The Ohio Independent Baptist, September 1969

ir~ ~etteratintt , Editor's 'ote: Althoz ,~'?h tl1is article, h)' Dr. W. Wilbert Jl elc/1 , l1as a/read)· appeared i11 tl1e official paper of the Gra11d Rapids Baptist Bible Collef?e a11d Se,11inarv lve felt it to be of si,clz i11zportance tl1at we r11n it aga-i~ for oi,r readers of THE OHIO 11 DEPENDENT BAPTIST. The writer of Judges states, " ..• and the re arose another generation after them which knew not the lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel " Jud 2 ·1 o ' l .k · · d , ges . • I I e to v1s1t .ol cemeteries and read the ba re ly legible epitaphs inscribed a hundred, two hundred, or an the cas.e of some New England cemeteries, even three hundrea years ago. In Jud~es we have the epitaph of a whole generation, a rather sad epitaph which can never be obliterated by the erosions of a thousand winters and summers. Some reflections on this three thousa.nd year o.ld opitaph point to a most somber observation ; namely, there is a danger to third generations which should give us pause. It is one thing for a Joshua to declare with holy vigor, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord," (Josh. 24 : 15) but it is quite another for his children 1 s children to say the same. The Scriptures indicate rather plainly that each new generation of Christians faces a crisis. Spiritual health is not inherited. The spiritual vigor which was gained through personal discipline and daily warfare has no last will and testament. The second generation may be unusually profited by such an example, but to rest in this heritage can only result in flabby spiritual muscles and diminution of spiritual stature. It is then in the very natural sequence of events there is a grave danger for the third generation to know not the Lord nor Hi, works inasmuch as it has witnessed little of the character producing discipline or warfare of a preceding generation, or experienced little of any divine interventions. Each reader has noticed it is one thing to begin a race with vigor, but quite another to finish it. It is one thing for a church to begin with great fervency and revival , but quite another to hear the Lord say 30 years later, " I have somewhat against thee." The church age begins with Ephesus but it ends with Laodicea. It is the one thing for Genesis to beg rn with man in a perfect paradise, but another to have it end with "a coffin in Egypt." It is one thing for David to establish a great kingdom, but quite another to see that great kingdom split in the third generation under his grandson Rehoboam. By no means should this principle of degeneration be regarded as irreversible. It indicates strongly though that each generation , each spiritual movement, each church, each individual is responsible to develop and maintain its own spiritual vigor. For robust health each generation must be a "shirt sleeve" generation. Timothy was a third generation man of faith , but Paul admonished him with action verbs : "flee" certain unhealthy pursuits: "follow after righteousness, godlin~s, faith, love, patience, meekness;' ' " fight the good fight of faith ;" " lay hold on eternal life." I Tim. 6 : 11 , 12. I have a growing concern. In our own fellowship I count myself a member of the second generation. With thousands of others I am the recipient of a heritage for which I did not personalty fight. Although this generation must clarify the bounda ries, consolidate the gains , and in some measure enlarge the borde rs ; yet many of us have never known the smoke and din of convention battle, the ruthless strategy of an organized enemy of tne word, or the loss of pulpit , church, and parsonage because of Scriptural convictions. Now the writer is well aware that history isn ' t all warfare, but he is also aware that those who, through the blood and tears of battle, won o r maintained their freedom seem to have greater patriotism th an those who received such on a silver platte r. My hat is off to a vanguard of warriors who led th e way, such men as Drs. R. T. Ke tcham, H. 0. Van Gilder, Sr. , Robert Powell , Earl Griffith, 0. W. Van Osdel , R. E. Neighbor, Emory Bancroft, Howard Fulton, plus a host of other stalwarts of the faith. The writer's concern rest s in this, that as a second generation we do not allow flabby muscles to replace hardened sinews, uncontroll e d dial og to replace a spirit of discernment, and unexciting mediocrity to supplant those wond ers of intervening grace which focus the eye Godwdrd. If such a trage dy should settl e over us, the n it shall inescapably follow , hat there shall arise a third gener·a tion which knows not the lord nor His works and which forsake the Lord God of their fa th ers. Judg es 2 10-12. It is encouraging to know th a t such a pattern need not be if we will learn from the lessons of history. The Bible reveals patterns of th e past to save us from patterns which could be. The writer would fike the generation wh ic h pick s up our mantle - th e young men and wome n now in our high schools, colleges, and un1vers1t1es - to have th e heritage and to know the excitement of having seen God work in our midst . . .. W.WILBERT WELCH ap ~uI c>f Lif The , eat h 1ng lessons taught by Chnst ,n ~~ 1s par ables used the oommon e e, day experiences of life His illustrations and aptness of apphcauon came rom the heart that sought onl ood for the llst ner and ou the reader o toda l he accounts of rn1ss1onar br c1 r and true 1nc1dents ,n the II es o e penenced Christians charact rtze the lit rature e publish for 1 ou Our t e honie papers are plann d to co, r a broad area of Christian e P nence our church can Oflly b n fat rom the read1n of these fine pap rs FOR MOMMY ANOM PR'~AR PAL, COURAG , CHALL GE, CONQU ST Ord r our re sample from I 18 )d tonBoul,·,t1rd r • tJ t r I e J• I, 1 n , 111. 001 Westerville Church Purchases Property Re\·. Jame Lee. Pa tor of the Grace Bapti t Church of \\ye ter ille hac; \\ ritten u the folio,\ ing bit of good ne\.\. . ··The LORD GOD in- tructeJ Jeremiah \Vith the e \\ 1 ord") • ·call llllfO 1vf e a,zd f lVi/l a11s1ver tl1ee (?reat and 111( 0 111) tl1i11~s. lvl1ic/1 t/1011 "-110 l1.·est not.' "Our people ha\ e accepted th1 promi e a not only relating to I rael. but unto e\erJ child of God. \''e re– joice in telling you that the Lord ha provjded the nece ary' money to pay off the eleven acre of ground for our church. The full amount of $1 .500 \\a·~ paid in full yesterda) 1 , and becau e of the promptne . \ve ~ ere not charged interest . . . aving .... u $1 5.00 ' 'Our building committee i no\, ready to pre ent a et of plan to the bank next ~fonda 1 r. and 1f e\'e~'– thing goe ~ell. \\'e hou1d tart build– ing \\lithin the next t\\ \\.eek."'. \''e '- CO\'et the pra"}'e r f God, people at thi time. A thing progre . ,, e 1w il l keep )'Oll inforn1ed. In the mean– time ... PLE E CO~ TI lJE TO PRAY!" 'hat's A I ;I L1\ I ~1·RIP PRE l I 1 ' 'l '11'J,101 of tlJe lJ7 or/d 01111cil of IJ11 rehes it ppst1l i1 1 d e11 An excellent documentary 1n bnlltont color de p1ct1ng the r1e-1n of the Con1mun1~, controlled churches 1th the wee. the def1nlfe plans of the wee to include t he Rom~n Ca tholic Church 1n Ifs fold· the CC \outh spell our their program of re oluuon; 't CC s neYt def1 n1f1on of "heresy' A "must ' for ell Bible lo 1ng people cu1table for use 1n church se~ ices ) oung people s groups church missionary programs Sunday school classes et Directed by The Re~ O A \ate Th D ( Director RAFC of the ACCC pr t t 139 t rame full color filmstrip pt tape sound troc p ho f r 15 00 posr pad of f 1 900 Po .~ - ,1~ - - •. --~ .tf'- · • r.'. l '.i «· I __ _ 1 : ~~· .... ii.:.!. - .. ~ ADO Auo 8108