3 Ways To Ruin Your Teenager’s Understanding of the Gospel.

1. Teach her how to identify and avoid “sinners”.

If you have successfully taught your teenager to identify and avoid “sinners”, then you are raising a self-righteous pharisee. (Matthew 23:13) You’ve taught her to become judgmental. (Matthew 7:5) If you teach your teenager to avoid the “bad people”, then she will assume that she is good.  This ruins her understanding of the gospel because she refuses to deal with her own sin.

2. Insulate and protect him from sin.

You cannot protect your teenager from the reality of sin. You must LET GO and allow him to be exposed to sin’s power and consequences. Now, before you send a rebuttal, I am NOT saying that you should be the tempter, or the one who teaches them how to sin. What I am saying is that you cannot be a hovering parent forever. What steps have you taken to protect your teenager from the “world”? NOTHING you do can save them from the power of sin. ONLY Jesus can save them from this reality. (1 John 2:2)

If you continue to insulate and protect your teenager from the reality and effects of sin on our world, then he will never truly understand the fullness of what Jesus did for him on the cross. This ruins his understanding of the gospel.

3. Neglect to apologize, confess or repent from your own sin.

(1 John 1:8) Do you, as a parent, ever compromise your integrity in front of your teenager? Do you ever lie about something small in front of your kid?  Do you gossip in front of them? Do you brag about your accomplishments? Are you a single mother who is sneaking around with your boyfriend? (This is exactly what you teach your teen not to do)  Are you a Dad who has outbursts of rage and anger without apology, confession, or repentance?

Trust me on this. Your teenager is watching YOU.  If you never confess or repent from your own sin, but you still attend church and pretend to be spiritual on Sundays, then your teenager will be CONFUSED about christian living.  This ruins their understanding of the gospel because they will believe church attendance is the road to salvation. Or worse, they will see that you are a hypocrite and reject your fake religion.

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