{"id":28584,"date":"2016-08-17T07:30:20","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T12:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=28584"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T18:45:22","slug":"bible-youth-know-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/bible-youth-know-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bible: Why Youth Need to Know Its Truths"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\"Bible\"<\/p>\n

I’ll Decide My Own Truth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To be American is to embrace individual rights, right? <\/span>Having been brought up to believe this, today\u2019s young people are uncomfortable with the suggestion that there is only one universal\u00a0truth. \u201cYou can believe that silliness,\u201d they might reply. \u201cBut\u00a0I’ll decide my own truth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because Christianity appears exclusive,\u00a0many young people are uncomfortable with it, too. <\/span>They might think Jesus was a cool dude, but the whole hell thing is just too uncool<\/em>, you know? <\/span><\/p>\n

If they do profess to be Christians, they may be putting conditions on what that means to them. They may not, for example, put much stock in reading\u00a0the Bible. Because isn’t it an old, dusty\u00a0book?<\/p>\n

God’s inspired word is timeless. And powerful. And the way that God has chosen to tell us how to live.<\/p>\n

As we have said in previous blog posts<\/a><\/strong>, cultural tolerance propagates the view that all religious belief and moral truth claims are equal. That there is no creator, just science. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, they say, each person gets\u00a0to create their own personal truth. This\u00a0subjective “truth,” they add, guarantees\u00a0that\u00a0everyone gets to\u00a0live life on their terms,\u00a0without judgment. In other words, “I am the boss of me, not you. Butt out, if you don’t like it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

At the heart level, this sounds so attractive. But if we apply the brains God gave us, we recognize that this just\u00a0creates a bunch of “truths<\/a><\/strong>.” What a mess. <\/span><\/p>\n

When we follow God\u2019s moral truth, however, we have a single standard defining right and wrong. God\u2019s ways are good, and created for our good. God isn’t setting boundaries to be mean. He’s setting boundaries because he’s good and wants us to enjoy\u00a0good lives.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Some, sadly, view God’s ways\u00a0as “foolish” and restrictive. This isn’t surprising, as man\u00a0<\/span>has long\u00a0rebelled against God. If\u00a0our society continues to more fully embrace\u00a0the notion that self and science trump God, the pressure\u00a0to not live a life committed to\u00a0God will become more intense.\u00a0But<\/span>\u00a0choosing God is the most important decision\u00a0we will ever make.<\/p>\n

To live life without a relationship with God is, in my opinion, hell on earth.<\/em> To not know him means that we miss out on the stability and joy he wants us to experience while we’re here. And we’ll miss out on heaven.<\/p>\n

What the Bible Tells Us<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Unlike us, God\u00a0doesn\u2019t waffle. Especially when things get tough. He doesn\u2019t change his mind or behavior, like we do, to make life easier, win friends, or gain “stuff.” God is a solid rock. He can\u2019t be bought. He can\u2019t be manipulated. He never gets tired of us. Exactly the opposite: God yearns for us<\/a><\/strong>. So\u00a0we can approach him with assurance. <\/span><\/p>\n

We know these things because the Bible\u00a0tells us so. We\u00a0so often have to admit, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d But God knows all, sees all, and is in control of all. His word tells us so. God understands us and accepts us. The Bible tells us so.\u00a0This crazy world is chaotic, but when we trust in God\u2019s goodness and power, we can have peace. The Bible tells us so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u00a0gives us complete freedom to muck up our lives by rejecting him. If\u00a0we\u00a0don’t know the Bible verses promising God’s constant commitment to us, Satan can\u00a0dribble the opposite into our ears and we’ll fall for it.\u00a0Sin separates us from God, but only until we seek his forgiveness. His arms are always open to us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Atheists and other detractors of Christianity often assert that Christianity is the root of all evil. “Look at the evil that’s been done in the name of God!” they cry. They’re right. Because we humans are\u00a0messed up. And capable of horrible deeds, when we’re not committed to following Christ’s example of love and sacrifice. <\/span><\/p>\n

But here’s some good news to counter their claims:\u00a0it can be demonstrated that God\u2019s mercy and justice as our model has provided more positive contributions to society in general than any other force in history.<\/em> Hospitals, civic organizations, schools, even America’s founding principals of justice and civil liberties, can be attributed to individuals who chose to bestow love and compassion on\u00a0others. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s when human greed and selfishness step forward that we begin to run amok.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s a Heart Issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The core problem is our broken human nature. The gospel is actually the antidote to this. For it is only through transformation by the Spirit that our natures can be made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Bible reminds us to daily lay our lives down for others. To forgive. To be generous. To treat others with kindness. To love.<\/span><\/p>\n

We must make regular bible study part of our lives. The Bible is full of stories of God\u2019s redemptive nature. It’s the love story of God\u00a0sending Jesus to reconcile us to himself.\u00a0It offers unlimited wisdom on how we can deal with rejection, hurt, pride, fear, worry, and a host of other annoying human emotions. It teaches us how to trust in God’s goodness and strength,\u00a0not ours.<\/span><\/p>\n

So lead your family in\u00a0loving God\u2019s word.\u00a0Help them to see\u00a0that the Bible isn\u2019t an antiquated book of stories, but a roadmap to joy, peace, and stability.\u00a0That they can trust that even when they hit choppy waters, Jesus\u00a0is already in the\u00a0boat, ever ready to calm the storms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thought to Ponder<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Bible is God\u2019s personal message that we matter. Discuss with your kids how the Bible helps us to know God, and to hear his truth. Even if your kids aren\u2019t initially receptive to the bible\u2019s importance, keep the dialogue going. Jesus never forced anyone to believe in him. Jesus drew people to him by accepting them, loving them, and continuously pointing them to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TheThis blog post has been adapted from the book The Beauty of Intolerance<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, by Josh and Sean McDowell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ll Decide My Own Truth To be American is to embrace individual rights, right? Having been brought up to believe this, today\u2019s young people are uncomfortable with the suggestion that there is only one universal\u00a0truth. \u201cYou can believe that silliness,\u201d they might reply. \u201cBut\u00a0I’ll decide my own truth.\u201d Because Christianity appears exclusive,\u00a0many young people are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23327,"featured_media":28040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Why do youth need to know the Bible? Because its truths equip them to face life with strength, calm, and trust in God's love for them.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[349,184,62,243,122,336],"translator":[],"blog-author":[78],"class_list":["post-28584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","tag-bible","tag-god","tag-love","tag-relationship","tag-truth","tag-youth","blog-author-josh-mcdowell-ministry-team"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2016\/07\/shutterstock_621416.jpg","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92529,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584\/revisions\/92529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28584"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=28584"},{"taxonomy":"blog-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-author?post=28584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}