11/18/10 PASSING THE TORCH
One of Satan's ploys has been to separate each generation from the previous. Though angels are not generated, Satan led 1/3 of them in rebellion against God. Then he brought division between God & Adam/Eve, causing them to doubt God's wisdom & authority. He still separates parent/child & grandparents. This is costly. Too bad.
God's plan was for every person to live in a deep, personal relationship with Himself, but sin ended that. Then God provided a way to restore each man to a deep, personal relationship with Himself, through Christ's atonement.
It has been the responsibility of each generation to enter into that relationship, and then to occupy, to take dominion of the life of faith. This leads a person from faith to faith and results in a heart and life of holiness.
The life of holiness leads away from worldliness. The world in turn will ostracize the believer. Popularity and Christ-likeness are usually strangers to one another. Old fashioned morals and standards are called "old school" and ridiculed. The gap between youth and the aged widens and the treasures of maturity are rejected by younger ones with disdain.
Instead of each succeeding generation building on the light, foundation, truth, purity of the previous generation of believers, the Old Paths are abandoned and scoffed. A newer and more "relevant" contemporary life is touted as the more "perfect" way.
Seldom does a succeeding generation maintain or further the level of spiritual accomplishment reached by the previous generation. Instead of listening and learning from the elders, modernized, emergent disciples draw from the shallow, and often poisoned, wells of those who have chosen to love the world and the things in the world and to pick and choose what portions of the Bible they want to accept.
This problem has become more pronounced in the last 100 years, as we have seen modern and western society become more enthralled with the "youth" image and culture.
Biblical elders have been traded for popularity gurus.
