Anyone can take part in a party—unsaved people as well as Christians. But not everyone can participate in true Christian fellowship. The unsaved are perfectly happy at a party. They know how to let their cares go in an undisciplined manner, to overeat, to get drunk, to indulge in riotous living. The disciplined saint is not at home in such a gathering.

If we are comfortable in the gatherings of the unsaved, or worldly Christians, we must go to the Lord and ask Him why? The world hated our Lord. How can the world love us? Perhaps the Lord is not in us as much as we think.

Christian fellowship always is under the auspices of elders, under the government of the Church. The Christian Church is a kingdom, the Kingdom of God. The world also is a kingdom. It is kingdom against kingdom. There is war in the spirit realm between the two kingdoms.

Satan and his cohorts never rest. They move about ceaselessly seeking whom they may seduce. The Lord's elders are always on guard, always praying, always watching to make certain Satan does not enter the gathering of the saints. A spiritual "guard" always is posted.

It is not so at party. There is no spiritual oversight. There is no one watching in prayer. No guard is posted. There is an abandonment to pleasure, to fun. As a result, the believers are vulnerable to the deceptions of the enemy.

Christian fellowship is for spiritually growing and mature saints.

Parties are for babies.

We believe from the age of six years the children should get a sense of the seriousness of the Christian life. They should understand that a serious commitment is involved. There must be plenty of time for games and fun for young children, but also times for praying seriously to the Lord.

Serious discipleship on the part of children and young people will prove to be necessary. It is likely that in the near future the Christian homes will be invaded by an army of social workers whose values will be in direct opposition to God's Word. In that hour the children will be asked if they are happy in the Christian home or if they would prefer to be in a secular environment. If the boys and girls do not know the Lord they will be attracted by the offer of unhindered abandon to the pursuits of the world. "Wouldn't you rather play on Sunday morning than to go to church?"

The children and young people will turn against their parents—in some instances bringing their parents before the courts because they are not being permitted to do as they please. We parents have a choice to make. We can spend time now bringing our children into the fellowship of the Body of Christ. We can accompany our churchgoing with a thorough discipleship on our part and our children's part, sharing with them in the Life of the Lord. Or we can spend time in prison later when our children turn us in to the authorities because we made them go to church.

To be continued.