Where are all those Christians? I don't see them. Perhaps they are part of the supernatural as well! Apparently there are different ideas as to what a Christian is.
Another poll is similar. Eighty-one percent of Americans confess Christianity but only 68% of millennials do (Pew Research Center). Just where are all those young Christians? Of course we don't know their hearts but even us adults have experienced the young life. During my young adulthood, I believed strongly in God. However, I confess to you: I did not understand Him! If one does not understand God, how could one even be a Christian? Nicodemus asked Jesus to explain that to him (John 3).
To be truthful, when young, I put on a cloak of belief as "fire insurance". I believed in Jesus just in case there really is a Hell. I had been taught that the only way to avoid hell is to believe in Jesus. I had no problem with that. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called that "cheap grace". Of course, Jesus paid an expensive ransom for me - His own life, but I never even empathized with Him, let alone obey God's will! Cheap grace is not cheap on Jesus's part but the way I behaved as a Christian cheapened God's sacrifice of His only begotten Son. I took God's Name in vain, not with my mouth but with my lack of faith.
For me, the propitiation of Jesus's blood was payment for my fire insurance, and I owed Him nothing in return. I came to realize that that's not Christianity. It's role-playing, and the acting was done poorly! My life was a third rate movie with many of us poor actors!
Christianity is more than belief in Christ:
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.To be honest, I too trembled as I thought of a just God! Why so? Like the demons, I knew that I deserve punishment, and I feared that it was forthcoming. Therefore, just as the demons, I too believed! With that type of belief, I was no better than the demons. I wasn't truly practicing Christianity but playing games with God!
Demons are smarter than me. Sometimes they ask of me, "Are you truly a Christian, or are you still play-acting for fire-insurance?" Then, I'm sure they cackle when I wonder that myself! I had become so accustomed to acting the part of the Christian, that I questioned my true identity. I believe that most people, especially young "Christians", have little idea what a Christian's identity is. All those out there who seem to be young demons may be young demons. Many may believe in Jesus but they practice atheism. Atheism is not how one behaves but what he believe. The God who has no rules to obey is not the true God. The God with whom most fail to communicate is the real God, and the gods with whom most communicate is themselves.
Non-practicing "Christians" are not truly atheists. They really worship themselves, and Satan is satisfied with self-worship. Albeit, they are their own gods, in practice they ignore God, and as such, are practicing atheists. How do I know that? Because when I was young, God was not real to me. I called on Him, but hoped that He wouldn't answer. I preferred to remain in ignorance so that I could go on practicing sin.
When God has little or no importance in one's life, that person just as well not believe. "Belief" is not just a thought; it is trusting and obeying! I'm sure God doesn't see all that much obedience out there, and frets because obedience is how we demonstrate to God that we love and appreciate Him.
Christians are generally trained to be Christians. Even the Bible comments on that:
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.Sure, children are taught to be Christians! That is God's transparency. Atheists see that as manipulation, but they train up a child in the way they want them to go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus, just like children who are trained to be theists, most children are trained to be atheists.
How are children trained to be atheists? Parents do not bring a child up in God's way! Children are allowed to do what they want to do, and to believe what they want to believe. Parents are overly permissible to their children because they are lax in their own lives. How can a child take their parents' religion seriously if they watch whatever comes on their TV's, and do those things the world does. It appears that even modern adults are not serious about their redemption!
Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.I've wrote on this command before but it is worth repeating. "Take" is nasa' in the Hebrew. It means to "lift up". Jesus explained that "born-again" is "lifting up Jesus", referencing Moses lifting up the bronze snake (John 3). This command, I came to realize, has little but some, connection to saying the word "God". It is taking the Lord God's "name" in vain. In the Hebrew "name" is shem, and refers to God's "conspicuous position" (Strong's Dictionary), not the word "God". What is God's conspicuous position? He Is Creator and Savior. In fact, God just Is, and is without name. However, He is "called Jesus" (Matthew 1:25).
"In vain" in the Hebrew is shav', "a sense of desolation". Thus "in vain" is to act as if God does not exist. In summary, it became obvious to me that this commandment is failing to lift up Jesus by not taking him seriously. The penalty for this is "guilty". In other words, since blaspheming the Lord is the unpardonable sin, and that's taking Jesus's blood sacrifice and death frivolously or even scurrilously.
When one believes but does not change, then that's "cheap grace" - trying to enjoy the rewards of Christ but ignoring His will. That is "lifting Him up" frivolously, and is vanity. Thus "taking the Lord's name in vain", is not a sin of commission but one of omission. It's failure to truly be born-again. One may believe in Jesus, but in their hearts, the demon still exists.
Therefore, many millennials profess Christ but seem to be atheists. It's the difference in what they profess to how they live. They believe as theists and live as atheists.
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