How to Stay Christian in College

00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)

00:00:02.580 | - Local college students return to class in a few days.

00:00:08.520 | And as the fall semester begins,

00:00:10.320 | we have an email from an incoming freshman named Sharon.

00:00:13.360 | "Dear Pastor John, I graduated from high school this summer

00:00:16.100 | "and I will be moving across the country

00:00:18.040 | "to attend college this fall.

00:00:20.700 | "It troubles me because I've seen many kids

00:00:22.500 | "who stopped going to church

00:00:23.800 | "and gave up their relationship with God

00:00:26.780 | "after they moved out and moved onto campus.

00:00:29.880 | "Do you have any advice for me on how to stay close to God

00:00:32.160 | "despite all the distractions and temptations

00:00:34.240 | "that come with campus life?

00:00:36.440 | "How do I continue to grow spiritually?

00:00:38.580 | "And how do I balance time for school and time with God?

00:00:42.020 | "Thank you, Pastor John, for any advice you would have

00:00:43.540 | "for me and for other incoming freshmen this fall."

00:00:47.120 | - This is such a good question.

00:00:51.260 | I wish every high school graduate

00:00:54.020 | who's heading off to college or university

00:00:57.340 | would be thinking this way and asking this question.

00:01:01.540 | So let me say a word to Sharon and to all of them

00:01:06.380 | in the hope of being of some service

00:01:10.940 | to this generation of younger Christians

00:01:13.000 | who are heading off to school.

00:01:16.580 | And I'll limit myself to five words of counsel,

00:01:20.740 | which of course will leave many specifics unanswered.

00:01:24.660 | But I think these five have the effect

00:01:29.340 | of enabling students, if they buy them,

00:01:34.080 | to answer the other specifics as they arise.

00:01:37.700 | So here we go.

00:01:38.820 | First, recognize, students,

00:01:42.580 | that maintaining a Christian faith is war.

00:01:50.740 | 1 Timothy 6, 12, "Fight the good fight of faith, Timothy.

00:01:55.740 | "Take hold on eternal life."

00:01:58.460 | Ephesians 6, 11, "Put on the whole armor of God

00:02:03.460 | "that you may be able to stand

00:02:07.040 | "against the schemes of the devil."

00:02:09.660 | 1 Peter 5, 8, "Be sober-minded, be watchful.

00:02:13.600 | "Your adversary, the devil, prowls around

00:02:16.700 | "like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour."

00:02:20.380 | On campus and everywhere else.

00:02:22.940 | James 4, 8, "Submit yourself to God.

00:02:26.060 | "Resist the devil, he will flee from you.

00:02:28.480 | "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you."

00:02:32.700 | So let me put a particular twist now on this exhortation,

00:02:37.500 | namely that recognize that maintaining

00:02:40.700 | a Christian faith is war.

00:02:42.340 | Here's the twist.

00:02:44.060 | Sooner or later, somebody who's a little too smart

00:02:47.960 | for their gospel britches is going to belittle your habit

00:02:52.960 | of meeting with God every day in the word and prayer,

00:02:58.160 | and they're going to say something like,

00:03:01.360 | do you still think that you have to be that legalistic?

00:03:06.360 | You think you have to have a quiet time

00:03:09.900 | and a personal devotions?

00:03:12.420 | Don't you know?

00:03:14.760 | Haven't you grown up?

00:03:16.480 | Don't you know that your relationship with Jesus

00:03:19.260 | should be more free, more natural, more spontaneous?

00:03:23.140 | So here's the twist I want you to put on your answer

00:03:29.180 | to that immature objection.

00:03:34.360 | You say something like this.

00:03:36.600 | "Well, I don't know about you,

00:03:39.540 | "but I know that I am in a war

00:03:43.940 | "with the highest possible stakes

00:03:48.580 | "because of what the Supreme Commander says to me

00:03:51.780 | "in his manual, the Bible.

00:03:54.220 | "So I don't think mainly in terms of legal requirements

00:03:58.160 | "or pious platitudes like quiet time and devotions.

00:04:00.920 | "I think about keeping my guns clean

00:04:03.440 | "and making sure my ammunition is ready

00:04:07.280 | "and reviewing the battle plans

00:04:09.420 | "and making sure I know the enemy and his deceptions

00:04:12.120 | "and restoring my zeal for the glorious cause

00:04:15.200 | "like George Washington caused the revolution.

00:04:17.360 | "If that's glorious cause, what is this?

00:04:20.680 | "This is what the Lord has enlisted me for.

00:04:22.700 | "So whatever you're talking about, I know what I'm doing.

00:04:26.840 | "So join me if you want every morning, but I'm going there."

00:04:31.240 | So that's exhortation number one as you head off to college.

00:04:36.160 | The Christian life is war, no matter where it's lived.

00:04:40.760 | And Christians who try to pretend like it's not

00:04:44.160 | are almost certainly gonna be captured by the enemy.

00:04:47.660 | Second exhortation, when you look at the armor

00:04:52.400 | that Paul describes in Ephesians 6

00:04:54.980 | that every Christian is supposed to put on

00:04:57.680 | on campus or anywhere else,

00:04:59.520 | it's amazing that among the six pieces of armor,

00:05:04.200 | four of them are related to the word of God.

00:05:08.840 | Most obviously, the sword is called the word of God.

00:05:12.680 | Second most obvious is the belt.

00:05:15.080 | It's the belt of truth.

00:05:16.560 | Third most obvious is the shoes.

00:05:19.120 | They're shoes of the gospel,

00:05:20.880 | readiness to run with the gospel.

00:05:23.240 | And fourth, not as obvious,

00:05:26.200 | but plain when you think about it, the shield of faith.

00:05:30.080 | Faith in what?

00:05:31.520 | Like faith in God when he talks to you,

00:05:34.600 | when he speaks in his word, we're gonna trust.

00:05:37.120 | Faith doesn't exist in a vacuum.

00:05:38.360 | Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

00:05:40.840 | So faith in the word of God.

00:05:43.600 | And of course, the other two, salvation,

00:05:45.680 | helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness,

00:05:47.900 | those salvation and righteousness

00:05:49.920 | are all rooted in the gospel, which is the word.

00:05:53.080 | So my second exhortation is

00:05:56.360 | make the word of God a priority in your life.

00:06:01.280 | Read it every day, meditate on it every day and night.

00:06:05.040 | Memorize key portions of it

00:06:06.880 | that are relevant to your situation

00:06:08.800 | and carry them with you all day long.

00:06:12.920 | Now, here's another twist I wanna put on this,

00:06:15.800 | a special aspect of this exhortation.

00:06:19.520 | Just as college life will lead you

00:06:23.080 | into increased depths and complexities

00:06:26.520 | of cultural and personal and intellectual life,

00:06:30.280 | similarly, increase your grasp of the depths

00:06:35.920 | and the complexities of the glories of scripture.

00:06:40.080 | Don't stay at a high school level.

00:06:42.920 | Don't stay at a Sunday school level or homeschool level.

00:06:46.960 | Some of you may have gone very, very deep in homeschool,

00:06:49.600 | but don't stay anywhere.

00:06:51.560 | The Bible says grow in grace.

00:06:54.800 | Now, what that means particularly is this,

00:06:58.440 | as you spend time in the word,

00:07:01.200 | also find new challenging authors.

00:07:06.200 | You're gonna be introduced to all kinds of secular,

00:07:10.520 | global, relevant authors,

00:07:12.800 | to all kinds of issues in your classes.

00:07:15.200 | Do the same for your faith.

00:07:17.360 | Find out who J.I. Packer is and read "Knowing God."

00:07:21.160 | Find out who Wayne Grudem is

00:07:22.800 | and read his "Systematic Theology."

00:07:24.640 | Yes, even if you're not a theologian,

00:07:27.320 | this book is designed for every Christian.

00:07:29.520 | Find out who R.C. Sproul is and read "The Holiness of God."

00:07:32.360 | Find out the classics like John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress."

00:07:36.480 | So the point is make the word of God,

00:07:40.600 | the substance of all the armor in this warfare,

00:07:43.520 | both the offensive and the defensive,

00:07:46.440 | make it a priority in time, a priority in focus,

00:07:50.160 | a priority in maturation,

00:07:52.360 | deeper and deeper into the depths

00:07:55.040 | and the complexities of scripture.

00:07:56.920 | So that's number two.

00:07:58.120 | Number three, never, never, never leave the local church.

00:08:03.120 | The university is an institution created by man.

00:08:10.000 | The local church is an institution created by God.

00:08:13.280 | If you prioritize allegiance to university

00:08:15.920 | over allegiance to church,

00:08:17.120 | you are prioritizing man over God.

00:08:21.560 | This by no means implies that Christians

00:08:24.480 | will work less hard at learning in the university

00:08:29.480 | less hard than non-Christians do.

00:08:31.920 | No way.

00:08:32.760 | You're gonna give yourself with all your might

00:08:35.440 | to learn as much as you can in every class.

00:08:37.920 | It simply means that the church

00:08:41.560 | will remain central to the rhythm of your life.

00:08:45.000 | God has designed corporate worship

00:08:47.440 | and the preaching of his word

00:08:48.960 | and fellowship of his people

00:08:50.720 | to be an essential part of maintaining

00:08:54.360 | a military discipline in your life

00:08:56.760 | with joy and triumph for the next 60 years.

00:09:00.240 | Think of it that way.

00:09:01.400 | You are forming military habits of mind

00:09:04.840 | for the next battles you will fight 30 years from now.

00:09:08.800 | Gathering with your comrades every week in corporate worship

00:09:14.680 | under the word of God is essential

00:09:17.040 | for being ready to follow the commander into victory

00:09:22.040 | when you are at your peak at 50 years of age.

00:09:26.920 | That's what's at stake right now.

00:09:28.880 | You think you're gonna take a break from church

00:09:30.800 | and be powerful at 50?

00:09:32.360 | You're dreaming.

00:09:33.360 | Soldiers don't function that way.

00:09:36.640 | Number four, as an overflow from your experience

00:09:41.200 | with God's people in church,

00:09:43.080 | be sure you have a handful of Christian comrades in arms

00:09:48.080 | who are speaking into your life

00:09:50.000 | and listening to your heart day in and day out.

00:09:53.480 | Hebrews 3:12, so important.

00:09:56.080 | "Take care, brothers, sisters, take care,

00:09:59.040 | "lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart

00:10:02.460 | "leading you to fall away from the living God.

00:10:04.760 | "Exhort one another."

00:10:07.940 | How's that gonna happen now?

00:10:09.040 | You gotta obey this.

00:10:10.040 | "Exhort one another every day as long as it is called today

00:10:15.040 | "that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

00:10:19.740 | "God has designed human beings

00:10:22.880 | "so that no battle is to be fought alone."

00:10:26.980 | None.

00:10:28.040 | Jesus never sent anyone out

00:10:30.320 | on a solo reconnaissance mission, never.

00:10:33.480 | They were always two by two

00:10:35.200 | and Paul's missionary adventures were always in teams.

00:10:40.020 | We're not designed to meet the enemy alone.

00:10:43.020 | The challenges of college are meant to be encountered

00:10:46.980 | arm in arm with fellow combatants.

00:10:49.660 | Number five, finally, live a life of prayer.

00:10:55.560 | Prayer.

00:10:58.520 | That is, turn everything you read in scripture,

00:11:02.320 | turn everything you hear in corporate worship,

00:11:05.460 | turn everything that is spoken into your life

00:11:08.200 | by your comrades, turn it all into prayer.

00:11:11.300 | That is, plead with God,

00:11:13.680 | plead with God to work in you

00:11:16.960 | what you have seen in his word

00:11:19.640 | or heard from others from his word.

00:11:21.480 | Never presume that you can do anything on your own.

00:11:26.480 | Ask for God's help 10 times a day.

00:11:32.240 | Be weak in the presence of God

00:11:34.560 | so that you can be strong in the presence of man.

00:11:38.400 | Make the Lord's prayer the outline of your daily cry.

00:11:43.400 | Cry out that God would make his name holy

00:11:47.800 | and revered and cherished and treasured

00:11:50.680 | above all things in your life

00:11:51.920 | and through your life in the lives of others.

00:11:53.760 | Plead with him to enable you to do his will,

00:11:56.920 | the way the angels do it in heaven.

00:11:59.480 | Plead with him to lead you out of temptation

00:12:02.320 | and into paths of righteousness as you extend his kingdom

00:12:06.240 | and plead for the protection against the evil one,

00:12:09.800 | the enemy, and all his schemes.

00:12:11.560 | And yes, ask for your daily bread.

00:12:14.060 | Why?

00:12:14.900 | Just so that you can get on with the battle.

00:12:17.720 | It's a glorious life in front of you.

00:12:20.080 | You have a great commander.

00:12:22.120 | Those are my five exhortations as you head off to school.

00:12:26.700 | So much more can be said, but I really believe,

00:12:29.260 | I really believe if you make these five things a priority,

00:12:34.260 | God will guide you to all the help you need

00:12:37.880 | in all the things that I haven't addressed.

00:12:41.200 | - Yeah, so good.

00:12:42.080 | Thank you, Pastor John.

00:12:43.600 | And thank you for the question, Sharon.

00:12:45.240 | As so many fruitful APJ questions have asked the question

00:12:48.880 | of how to flourish on a college campus,

00:12:51.560 | because those are really critical years.

00:12:54.080 | And so it's important that we think about

00:12:55.360 | how to not waste them.

00:12:57.680 | Well, we publish three times a week

00:12:59.460 | and you can subscribe to our audio feeds

00:13:01.060 | and search our episode archive.

00:13:02.220 | Even reach us by email with a question you may be facing

00:13:04.220 | during a particular season of your life.

00:13:06.220 | You can do all of that through our online home

00:13:08.500 | at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.

00:13:13.180 | Well, the church certainly has enemies

00:13:16.580 | and the church has threats.

00:13:18.920 | But who poses the greater threat?

00:13:21.140 | The modern Pharisee who is religious

00:13:23.900 | or the secular atheist who isn't?

00:13:26.900 | Hmm, that's the question next when we return on Friday.

00:13:31.340 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke, and we will see you then.

00:13:33.980 | (upbeat music)

00:13:36.560 | (upbeat music)

00:13:39.140 | [BLANK_AUDIO]

How to Stay Christian in College

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