Dear College Student,Okay, maybe you are not a college student but I bet you know one, so please keep reading (and share if you would like).I would like to write to you about an issue that has been heavy on my heart, heavy on my mind and probably heavy on your parent's heart and mind; and that is this: please don't believe the lie that the faith you grew up with was inferior. Rather, continue in the faith that you learned and believed from childhood and remember from whom you learned it (your parents, your Sunday School teachers, your pastor) and remember the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation!The truth is, when I was in college, I too was having my world shaken by reading and hearing new doctrines taught and preached. I grew up a nominal Christian and really was a spiritual infant when I got to college. I had many questions because I had never studied the Bible and never had strong, biblical teaching. I was so thankful for friends and pastors that I met during my college years that were very patient with me while I learned and really processed the great doctrines of the faith for the first time.But for many of you, that is not the case. Many of you grew up in Christians homes. You were taught the great doctrines of the faith; you learned the catechism; you saw the faithfulness and hand of God demonstrated in your life by the mere fact that you grew up in this environment. So was that not enough? Was your up-bringing in the church insufficient? Did you really spend all your time on "first-floor Christianity" only to learn later that there is a "second-floor Christianity"?I implore you, do not believe this lie! Do not believe that Christ is not sufficient! Do not believe that unless you add this or that to your Christian life or belong to this particular church, then you are less of a Christian. Do not believe that your baptism was insufficient. Do not you believe that your experience growing up in a Christian home was insufficient. Do you believe that you somehow missed out on a radical conversion experience and therefore your faith is not real? Do not believe the lie that there is another form of Christianity different from the pure Gospel - “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.” (1 Timothy 4:7 ESV).One of the great doctrines that I learned while in college was that of covenant theology. Through my study, I learned that God is a God of grace and that He has been in relationship with His people since Adam and Eve. This covenant relationship continued to Abraham and culminated in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Through this study, I saw that God pursues families - the family at home and the church family - His blessings were ALWAYS for the family. Never in Scripture do you see an individual, on an island, seeking God alone. God cherishes families and He loves to bless the family. That is why your baptism as an infant MATTERS! Baptism is the covenant sign that replaced the old covenant sign of circumcision. Your baptism means that you belong to God. Your baptism means that God has chosen to bless your family. Your baptism is not about you going up to God but God coming down to you. Yes, later in life you must make a profession of faith in Christ alone, but this DOES NOT invalidate your baptism, rather, biblically, it affirms it.There is so much more I could say or harp on here but I want to leave you with the EPIC words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy. In this letter Paul is writing to his young intern Timothy about the importance of the faith he grew up learning. It is interesting to note that Paul did not tell Timothy to forsake everything that he learned growing up and to ONLY pay attention to what he taught him over the last few years. Rather, Paul reminds Timothy to go back to his childhood and recall the faith that he learned from his mother and his grandmother - 2 Tim. 1:4 - (no doubt in the context of the local church). And how the things that he learned then are the things that he needs to be reminded of now. It is the the Scriptures ALONE that make us wise for salvation and it is Christ ALONE that we need more of NOW.“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:12–17 ESV)
Dear college student, continue in what you have learned and believed since you were a child and remember who taught it to you - your parents, your Sunday School teachers, your pastor. Please do not forsake the truth that is in Christ and in the great doctrines which are rooted in His Word.If you would like to talk about these things, please contact me.by His grace and to His praise, your friend and pastor,Wilson
