All who place their hope in Christ experience a three-stage Christian experience: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Embedded in the volumes written on each doctrine are testimonies to God’s active involvement in the believer’s life from beginning to end. Scripture itself proclaims, “And those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” (Rom 8:30, ESV).
While God is ever present in all stages of a believer’s life, there is much work to be done by the child of God, mainly in the area of sanctification. As Wayne Grudem states, “sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.”
For today’s Christian youth, sanctification is challenging and problematic, maybe even more so than in generations past. Included in the challenges are: A severe drop in church attendance, biblical illiteracy and theological deficiency, a proclivity toward sexual immorality, a continuation of the breakdown of the nuclear family, the accumulation and use of technology, and the developmental psychology of teens. When left alone, each challenge poses a threat, but not one that can’t be overcome. But when multiple challenges come together, the threat becomes more a formidable, and often victorious, foe.
In his research, Dr. Tonkinson met with and interviewed VCHS alumni along with principals of nearby Christian schools to find out if there were any answers to the question, “Is there anything we can do to help the next generation of believers?” The answer is, “Yes!” Dr. Tonkinson concluded that there were five things that helped VCHS alumni grow in their faith. They were: Having an active involvement in both church and school, having godly friends and teachers, having opportunities to worship God and serve others at weekly chapels, having godly parents who are living out their faith and encouraging their children to do the same, and, having well-taught Bible classes by teachers who cared for and challenged students.
In a world that has entered in to one of the most ungodly times in history, it is encouraging to know there is hope! Much work needs to be done by the teen, parent, local church, and Christian school. But if we all recognize the importance of our role, today’s Christian teen can glorify God by walking close with Him!