Delivering the Youth from the World

Alarming as it is tragic, many of the youth today are choosing the strange ways of the world knowing fully well it could destroy them in destruction, cost them their lives or their future. Yet these strange ways have become the acceptable norm that it is no longer surprising why the youth have grown violent, rebellious and restive in recent years. Has society, school, church or home failed the youth or are the youth deliberately being pushed into the chasm of destruction?

In its strongest exhortation yet, the 8th World Youth Congress urged the youth to make a clean cut from the world. Organized and hosted by the Bible Baptist Church Katipunan and held last March 31 to April 3, congress delegates were challenged to make a clean cut from worldly fashion, movies, internet surfing, dancing and imbibe a radical shift in lifestyle to conform to God’s command.

Some 1,200 participants from Cebu, other parts of the country and the world, attended the event but a mere 15 percent or some 180 signified to accept salvation, give their lives to Bible School, missionary work or be involved in church ministry. The majority or the 85 percent seemed hesitant to leave the evil ways of the world, even after Pastor Kent Jesalva warned that “we are now in the last days.”

Statistics show quite plainly that the youth, even the Christian youth, are inclined to value a world that would lead them to destruction rather than take the call for redemption and salvation.

Bringing the youth to focus, congress speakers Dr. Mike Wells, Pastor Renato Rebaton, Pastor Demver Andales and Pastor Kent Jesalva all issued a strong call for the youth to live a life for, with and bound in God’s Will before they find their adult life go to waste. During the three days of preaching, pastors and evangelists particularly made it clear that Bible Baptists frown upon the wearing of pants by women, tattoo, listening to rock music, watching movies, dancing and urged the youth to be vigilant about the internet websites that promote the ways of Satan.

“We must separate ourselves from the world,” said Pastor Rebaton on explaining why the youth must be vigilant about fashion. He said that if the youth are to carry on the task as “bearers of God’s light,” they must wear clothes that are “holy, acceptable and pleasing” in the sight of God and man. Bible Baptist Church Katipunan allows only long skirts as the prescribed dress code for women members.

Samson’s Waste

Using Samson (Judges 13-14) to illustrate the waste of youth, Pastor Rebaton said that Samson was born a miraculous child. He was born a Nazarite which means he was sanctified for a special mission in this world. But Samson wasted his special, gifted beginnings when as a youth he disobeyed his parents and pranced around with women. “Nobody can play with fire in his bosom without getting burned. Nobody can become a winner in the game of sin,” said Pastor Rebaton.

God eventually punished Samson by taking out his strength and his eyes. Notice the scriptural symbolism here. Samson’s strength came from his hair and so long as he did not get a haircut, his strength stayed with him. Satan used a woman and a razor to weaken the strongest man on earth. When Samson lost his hair and his strength, it was easy for his enemies to pluck out his eyes.

The hair is like the crown God gives his children. But the youth are throwing away their crown by taking on the ways of the world. Without the crown, the youth is blinded into following Satan, thus an analogy of the plucking out of the eyes.

Choosing Days

All is not dark for the youth yet. While the youth is the most vulnerable to Satan, they are also the most robust soldiers in God’s army. Pastor Demver Andales said that the youth is in a stage of life where he is in the “choosing days.” In this present world, there are only two choices: to conform to the ways of the world and end up in destruction or to be consumed by God’s Will and lead a life of prosperity.

Choosing God’s will entails being godly in appearance which means not conforming to the fashion of the world —  no pants and body-hugging blouses for women. Men are prohibited from sporting long hair, wearing earrings or having tattoos.

To spare the youth from evil thoughts and influence, conference speakers specifically prohibited youth from watching movies and going to movie houses, surfing indecent internet websites and listening to rock music. Dr. Mike Wells said that by watching movies and listening to worldly music “Satan wants to steal your character.” Media, cinema and music of the world bombard the youth with themes of sex, violence, selfishness and false desires that even the youth growing and reared in Christian homes are being corrupted.

If only to spare the youth from all avenues of sinning, if only to save the youth from the chasm of destruction, if only to deliver the youth from the evil ways of the world, the only  option is to live and walk in God’s command. Samson paid tragically for the pleasures of youth.