Ominous black buzzards soared overhead, reminding the riders of their mortality.”
–Ron Schwab (Grit)
“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
–Revelation 3:16(NKJV)
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One of the saddest verses in the Bible is found in Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (NKJV) Now, I understand that we do not have a monarchy so let me take the liberty of translating the first phrase, “In those days there was no leadership [physical or spiritual].” It was a time of spiritual darkness; it was a time of chaos. Fear gripped the people, terror was throughout the land. Truth, the truth of God’s Word was absent and all practiced what we now call “relative truth” or “woke.”
The second part of the verse is the saddest. The people were no longer following the commandments of the Lord, or if they did it was only perfunctory. They practiced Baal worship of many sorts. One of the hideous practices was child sacrifice. Give your child to the heathen god and he will bless the fertility of the family, the animals, and the crops. How could a people be so duped?
Yet, are we not seeing the same thing in our country today? It is on its way to apostasy. Gone is the grand concept of John Winthrop of “being a city on a hill,” to shine forth to the world the gospel and blessings of Jesus Christ. I came across some startling statistics from Barna. Note: 61% of Christian youth believe that Jesus was crucified. What a minute! Isn’t that part of the whole premise of Christianity? That means 39% do not believe in the crucifixion; then I would ask how they can call themselves “Christian.”
Another appalling figure is that only 50% believe that Jesus rose from the grave. !!! What? How? Fifty percent think that Jesus stayed in the tomb, there was not the glorious, powerful resurrection. That means that redemption is not true; it means that the atonement for our sins was not complete. What kind of Christianity is this? Let’s go back to Judges, and look at the scene after the death of Joshua and his generation. The Bible says, “…another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work He had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10, NKJV) How could this be? The Chosen People not even recognizing their Creator. Back to the Barna report–32% of the youth in the church believe that Jesus is active in the world today. That means 68% do not! Where is the abiding Christ? Have we lost our way?
Some call it the “second generation syndrome.” It follows the concept that the generation following Joshua “followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.” (Judges 2:12, NKJV) This generation failed to keep the memory of God alive. They did not experience first-hand the power of God, His saving deeds, and the working of miracles. “They failed to keep alive the reality of God’s grace… Spiritual amnesia inevitably produces spiritual apostasy.” (Gary Inrig)
These people are lukewarm. The first love is gone, thus they turn to other gods to provide excitement, fulfillment, and happiness–all of which are fleeting. Inrig states that this second generation yawns at the story of God. They have become apathetic. “There is nothing worse than nostalgia except amnesia.” (Ravi Zacharias) Are we provoking God to anger? Is the wrath of His righteous anger ready to be poured out? Remember, there is an “if clause”. Repentance. True, honest repentance will bring God’s mercy and hold back His wrath.