Degeneration or Regeneration?
Someone has said that “one generation is a generation away from regeneration.” I have seen this happen in my lifetime
As a child growing up in our little town of New Zealand it was the shock of the town if someone got involved in adultery. This was not only the sentiment of church folk but of everyone in town. Now, hardly anyone bats an eyelid when this happens in the church! Is this not degeneration?
When I was a child believers did not go to the movie theater. When my mother died at 83 years of age she had never been in a movie theater. One time, when an adult, I said to my mother, “Mum, there are some good movies that you could perhaps watch without being defiled.” “Oh no,” she replied, “What if the Lord was to come and find me in the movie theater!” Now, it seems the norm for Christians to go to nearly every movie that comes to town. And if they don’t do that, they watch them in the privacy of their homes! I am not saying that we cannot watch a wholesome movie, but we certainly must use discernment and scrutiny.
When I was a child we hadn’t even heard of the word ‘pornography’. It was never mentioned. Now, it is a word that is part of every day language and a bondage that has gripped thousands of men in the church today. What degeneration!
We know that there have always been backyard abortions, but when we were children we never heard the word spoken aloud. It wasn’t practiced in the church. Now many church-going women have abortions! Forty-three percent of women obtaining abortions say they are Protestant and 27 percent say they are Catholic!
Although pagan societies have always accepted abortion, it was an antipathy in the early church. W. E. H. Lecky (1838-1903), the Irish Historian, although not always agreeing with Christian doctrine, wrote,"…it was one of the most important services of Christianity, that… it definitely and dogmatically asserted the sinfulness of all destruction of human life as a matter of amusement, or of simple convenience, and thereby formed a new standard higher than any which then existed in the world. The influence of Christianity in this respect began with the very earliest stage of human life…With unwavering consistency and with the strongest emphasis, they denounced the practice, not simply as inhuman, but as definitely murder." We have degenerated greatly.
I believe it is time we got some backbone back into the church and into society. Why do God’s people surrender to the climate of society and take that for their standard rather than the eternal Word of God? Have we become “cream puffs” or “jelly fish” as my husband often says?
It comes back to the Parents!
How do we get back to God’s ways? David cried out in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” I believe we have to build the foundations again. How do we do this? It starts with us parents. We are responsible to pass on the baton of God’s truth and standards to the next generation. If we fail to do this, we fail God and this generation. It is God’s plan that each generation of parents pass on His ways to the next generation, establishing godly generations in the earth.
It’s no use sending our children to church or Sunday School or telling them what to do if they do not see it operating in our lives. They will follow who we are and what we do. They see through any compromise and hypocrisy.
Ephesians 6:13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Can I share one or two other translations with you? Weymouth’s translation says, “Put on therefore the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle, and, having fought to the end, to remain victors on the field.”
J.B. Phillips’ says, “Therefore you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground.” That’s the essence of this Scripture--to be still standing up even after the fight.
Stand your Ground!
That’s what we have to do. Hold our ground. Hold on to our convictions. Never let them go. While we are taken up with our excessive addiction to sports, movies and entertainment, we have become soft and flabby and have forgotten how to fight for morality and righteousness. We would rather play than pray. While we have our heads in the sand the enemy is having a heyday. We are in a battle, but we are losing ground. Many have given up the fight. Perhaps you are struggling to fight the good fight of faith? Don’t give up. Keep standing your ground.
We must also impart to our children the ability to fight and contend for the faith. We are the example for them to follow.
Evil is becoming more rampant. But God has told us in Isaiah 60:1-2 to arise and shine in the dark times. Will we shine in this evil day? Or will we hide our light and succumb to the darkness? Ephesians 5:11 says, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose, convict) them.” May God save us from getting so used to the climate we live in that we think it is normal. May He open our eyes to see His standards, and hold on to them. May He save us from assimilation, the most subtle of the enemy’s strategies. May He anoint us to expose the evil around us.
Everything today has to be politically correct. In other words, we have to fit into what the world is doing! This is not Bible. This is not New Testament Christianity. This is apathy. It is being luke-warm which makes God sick. We don’t have to be politically correct. We must be Biblically correct, even if we face persecution.
Most Christians do not condone adultery, abortion, and homosexuality. They would never do these things themselves. But they don’t want to make a scene. I hear many saying, “Well, I wouldn’t do that, but that is their personal choice. If that’s what they want to do, I have to accept it.” And now these things have become acceptable! All because we did not take a stand! We did not fight for God’s truth! We assimilated to the popular trend!
May God help us to once again be a holy people, filled with God’s truth and His Spirit, who will push back evil rather than yielding to it.
Don’t Drop the Baton!
Dear parents, don’t let the baton drop! Keep up the great work of imparting God’s life-giving commandments to your family. Keep passing them on down the generations. You are doing a great work. My husband and I pray daily for our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren yet to be born. We are passionate about seeing the godly generation continuing down the years that our children, even those yet unborn, will be mighty for God, holding up the banner of God’s truth and fighting against evil. We pray that your offspring will be “mighty upon the earth” too!
NANCY CAMPBELL
STANDING POWER
The morals of this world are going downhill
Against God’s Holy Word and His divine will,
No longer black and white, it’s now mushy gray,
God’s eternal absolutes many shun today.
Will you stand against this tide when others are crumbling?
Will you stand on God’s Word when many are stumbling?
Will you stand against sin and the devil’s deceptions?
Making no excuses or subtle exceptions?
Never be intimated, never be fooled…
Neutralized,
Fraternized,
Mediocre-ized
Or your fire be cooled!
When there’s no justice and only confusion
And God’s people are hiding their light in seclusion,
Will you rise up and be counted, open wide your mouth
And proclaim God’s truth to the north and the south?
Will you be strong in the Lord and the power of His might?
Always standing up for that which is right?
Rich in discernment, wisdom never ignored,
And walking daily in the fear of the Lord?
Never be wimpy or crumble at the knees…
Normalized,
Traumatized
Luke-warmized,
And the devil never appease!
Will you stand the test when you are wronged and hurt?
When you are persecuted and treated like dirt?
Will you have backbone when the pressure comes on?
Or be a spineless jellyfish with purpose all gone?
Will you keep on standing if you’re the only one?
Lifting up the name of Jesus, God’s only Son?
Will you stand true now, holding on to the end?
No matter what it costs, God’s truth to defend!
Nancy Campbell