, and I worry a lot about just their future and what they'll be exposed to. I protect them as much as I can, but, you know, they have to also be in the world, and with all the ideologies, I feel very overwhelmed as a parent. So just something of comfort, some kind of verses that I can hold onto as a mom. Obviously, I pray for my kids, but I would just love your advice of, I don't know, how to feel encouraged when there's so many overwhelming things going on. Thank you. Yeah.

Well, you're not alone. I mean, I have similar concerns for my own children as well, and so the first thing I want to do is pray for you, and also pray for all those who are in the same boat. I mean, we want to see our kids know and love Jesus and walk with Jesus in the midst of the world that we live in, and with all of the challenges, I think, that young people face today, that our kids face and are going to face as they get older.

And so let's first pray. Father, thank you that you love us. Thank you that you love our children. Thank you, God, that you care for them even more than we do, Lord. I mean, sometimes it's so hard for us to understand and to grasp that, Lord, but that you love us, you love our children.

I pray, Father, for all the parents who are wrestling with this question, that you would help them, Lord. First, to entrust their children to you and to trust God in you, and secondly, Lord, for all of us, Lord, to be diligent to instruct our children, to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to be godly examples in the home and bringing our children to church and teaching them the doctrines of our holy religion. Lord, we know that it's only by the grace of your Holy Spirit that they believe and are saved. And so, Lord, I pray that you would do that work, Lord, as we do what you call us to do, that you would work in the hearts of our children, sealing them by your glorious Holy Spirit and bringing all of your promises, Lord, the promises in your Word to fruition for us and for our children, as you say. And so we look to you, God, in Jesus' name.

Amen. Sister, the passage of Scripture that I think I would go to is, just in terms of a comfort, is in 2 Timothy 1. This is a verse I just really love. It's Paul writing to Timothy, and he says to Timothy, beginning in verse 3, I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy, and I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you as well. You see this sort of idea of passing the faith on, if you will. I'm reminded of the fact, Paul says, that this faith that is in you was first in your grandmother and in your mother. Well, how did it get into Timothy as well?

I think that there's a clue in chapter 3. In verse 15, Paul says to Timothy, how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred scriptures, with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And that's our job as parents, sister, to expose our children to the word of God. Yes, there are so many voices that they hear, that we hear in society, in culture, that are out there, and many of those voices are lying to our children about what's valuable, about what's true, about who God is, about their worth and where they get worth, and that's why it's so important for us as Christian parents to expose our children to the truth of God's word, to take our children to church every week to hear the preaching of the word, to have conversations about the Lord in the home, to pray together, to serve together. That should be a part of our lives, of our families.

It should be normal to talk about Jesus, to talk about scripture, to sing, to pray. And that's how, I mean, Paul says faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ in Romans chapter 10. And so we are called as parents to expose one another and our children to the word of Christ. And so often through that word, God creates faith in the hearts of His people and in the hearts of our children. And so that's a comfort for us, knowing ultimately, God is the one who's in control, and He uses His word. And so my encouragement to you would be to be rooted in the word as a family and to grow together and to know that it's that word that stabilizes us, that anchors us in the midst of a society, a culture that's going all over the place. And so God bless you and be with you in the work that you're doing as a mother, and so grateful for you, sister. You're listening to Core Christianity, and we actually have an offer that ties in with that last question, and it's our new Faith and Family collection from Core Christianity.

Yeah, Bill, this is a great offer that we're really excited about sharing with our listeners. You know, families can be a training ground, as I just said, with that previous question. That's why at Core Christianity we've created a new resource on faith and family available over at our website for a gift of any amount. It's a collection that includes questions and answers from the show, articles and bonus materials about marriage, parenting, sexuality, and dating, relationships, how to answer the questions that our children have even as they're asking questions about the Bible and theology. And so head over to corechristianity.com to get ahold of this resource, again, a resource that we believe is very important in light of the fact that we need to be talking about these things with our children. We're grateful for your support. By the way, you can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash family. That's corechristianity.com forward slash family to look for our new Faith and Family collection from Core Christianity. Well, our phone lines are open.

If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, you name it, we would love to hear from you. We'll be taking calls for the next eight minutes or so. So now's the time to jump on the phone. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Eric who's calling in from Iowa Falls, Iowa. Eric, what's your question for Adriel? Hi. I have a question. Can you hear me?

Yeah, I can hear you, Eric. I have a question. Recently, I go to a religion church, Missouri Senate, and recently I was sitting with a person from a sister church in the same Senate, and she was telling me that she had concern about the Lutheran Church, Missouri Senate, saying that she thought it was too conservative, and then she also said that she thought that they talked too much about Martin Luther, like he was a god, a man of God. Now, I haven't had that experience myself.

They do talk about now and then. And then some other people say that liturgical worship is not, you know, sort of boring. So I just wanted to get your feedback on those criticisms about the church.

Yeah. Eric, thanks for that question. The last one there, you know, some people say that liturgical worship is boring. That one gets me right in the heart because, you know, our church, the church that I pastor is, I mean, every church has a liturgy, but I think what you mean by that is, you know, liturgical worship, where there's more structure, more order, the singing of psalms and hymns and scripture readings, you know, Old Testament reading, New Testament reading, prayers, written prayers oftentimes. I mean, that's very much what the service looks like at the church that I pastor as well.

And some people, you know, sometimes they'll say, well, isn't that just dry, boring, that kind of a thing? You know, we like the spontaneity, the spirit-filled worship. But the reality is, is liturgy, I mean, we're talking about God's Word here. These rituals, especially biblical rituals, rituals that we see in scripture, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the preaching of the Word, the reading of Holy Scripture, rituals aren't dead. Worship isn't dead, quote, unquote.

People are dead or alive. I mean, the issue so often is the heart. In the Old Testament, God had prescribed very clearly how he wanted to be worshipped. There were a lot of rituals involved. And sure, people could go through the motions, and God often rebuked them when they did. Isaiah chapter 1 is a good example. God says to them, when you raise your hands to me, I'm not going to hear your prayers.

Your hands are full of blood. And so the criticism with regard to worship style, right, that different people have different preferences, but we want to make sure, first and foremost, that we're worshiping God according to his Word, that the Gospel is central, that the Word of God is central, that Christ crucified is being preached. And I think that that's key. That's the most important thing.

And so, you know, people might say, I don't really like that, or it seems boring to me. But at the end of the day, that's what God calls us to focus on in worship is Jesus. The Gospel, the cross, Scripture, faithfulness to holy Scripture. With regard to the theology of the Church and how conservative, I guess it just depends on where this friend is coming from, what they believe about Scripture, what they believe about the core tenets of the Christian faith. As far as I know, and of course I'm not Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

I'm a Presbyterian minister. But as far as I know, I mean, I have friends who are a part of that Church, a part of that denomination. And I think that it seems to have a high view of Scripture, a high view of God's Word, a high view of the core doctrines of the Christian faith, all things that I would really just say amen to. And we know that today in our society there are many people who are rejecting the authority of Scripture, the centrality of the Gospel. And so if this friend is coming from that perspective, maybe a minimizing of holy Scripture, well then that's something that I think needs to be graciously and lovingly challenged.

And then with regard to emphasizing one man over another, a certain theologian, I think that this can be a valid criticism. All of us can fall into this trap, and it was something that was happening in the days of the apostles. I think of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 10 where he said to the Corinthian Church, I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

It has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He's saying, look, let's not have that kind of sectarian attitude where, you know, my guy is this individual. No, we want to focus on the Word of God. And that doesn't mean we don't benefit from and aren't blessed by these wonderful theologians, men that God has used mightily in the history of the Church, men like Martin Luther, and I think that's good.

We should read these guys and benefit from them. But we don't worship them. And, you know, Luther didn't die on the cross for my sins.

And, of course, he wouldn't ever make any kind of suggestion like that. He would say, fix your eyes on Christ and Him crucified. And so that's what we're called to do in the Church. Eric, appreciate your question. May the Lord bless you as you continue to seek Him. Eric, thanks so much for being a regular listener to CORE Christianity.

We do appreciate you. Well, Nancy called in from Missouri. She has this question. She says, my daughter is now going to a Greek Orthodox Church. It seems very doctrinally different to me.

Should I be concerned about that? Hey, Nancy, thank you for that question. Well, okay, so when we're thinking about the Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church here, there are some significant theological differences, certainly with Protestantism generally. I mean, differences with regard to Church government, differences with regard to the doctrine of salvation, that is, how we're saved.

You know, in Protestant theology, coming out of the Reformation, there was a really strong emphasis on the doctrine of justification, the fact that we're declared righteous, not on the basis of anything that we've done, but solely through the merits of Christ, the imputation, we say, of His righteousness to us by faith. And that's not something that you really find talked about as much in Orthodox Churches. There's a difference with regard to how they understand salvation. There are similarities, thankfully, with regard to some core beliefs and thinking about stuff related to the doctrine of the Trinity. But even there, there are some differences, stuff related to the deity of Jesus Christ.

So I think there are things we can celebrate in terms of similarities, but there are significant differences. And, you know, one book that I might recommend to you, actually, you know, we're oftentimes recommending Dr. Michael Horton's book, Core Christianity, here. That could be a good book to share, but he also contributed to a book some years ago on Eastern Orthodoxy. And I think it's a three views book on Eastern Orthodoxy with different contributors sort of going back and forth with some of the similarities, some of the differences. And so I would say look up that book, Dr. Michael Horton, Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy.

I think that's the title, and I think that'll be helpful as you consider this question more and you want to bring information to your daughter. And so may the Lord bless you, Nancy, and encourage you in those discussions and be with your family. Thanks for your question. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the Core. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.