What Is Christian Freedom?

Ask Pastor John
Episode: 309

[mikko]

I think when we believe that Christ is real but reject him anyway cause we think we are not free with him, it is a huge step to worship satan.

[Webbcatt]

The first sentence of Piper is:
"When it comes to *choosing Christ; *coming to Christ"

Though I understand you do not believe this as freewill; when sharing this precious information, it can mislead in a very woeful way, that concludes the message of self ability...

[Pandaemoni]

Obviously this comment could be read to touch on Pastor John's own family life, but I ask the question more broadly and in good faith: Why is it such a hot issue when a pastor's child rejects the church? The Holy Spirit makes the decision to overcome a person or not, not upbringing by parents, not any personal choice the child can make that could have been influenced by the parents. As a result, it seems as though a pastor would be completely blameless if that pastor's child is unsaved. In my church a pastor was asked to step down when his eldest son began to openly push Atheist arguments over social media (again similarly to Pastor John's son Abraham, though Pastor John was not asked to step down). I was too young to have asay in the decision, but I felt very sad for the pastor and their family, as they were basically disgraced and persona non grata on top of the pain of knowing their child was rebelling again God. My father, who was more involved eventually settled on the argument that the lack of faith of the child might show that the pastor's faith is feigned, but that very much an afterthought that arose in response to my questions.