Judges 2:10 KJV
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Joshua's generation did not completely drive out the enemies. They became powerful enough that, instead, they put those enemies under tribute. They should have, even if they could not yet utterly defeat them, continue in their war against them.
I think I see a parallel in Christianity when we have grown to the place as Christians that, though still having besetting sins, we have them "under control."
• Our Christian life is, in our eyes, certainly better than our former life
• We have an acceptable degree of spiritual victory, and
• Those sins we still have some attachment to do not directly interfere with our worship and fellowship with the brethren
So, having some control, we relax.
The problem is that our concern should be not only for our own condition but that of those generations that come after us. In Israel's case it only took one generation before there was a generation who knew not God or the works He had done for them; one generation and their fellowship with God was gone. I have witnessed the same heartbreaking scenario in many families. Praise the Lord His grace spares many families, but I have witnessed the destruction of the spiritual family in just one generation. The children, having personal knowledge of their Christian parents' compromise with worldliness, just immerse themselves full on in worldliness.
Far better would be for our children to see us battle those besetting sins all of our lives than for them to see us settle for a deal with some sins because we are happy with our spiritual position now.
Far better for our children to see us as "prisoners of the Lord" than to ever see us as "compromisers with the world."
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Joshua's generation did not completely drive out the enemies. They became powerful enough that, instead, they put those enemies under tribute. They should have, even if they could not yet utterly defeat them, continue in their war against them.
I think I see a parallel in Christianity when we have grown to the place as Christians that, though still having besetting sins, we have them "under control."
• Our Christian life is, in our eyes, certainly better than our former life
• We have an acceptable degree of spiritual victory, and
• Those sins we still have some attachment to do not directly interfere with our worship and fellowship with the brethren
So, having some control, we relax.
The problem is that our concern should be not only for our own condition but that of those generations that come after us. In Israel's case it only took one generation before there was a generation who knew not God or the works He had done for them; one generation and their fellowship with God was gone. I have witnessed the same heartbreaking scenario in many families. Praise the Lord His grace spares many families, but I have witnessed the destruction of the spiritual family in just one generation. The children, having personal knowledge of their Christian parents' compromise with worldliness, just immerse themselves full on in worldliness.
Far better would be for our children to see us battle those besetting sins all of our lives than for them to see us settle for a deal with some sins because we are happy with our spiritual position now.
Far better for our children to see us as "prisoners of the Lord" than to ever see us as "compromisers with the world."
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