Genuine Christians Can Make a Difference

Walter G. Fremont, Ed.D.

Since the end of World War II, American culture has undergone a profound change away from the stable home environments and the solid Christian morals and standards to a worldly, corrupt materialistic, hedonistic, and anti-God environment. This change, which has taken place relentlessly in the last 40 years, has been due to some important influences in our culture:

1. A redefinition of sin. Before 1940 the psychologists and psychiatrists were busy trying to convince their patients and others that psychological problems were not due to sin and wrong choices but were mainly due to mental illness caused by early childhood traumas and parental abuses. This reclassification of sin as mental illness or sickness excuses people from their responsibilities for sinning. The media quickly began to promote this idea until today people's abnormal behavior--killing, shooting, etc.--is labeled sick behavior as if some bacteria or virus has caused the problem instead of sin in their life. People should not be punished or jailed for being sick but should be treated instead.

   Certainly the medical profession is well aware of the fact that brain tumors, hardening of the arteries, anemia, lack of certain vitamins and minerals, reactions to certain substances, blows on the head injuring the brain, spirochetes, and viruses can alter the function of the brain and cause abnormal behavior. However, when there is not a medical cause needing medical treatment, these behaviors are caused by sin. As a well-known counselor has said, "Most people in mental hospitals are not sick, they are sinful." We cannot blame sinful behavior on society or early childhood influences, but we must blame it on the individual himself. To alleviate guilt feelings, the tendency now is to call sin by different terms: drunkenness becomes alcoholism; dope users become substance abusers; homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex, pedophilia, voyeurism, bestiality, and incest become an alternate lifestyle; and murder of babies and old folks becomes right of choice and mercy termination. (II Chronicles 7:14).

2. The breakdown of the home and family. The homes in which today's children and teens are developing are drastically different from those of 50 years ago. The mobility of society has minimized the security, control, and familiarity of the roots and heritage of the immediate and extended family which every child should have in his environment. Marriages were stable with the divorce rate at less than seventeen percent. The two parents created a solid base of security and acceptance which made children very bold and self-confident. Mothers were at home training their children, with less than ten percent of them working full time outside the home. The preschool years were happy playtime years with mothers thee monitor, teach, comfort, and guide. Now with the divorce rate near 50 percent, and with over 65 percent of today's mothers working full time, the love, counsel, and nurture that mothers formerly provided are woefully lacking. The stable underpinning of the family is not there to insulate children from the harsh and destructive forces of society and to give them the nurturing and security they need for instilling a set of values, a proper code of behavior, and good mental health. Fathers with their outside interests, irresponsible neglect, and even absence (24 percent of families with children are headed by a single parent) are not providing the necessary training and leadership. (Eph. 6:4; Prov. 29:15b).

3. Communication media. The mass media, with their subtle program for changing society, have given a warped, materialistic, and unrealistic view of life. Especially is this evidenced in television with its unbridled immoral and corrupting influences. The average child watches over 25 1/2 hours of television a week. Children today are influenced more by television than by school or home. Because television viewing requires only passive reception rather than the imagination and creative powers of the mind, excessive viewing easily changes a person's attitudes, values, and morals. (Psalm 101:3; II Corinthians 10:5).

4. Rock music. This music with its devilish, jungle rhythms of New Guinea, Haiti, and Africa can turn children on to orgiastic experiences as claimed by rock musicians themselves. The words of the music also have a powerful effect. In fact, some senators' wives got so upset about the words that they pressured the Senate Commerce Committee to hold hearings. The music industry was required to print the words of the songs on the jackets of the records or carry an advisory label so that the parents would know what their children were buying. (See Reader's Digest July, 1988, page 101, "How Shock Rock Harms our Kids.") (Phil. 1:10; Eph. 5:19).

5. Materialism. Americans, who live in the top one percent of the world's economic scale, are the most discontented people in the world largely because of the advertising industry. The "good life" and the "American dream" have become life's goal, and the love of money and the things that money will buy has captured the soul. A spirit of consumerism develops, which causes people to believe that happiness can be found by buying it, driving it, manipulating it, eating it, or drinking it. (I Tim. 6:5-11).

With these kinds of influences, it is no wonder that our culture has undergone a drastic change and has seriously affected the Christians of this generation. Even among Fundamentalists, Christianity tends to be superficial, materialistic, and worldly.

Ephesians 5:14 states, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Christians have been asleep while our culture has been crumbling. We are to be the salt of the earth, but the salt has lost its savor. We are to be the light in this world, but the light has grown dim.

Working through the homes, we can help to minimize these destructive influences. First, we can clearly define sin in our thinking and in our conversation by rejecting the present psychological viewpoint that problems are caused by early childhood influences and environment. These things can have an effect; however, people are not animals but are human beings with a unique mind to choose right from wrong and overcome even the worst background and environment. The Bible talks about choosing between God and false gods (Josh. 25:14-15), about purposing in one's heart (II Cor. 9:7), about being renewed in the spirit of one's mind (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23). These and many other Scripture verses emphasize the necessity of making up the mind to go the right direction.

Second, we can continually work on strengthening the home and family unit, making sure that our family is a testimony for permanence and love. Third, we can encourage the reduction and control of TV viewing in our homes by choosing the proper programs, which uplift and educate, using mainly educational instead of commercial TV programs, and encourage the reading of good books. (Call 1-800-845-5731 for Young Readers books from the BJU Press and 1-800-365-5772 for a catalog of inexpensive children's classics.)

Fourth, we can cut out rock music entirely from our homes and instead provide a wholesome environment of good music.

Fifth, we can start giving away money and things instead of seeking to acquire to achieve status and comfort. However, this is purely a defensive position, and we need to go on the offensive if we are ever going to change the culture for God to what it ought to be for the next generation.

If Jesus Christ were to walk into your office or home, and you were able to ask Him what were the reasons for the poor spiritual state of the young people in your community, school, or home, what would be His probable answer? He would most certainly reply that you have not been giving the right emphasis, and you have not been teaching important themes to insure spiritual growth and change the culture in God's direction. The emphasis in most Christian schools and homes has been on sports, entertainment, comfortable facilities, academics, and on a higher standard of living rather than on the spiritual training that the Christian schools and homes were designed to give. The main themes would be those He taught for 3 1/2 years and the main themes that are throughout His Word in both the Old and New Testaments. A search of the Gospels and the whole Bible would reveal these four dominant themes throughout: (1) faith, (2) love, (3) holiness, and (4) evangelism.

1. Faith. Bible faith starts at salvation. Faith cannot be properly developed until a person has a true born-again experience, getting his sins washed by the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; John 1:12). This faith theme developed in Hebrews 11, always involves hope, not only the hope of that eternal city (Heb. 11:9-10, 16; 13:14) but also the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Faith also involves a thorough knowledge of the principles of the Word of God. Romans 10:17, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Teaching your students to have regular devotions, memorize Scripture, and thoroughly study the Bible is very important in developing their faith. (Ps. 119).

   Trusting God when the circumstances are very bleak and seem to be working against them is also part of developing and strengthening their faith (Eph. 5:20; I Thess. 5:18; Rom. 8:28). (Most Christians have faith in God only as a last resort after their own efforts have failed.) Prayer and praise are essential in helping them to increase their faith (John 16:14; Ps. 107:8). As they see their prayers answered, their faith is strengthened. They begin to get a positive faith attitude (Phil. 4:8) instead of a negative devil attitude (II Cor. 10:5).

2. Love. Love is an unselfish, self-sacrificing desire to meet the needs of the cherished one. It involves understanding what the needs of the cherished person are, and then it involves giving to meet those needs (II Cor. 9:6-8). God mentions in Matthew 22:37-40 that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all the heart, mind, and soul and to "love they neighbor as thyself." I John 3 and 4 emphasize the importance of love and that God is love. If you do not have love in your heart for people, then you are not even born again.

   An aspect of love is compassion that reaches out to relieve, to restore, and to cause to rejoice (Phil. 2:1-4). I Corinthians 13 gives the characteristics of love, and John 13:34-35 gives us a new commandment that we are to love others as ourselves. James 2:1-8 indicates there is a royal law of love that should not be violated by prejudice against poor people or any other kinds of people. Having a genuine love for Jesus Christ makes it very easy for us to love people. Love also involves an attitude of servanthood (Eph. 5:21). Love helps us to be established in holiness (I Thess. 3:12, 13; Rom. 13:8-14).

3. Holiness. Sin and the flesh have an influence but no controlling power over the born-again Christian (Rom. 6:1-22). In the power of Christ, he can live a life of holiness, God demands holiness (I Peter 1:15, 16). Without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). The believer's body has become God's temple (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19), which God wants us to keep holy. Maintaining holiness requires discipline in our lives (Rom. 13:14; 14:16; I Thess. 5:22) and reacting properly to God's discipline (Heb. 12:10-13).

   Magnifying God's holiness always demands honesty (Eph. 4:25 and I Peter 2:12), purity (I Thess. 4:1-7; Eph. 5:1; and I Peter 2:11), and separation from the world (James 1:27 and 4:4; I John 2:15-16; and II Cor. 6:14-17), and from ecclesiastical compromise (Gal. 1:8-9; II John 9-11).

4. Evangelism. The great commission was given in all the Gospels and Acts. I Corinthians states "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame." God could have broadcast the message from the sky every hour, but instead, he chose us to herald the message. We need to practice constantly the five steps of evangelism: (1) inviting people out to church and gospel services; (2) carrying and passing out tracts; (3) giving our witness: telling people how we were saved and accompanying that with a number of Scripture verses on salvation so that the person can hear the Word of God and be convicted and be saved (Rom. 10:13); (4) winning a person to Jesus Christ and then discipling and teaching him all things (II Tim. 2:2); and (5) getting a ministry of some sort--a Sunday school class, bus route, jail service, child evangelism class, etc.

Even children can take these five steps and be trained in evangelism (Ps. 126:5-6).

The big question is how these four themes can best be taught to our children and other, having a good influence in our culture. With the right actions, each of us can have an impact.

1. Daily emphasize and model these four themes and make them lifelong standards, which you constantly exhibit before your own children, students, and peers.

2. Teach and preach these themes in devotions, church, chapel, classes, and various discussions that you have with others.
3. Use the 20 questions (Figure 1) to check up on your children and students and help them to check up on themselves in implementing these four themes in their life. Give them two copies to fill our, one to keep and the other to give back to you.
4. Initial various projects at school and home where they can put these themes into practice. For example, in devotion time help your children to decide that they are going to put love into practice in their own lives by taking as a love project the 80-year-old widow who lives down the street. They could prepare supper for her, clean her house, rake her leaves, dig the flower beds, and take her to the grocery store every week.
5. Pick out three born-again leaders in your church, school, or neighborhood and pray for them daily and teach them these themes. Urge these leaders to live be them, and seek daily guidance from God to help them to manifest these themes in their lives.

It is only through the power of Jesus Christ working in and through born-again Christians that anything can be accomplished. "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). Each born-again Christian must decide that he is going to change the culture in which he lives by living and teaching these themes. In the home children will be greatly affected as they observe their parents. In the community, neighbors will be affected as they see Christians activating these themes. In business, corporate leaders will be influenced as they see their partners and employees living these themes. There will be revivals in churches and Christian schools if enough Christians decide to make the changes to bring their lives into line with God's themes. If any changes are going to come about in our culture in the next generation, they will be determined by what we born-again Christians do with these themes today.

Reprinted from Balance, a publication of the School of Education, Bob Jones University. Used with permission of Bob Jones University. Please write BJU Press, for permission to reproduce this article.