When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.
The first generation is holy; the second generation is religious; and the third generation is godless. This assessment provided by an adage I heard in the early days of my service to the Lord, describes the spiritual history of the people of God beginning with the Old Testament and down to this day. The cycle of success and failure is a generational phenomenon that sees the first generation marked by growth, the second generation characterised by entrenchment, and the third generation marked by decline. This pattern, observed throughout the Old Testament, is observed also among the New Testament churches. Obviously, what is true in such a broad sweep of the faithful is equally true as a more generalised phenomenon among contemporary churches.
I am unprepared to say that Canadian churches have entered into a phase I would be compelled to identify as the “third generation syndrome,” but I am quite certain that we do teeter between that and the “second generation syndrome.” I am perhaps sacrificing an opportunity to confront the “third generation syndrome,” but through study of the Word I know that the tendency of all religious institutions is toward apostasy.
It is difficult to find a religious institution more than one hundred years old that still adheres to the principles of the founding fathers. Without vigorous effort, institutions slide into mediocrity. Noel Smith, one of the founders of an influential Baptist fellowship, was asked what lay ahead for the group. Without hesitation, the crusty newspaper editor replied, “Apostasy.” He was correct. All denominations, all movements, all schools, all churches, incline toward apostasy. It is necessary for each generation to return to the standards of the founding fathers if this slide is to be avoided.
In an excellent study of the Judges of Israel, former Calgary pastor Gary Inrig penned a chapter entitled “The Second Generation Syndrome.” In that chapter he discusses the difficulty of passing on our vision and convictions to our children and grandchildren. It is a daunting and challenging task for any parent; it is rare for the untrammelled, vigorous faith of parents to be handed down to succeeding generations.
Inrig writes, “The second generation has a natural tendency to accept the status quo and to lose the vision of the first generation. Too often the second-generation experience is a second-hand experience. Church history is filled with examples of it, and sadly, so are many churches. The parent’s fervour for the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the children’s formalism and the grandchildren’s apathy.”
What caused the children and grandchildren to lose the vision of the parents? Inrig continues: “They knew about [the Lord’s] deeds. But they did not know Him or acknowledge Him…” They had lost touch with God. “Here we come to the heart of the second-generation syndrome. It is lukewarmness, complacency, apathy about amazing biblical truths that we have heard from our childhood, or from our teachers.”
This underscores the great difficulty in ensuring that succeeding generations follow in the spiritual footsteps of their first-generation Christian parents. To see children living godly lives so long as their godly parents live is something that happens frequently, but to see generation after generation follow in that heritage of faith is rare. The message today seeks to lay a foundation for future generations through this church. The message seeks to equip godly leaders to fulfil the will of the Lord as history unfolds, and as time moves inexorably toward the consummation of the age.
STEPS LEADING TO THE SECOND GENERATION SYNDROME — The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. God’s Word declares that righteousness exalts a nation [PROVERBS 14:34]. A leader will either bless or curse a nation; but it is oft forgotten that a leader governs with the consent of the people. Whether acknowledged or denied, in modern democracies people always vote their values. If they are a moral people, they will seek out moral and ethical leaders. Self-centred people will be easily deceived by self-seeking individuals saying whatever is deemed necessary to gain office.
That generation to which Joshua belonged had been destroyed in the wilderness [see NUMBERS 14:26-38; 32:10-13]. Joshua and Caleb alone, of all their generation, were spared judgement. However, these two godly men were chosen by God to provide leadership for the generation that followed them. Though Joshua was a strong leader, when Moses died the people undoubtedly thought there would never be another leader like him. They were superficially correct, but their dark prognostications neglected two vital truths. First, each generation must fight its own battles. This means that each generation is responsible to define the conflict and to seek out leaders willing to lead against the foe. Also, the people failed to factor God into the equation of leadership. God is in the business of raising up leaders and preparing men to direct His work.
The generation that followed Joshua witnessed God’s power and might exercised for their benefit and for His glory. They saw their fathers delivered from Egyptian bondage. They witnessed God’s might unleashed against Egypt, humbling the sole superpower of their world. They walked across the Jordan River dry-shod at floodtide. They saw God repeatedly deliver them from enemies that threatened their continued existence, much less any progress. City walls crumbled at the sound of their trumpets. Heavenly bodies stayed in their course at the command of Joshua. Who would not worship a God that exhibited such power on behalf of His people?
However, the succeeding generation is described as one knowing neither the Lord nor the work that He had done [VERSE 10]. The words are shocking if we actually think about them. That generation had heard of God’s power, but they had never witnessed His might. They knew all the stories, sung all the majestic songs of victory, and they did not experience them. If they had seen His miraculous intervention, it was always from a distance. They had heard of God’s blessings, but they were ignorant of His blessings. They had seen their parents worship, but they had not themselves worshipped.
Do you suppose that the generation that followed Joshua never experienced temptation to back away from the conflict? Did they never experience fatigue and plead for a respite? The campaign for the Promised Land was one battle following another. Had the people begun to rely upon their own strength, as they had at Ai, they would have experienced defeat and been pushed out of the land. Throughout the days that Joshua provided leadership, he relied upon the Lord, and the people, likewise, relied upon the power of God. But there arose another generation who did not know the Lord.
What steps lead a people into the Second Generation Syndrome? How do people become inured to mediocrity? How do people fall into the trap of exalting form over substance? In Israel’s case, the people became satisfied with the status quo. The first generation had laboured and battled in utter dependence upon the unseen God. Their conquest had provided a measure of stability and a respite from the wearying struggle against erstwhile enemies that opposed their entry into Canaan. There was no immediate pressure for the following generation to struggle. Life was good. Struggle was not in their vocabulary and worship was redefined to emphasise form.
Something like that also happens with churches. A church is planted and the people that first come together with a sacrificial vision labour to build a congregation. They face obstacles that threaten to overwhelm—insufficient finances and unspoken opposition from established churches, humble meeting places and the disappointment attending uncommitted members. Nevertheless, through sacrifice and diligent effort the congregation grows and the work prospers. Those first members rejoice in the power and might God exercises through them as they pray and as they work in harmony.
Those pioneers eventually age and they must surrender leadership to a younger generation that no longer need to struggle as their parents once did. Gradually, the people seek acceptance in the community; and their brand of Christianity becomes “safe.” The congregation grows satisfied with what they have and they no longer wish to jeopardise their standing. They have drunk from the waters of Lethe and are no longer willing to risk themselves—what others may think of them—for fidelity to Christ.
However, concerned that their children are slipping away, the people look for more exciting programmes—programmes that do not demand sacrifice. Preaching that draws people back to the Word, demanding that listeners meet with the Risen Christ is counted as boring, and worship degenerates into a performance. How others might feel is important, but whether they actually know God is of no great moment. Parents doubtless mean well when they attempt to shield their children from the hardships they faced, but children so shielded are denied opportunity to discover the power of the Eternal God.
Israel also took God’s blessings for granted and no longer acknowledged Him. Satisfied with their situation, the people that had entered into the Promised Land now assumed that personal comfort and ease of life were their due. In this, they were not unlike modern Canadians. We are wealthier than any previous generation—we have more possessions than previous generations. We assume that it is our right to enjoy the military protection of the United States, even as we condemn Americans for being “militaristic.” It is doubtful that Canadians are willing to make personal or national sacrifice. We assume it is our right to have a guarantee of freedom from feeling uncomfortable, freedom from unpleasantness, and freedom from responsibility for our own safety. Previous generations fought and bled to secure liberty for a world in bondage. Their descendants, however, live as though liberty is not worth any sacrifice.
As is true of nations, churches also are prone to presume against the grace and goodness of God. So long as a congregation is compelled to seek “daily bread,” the people trust God; but surfeited with divine blessings, the same people trust their possessions. Worshippers that that once acknowledged that all they enjoyed was because of divine grace and through the mercies of God, now assume that such blessings are given by government, and thus they trade freedom for security.
When the churches of a nation begin to presume against the goodness of God, they are on the slippery slope that leads to spiritual death and irrelevance. Instead of contending for righteousness, those churches begin to be concerned about acceptance. Instead of seeking God’s powerful presence, they exalt form—rite and ritual become more important than truth.
Israel was guilty of neglecting God’s Word. Candidly, they no longer loved God. They spoke about God, but they did not love God. American psychologist Rollo May emphasised a great truth when he wrote, “Hate is not the opposite of love; apathy is.” Hatred may be the dark side of love, but apathy says that the person or thing about which one is apathetic does not rate on any scale of significance. Just so, it matters not that you profess to love God’s Word, if you are neglecting reading and applying that Word, you love neither the Word nor the One who gave the Word.
Whenever a generation depreciates preaching of the Word of God, they sin against dying humanity. Neither concerts, nor plays, nor films, nor dramatic readings, nor lectures, will suffice either to build strong saints or to win the lost. This is the reason Timothy is charged to preach the Word [2 TIMOTHY 4:2]. Despite the fact that more translations of the Bible in the vernacular are available today than at any time in history, despite the fact that more copies of the Word of God are available than ever before, this undoubtedly qualifies as the most theologically ignorant generation ever.
The Bible is undoubtedly the most common book to be found in Canadian homes. I also suspect that the Bible holds the distinction of being the least read of all books in Canadian homes. I am reasonably confident that the Bible is no longer preached from many Canadian pulpits. Texts are reduced to a pretext to support the bias of religious leaders, as the Word of God is twisted to suit whatever is fashionable on a given day.
The evidence for this assertion is witnessed when churches—even professedly evangelical churches—distort biblical righteousness into evil and exalt evil as righteousness. Why else would we have the spectacle of preachers and denominations commending sexual perversion as normal, even eagerly promoting wicked people to positions of leadership and influence? Why else would we witness the promotion of women to the role of pastors, though the Bible explicitly condemns such action? Churches increasingly exchange the call for sinners to repent and for the lost to be saved for social relevance. What else can these things mean except that we are neglecting the Word of God? We are exchanging our heritage, our birthright, for a bowl of stew.
This present generation is poised between power and insignificance. We no longer win the lost because we dare not jeopardise the easy life we enjoy. We no longer inconvenience ourselves to warn the lost because we are uncertain of God’s salvation. We are satisfied with the status quo and we therefore presume against God’s grace. Moreover, we are neglecting the Word of God. We stand in grave peril.
IDENTIFYING THE SECOND GENERATION SYNDROME — I am not a prophet, nor need I be a prophet to tell you what the future holds. Given the conditions of apathy that characterises the present state of religion, God’s Word is quite specific about what lies ahead. Following that distressing statement of the TENTH VERSE, the Word of God states, the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals [JUDGES 2:11].
The nation that forgets the Lord God is a nation that will shortly be characterised by approving of and participating in evil. The great tragedy is that the nation that is immersed in evil is unable to recognise what they are becoming. Like Sméagol, who was transformed into Gollum through possessing the ring, a forgetful people are incapable of recognising what they have become even as they pursue their own perverted desires. Consequently, such a nation redefines righteousness, calling good “evil” and evil “good” [see ISAIAH 5:20].
What deters the child of God from sin except the fear of the Lord? Solomon wrote that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge [PROVERBS 1:7]. That wise man also taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom [PROVERBS 9:10]. Living in anticipation of the return of the Master, the child of God keeps himself from wickedness. John, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, speaks of the purifying effect of living in anticipation of the Master’s return in 1 JOHN 3:1-3. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Living in the presence of Christ, we keep ourselves from sin. Then, we view sin as sinful beyond measure [ROMANS 7:13]. However, when we begin to drift from keeping ourselves in the love of Christ, when we begin to move away from walking with Him, we discover that we minimalise sinful behaviour and approve of evil in our friends. In the same way, if we have never known the presence and power of the Living Son of God, we do not see sin as the utterly wicked acts and attitudes that compelled the Saviour to give Himself for mankind. Our children have too often adopted a second-hand faith, hearing us speak of the Lord but failing to personally experience His power and His grace.
Years ago, American Puritans struggled with a problem presented by their unconverted children. Those hearty souls, seeking religious liberty, had journeyed to the New World to establish a pure community of like-minded Christians—a “City on a Hill.” To the Pilgrims, membership in the local church was considered important. Membership was contingent upon a testimony of personal conversion to the Faith of Christ the Lord. However, as their baptised children grew to adulthood, they realised that these children had no testimony of personal grace. The children were good people, even attending the services of worship, but there was no evidence of personal grace. Fewer and fewer people qualified for church membership, creating a crisis for these zealous saints.
To address this problem of declining church membership, Richard Mather proposed the “Half-Way Covenant” in 1662. This stratagem permitted the second generation the same privileges of baptism, but not of communion among the churches. The idea was that those granted this privilege would maintain the moral and ethical standards of the churches without the privilege of voting. Ultimately, this compromise of the Faith led to the Unitarian defection and the ultimate demise of the Puritans.
Something like that holds for our own children. I do not wish to paint with such a broad brush that I smear the innocent, but I confess grave concerns about the faith of contemporary youth. It is true that I am incapable of viewing the heart of our youth, but I do witness the deeds and the desires of their hearts; and there is reason for concern. There is a tendency to depreciate the church and a clear unwillingness to make a commitment to the Faith of Christ the Lord. These are tendencies that should concern every Christian. When the majority of youth cease attending church at age nineteen, there should be a serious examination of what is occurring.
The response of the churches does not give me hope. Too many of our churches attempt to make church exciting instead of loosing the transforming power of Christ. Whenever the expectation of youth drives the agenda of the church, that is a congregation facing difficulty. Perhaps we are exhibiting our dependence upon our own wisdom instead of resorting to the power and wisdom of God to change hearts and minds.
The idolatry contaminating the faithful can only accelerate as time progresses, if the tendency is not addressed now. If we who are identified with this current generation are so susceptible to idolatry and wickedness, should we be surprised if the generation that follows is even more attracted to being at the centre of their own existence? The present generation of the Faith complains that younger Christians are apathetic, and I suppose the charge is true. How can we expect anything else when we have so diligently trained our children to be apathetic? One psychologist says, “apathy is a gradual letting go of involvement until one finds that life itself has gone by.”
Pleasure, possessions, power and position are enemies of the soul precisely because we tend to exalt them as our idols. What we practise is exaggerated in the lives of our children. According to Andree Seu, our children have a rough recollection of our Christian propaganda, but they reproduce our attitudes with a cloned precision. We no longer read to our children; we entertain through giving them electronic babysitters. We don’t send our children out to play; we give them a new piece of software. Our children don’t socialise with adults; they hang out with their peers. We don’t train our children; we obey their whims and surrender to their desires so we can gain momentary peace.
Tragically, the next generation considers the preaching of the Word to be boring. They are not excited to worship the Living Christ. If worship consists of a performance, exciting their senses and showcasing their talents, they will participate. However, they have never learned, and we have forgotten, that it is impossible to lead others where you yourself have never been. I am uncertain whether the next generation has ever knelt in the presence of the Risen, Living Son of God—there is no excitement in their worship. There is no sense of awe as they sing songs and endure prayers and tolerate a sermon.
That they are unexcited by mere speech is probably unsurprising. After all, their life is defined by fast-paced, constantly changing entertainment that demands little thought or personal engagement. I-Pods, DVDs, movies, rap music and the nine-second rule of television—conspire to move quickly from one thought to another without permitting time to reflect on what is actually said. Consequently, preaching, especially preaching that demands thoughtful consideration of what is said, appears boring.
In our homes we depreciate the Word of God, so we should not be surprised when youth are bored by mere proclamation of the Word of God. Look around in the average evangelical church and ask how many older teenagers, how many twenty-something’s, or how many thirty-something’s are active in worship. Yet, go to almost any bar on a weekend, drop in to virtually any rap concert, or attend almost any given hockey game, noting how many from those very age groups are represented.
“I don’t quite know why, but a yawn is one of Satan’s most effective weapons,” writes Gary Inrig. A yawn is effective because it conveys a sense of unconcern. A yawn rejects the struggle required to move toward holiness. A yawn dismisses the great truths of the Word and says that the one yawning is interested only in what can be secured from God. A yawn reduces the Faith of Christ to a fire insurance policy.
At the bar, at a dance, at a rock concert, at the hockey game, the next generation is present and actively participating. Those individuals are excited and engaged with what is happening. Where the things are found that are counted valuable—entertaining and exciting—the motto becomes “laissez les bon temps rouler.” But, where Christ is honoured, the motto seems to be “When is it over.” The next generation finds the Lord Christ boring, though they can be excited and entertained by inconsequential activities.
We excuse the boredom of youth by casting aspersions on preaching and through insisting that we must “make worship more exciting.” Yet, for all the excitement supposedly generated through manipulation and technique, we are not producing greater Christians! We do not find people who are knowledgeable of the Word, individuals who are powerful in prayer or marked by holiness. The ability to jump around, feeling good about oneself, is not worship. Until we meet God in His Word and through time spent in His presence, we are not truly worshipping. Perhaps it is appropriate to be reminded that God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching [1 CORINTHIANS 1:21].
The next generation is uncommitted to the church. Not many years past, people openly opined that the day of the denomination was past. The rise of mega churches portended a time when loyalty to a large congregation superseded denominational loyalty. Evangelical doctrine was defined through reduction to the lowest common denominator. Today, it is more likely that we are witnessing the death of local congregations. Future generations appear to be committed to a broad sense of personal religion defined by what is felt, but there is scant loyalty to the local congregation.
Modern worshippers remind this observer of butterflies, delicately sipping some of the nectar of this congregation before flitting to the next whose nectar appears sweeter. They take some of the music of one congregation, a little of the party atmosphere of the next, and if necessary, a little of the teaching of yet a third congregation, blending it into a sweet elixir to dull the emptiness of their lives. There is scant loyalty to the Word, and the commitment that is seen is commitment to oneself and thus is insipid and powerless.
The next generation is incapable of distinguishing righteousness from wickedness. The tragedy of the rejection of doctrinal preaching and lack of commitment to the Body is that the future is threatened by ignorance of what pleases God and by ignorance of what is sinful. No doubt tomorrow’s leaders believe there is a God. They believe that Jesus lived and died. However, they are uncertain that God expects us to be godly, and they are unwilling to be inconvenienced through transformation by the Spirit of God.
Thus, we witness people professing salvation without transformation, faith without works, heaven without any prospect of hell. Increasingly, the generations following see no problem in a life that is indistinguishable from the lives of the pagans about them, even as they see religion as always available to get them out of a jam. Faith becomes believing about Christ, but we dare not be so bigoted as to believe Christ.
Jesus confronts all who would be His disciple with the probing words found in LUKE 6:46-49. Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.
I observe a growing tendency to avoid appearing judgemental. The temptation is strong to willingly tolerate moral deviancy in a bid to avoid appearing judgemental. Holiness is redefined to mean something quite different from what is presented in the Word. This should not be surprising, since from inside an idolatry, I love the idolatry. However, when set free from the idolatry I can see what bondage it actually was.
Frankly, I am pleading with our youth—the teens and the twenty-something’s and the thirty-something’s—to change the dark future secreted just over the horizon. I haven’t time to detail the consequences of failure to change our lives, but the prospects if we fail to address the error looming before us as a congregation is terrifying and dismal. Embrace the preaching of the Word; insist on strong doctrine from the pulpit. Commit to a church, and make your life count for something. Stand for righteousness.
ANTIDOTE FOR THE SECOND GENERATION SYNDROME — Since I am not so blind as to think that I am actually a spokesman for the next generation, I do not presume to think that I will have any great impact on them. I do, however, believe with all my heart that I address parents and grandparents who still have the ear of their children and of their grandchildren. I caution such individuals that they are responsible to now teach, laying a foundation in the home for their own offspring as the future looms before them.
Jimmy Draper, the recently retired head of LifeWay Publications, has some observations concerning the way to ensure that godliness continues generation after generation. In part, Dr. Draper insisted:
• The Bible must be honoured and revered in each generation as being the completely reliable and inerrant Word of God.
• Regular involvement at all church services (and usually all activities) must be a given in your lives. Children should not argue against this, complaining that church is “boring,” but they should see the joy of their parents in attending!
• Integrity, consistency and obedience to God must become the characteristics of each family. We all will need to learn early on to stand for what is right and to oppose what is wrong. And we must learn to do it in a strong and firm, yet kind, way. Convictions don’t have to brutalise others!
• Christian morality and biblical ethics must be practiced and lived out in our homes. Consistency must become a strong character trait in our families. “Do as I say and not as I do” has never worked! “What you see is what you get” is a good descriptive phrase for what God would have our families to be. We should never be good at putting on airs or pretending to be something we are not.
• Daily fellowship with the Lord and drawing strength from His Word must continually be a strong pattern in our lives. We can’t make it one day without Him! He said, “You can do nothing without me” [JOHN 15:5].
• All of these things must be wrapped up in our unswerving conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ has a plan for our lives and we have found our fulfillment in Him.
The way for parents to teach their children to be godly is through holding their children accountable to be good, and also through providing a good model and through being godly themselves. The best way for those who are charged as leaders to be godly is through holding those who follow in our train accountable to be godly, and also through ensuring that the model provided is one that honours the Living Son of God.
I have spoken to Christians, and admittedly I have spoken pointedly to parents and grandparents. If you are unconcerned about your children, shame on you. If your concern is defined by the parameters of future livelihood, personal fun as a child, or the acquisition of “things,” you are neglecting the most important aspect of your child’s life. Until your child is brought into the living Faith of Christ the Lord, your child is a sinner under sentence of death. You are not doing what is right until your child is transformed by the grace of God. Transformation will lead your child to reject the spirit of this age and to embrace the Spirit of holiness. When your child is changed by the Spirit of God, your child will love the Word of God, will be committed to the church that Jesus loved, and will study to be able to distinguish good from evil [see HEBREWS 5:14].
A starting place for changing the future is repentance. Young men and women need to repent before God of their self-centred attitude, publicly confessing Christ as Lord and seeking their place within His church. They need to commit themselves both to the congregation of the Master and to discovering His will through study of the Word. Parents are urged to confess the transgression of failure to hold their children accountable. As parents we need to both ask forgiveness of the One we call “Lord,” and of our children. We need to speak boldly as we tell them that it is not “all right” to stay home on Sunday morning, to skip church because they are too tired from Saturday night, to flit from church-to-church in a kind of post-modern ecclesiastical dance. We need to resist accepting wickedness as godliness and depreciating godliness as evil.
Now, I have spoken plainly. Do I do this because I am mean? Do you imagine that I speak boldly because I enjoy confronting God’s people? If you think that, you are wrong. I speak as I do because I love you deeply from the heart; but I love Christ the Lord even more and I long for His people to be holy and righteous. I boldly ask, as did Paul, Have I become your enemy be telling you the truth [GALATIANS 4:16]?
Change the future. Make certain that there is a future for your church and for your family. Live as God’s people, possessing the good land that He has given us and seeking to honour Him in all things. Live as the free people you actually are; but live so as to glorify the coming Son of God. Amen.
