“This Untoward Generation” Why My Generation Needs to Reverse It’s Spiritual Course
Writer Author Dr. Phillip N. Johnson
Christian Column
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Encouragement
- Fiction No
“And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation.” –Acts 2:40
It’s difficult to ignore the austerity with which Peter spoke in this particular verse. In fact, the use of the word “untoward” (meaning problematic) is certainly appropriate in underscoring the gravity of the text. Yet, while this warning was given almost 2,000 years ago, these words have never resounded more hauntingly urgent than now. I make that assertion because, as wicked and ungodly the spiritual environment was in days of the apostles, in many respects, it has gotten progressively worse, culminating with our day. The apostle Peter and his cohorts were facing an enemy who sought to snuff them out quickly and forcefully; but in our day, we are confronted with a calculated enemy, one who is no longer satisfied with our swift demise. Today, the devil seeks to use false doctrine and a false sense of right to bring down the church of God. This diabolical weapon of deceit, employed by Satan and his demonic companions, is not only chipping away at the apostolic fabric of the church, but it is corrupting the so-called “Joshua Generation” of young people. Allow me to explain.
2 Timothy 3:12 tells us “yea and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” This scripture is directly applicable to the time in which it was written, and to the saints who lived in that time. During those days, the devil sought to cut off as many Christians as possible. John Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs” provides detailed accounts of how Christians were slaughtered for their dedication to our savior, Jesus Christ. Mothers had their children snatched from their arms and were made to watch as butchers cut off their body parts, limb by limb. Pregnant women had their hair tied to the tails of horses and were helplessly dragged down stairs and through the cobblestone streets of the cities until their bellies burst open. Men were beaten with staves, torn with iron hooks, scorched with lit torches, and had their tongues cut from their mouths. Horrifically barbaric as they are, these examples do not even begin to scratch the surface concerning the atrocities with which the people of God suffered for Christ’s sake. And while thankfully we live in an era in which God does not require us to die for Him, in many ways, our time is even more perilous than then.
As aforementioned, the enemy does not seek simply to kill us as he did in bible days; he has become much more cunning than that. Now, he employs the injurious tool of deception to bring down God’s church. Notice what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:13, “but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The enemy seeks to sow seeds of falseness among us to corrupt us. If he can deceive one individual, he has achieved some measure of success, because that deceived person will go out and unwittingly deceive others with the same deception in which he/she has experienced. As a result, the situation is persisting today in which individuals are unfortunately mired in sin. They have been deceived into believing that there is nothing wrong with the sin they are engaged in. This is part of the grand scheme of Satan for the church in these last days. He wants to get and keep people in sin, and he’s using deception to achieve this.
Please bear in mind the words of the apostle Paul in II Corinthians 2:11, “lest Satan should get an advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Paul is admonishing us to be aware of the fact that Satan plots against us. He does absolutely nothing impetuously, but rather his attacks are deliberate, adroit, and are oftentimes executed with dark proficiency. It was Paul’s hope that the people of God would be aware of the tactics and tricks of the enemy, because if we understand how the devil operates, we can then effectively ward off his attacks.
As I go into a few examples of what is occurring among saved young people all across the country, please understand that while Satan’s schemes have evolved, his tactic has not. In fact, he is still employing the same device he used to deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden, and that tool is subtlety. The devil was successful in not only tricking Eve into believing that the tree of knowledge was good for food, but he made her doubt the very word of God. And as I’ve stated, he has not ceased in making destructive use of this tool. Take for instance the hip hop culture. No longer does the devil tempt us with profanity laced music that glorifies violence and disparages women by reducing them to mere sex symbols. We have matured enough to know that, that kind of music is sinfully contemptible. But now he uses artists like India Arie, Beyonce, and Mary J Blige with their smooth, unassuming lyrics to entice and exploit the carnal desires of our flesh. He uses rappers like Common, Mos Def, and Lupe Fiasco with their non gangster, seemingly harmless rhymes to mollify our spiritual conscience, suggesting that because the lyrics are not morally objectionable; listening to such music is not spiritually detrimental. The fact is, music that is not birthed from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is music that we as saints should not be listening to. Why? Because all music is accompanied by a spirit, and when that kind of music is invited into our minds, the very bedrock of our souls, transference will occur concerning the spirit or influence of the song and the artist into our lives. And subsequently, because the child of God has been unknowingly corrupted, his/her behavior will begin to change. How they talk will become more and more carnal. In their appearance, shades of worldliness will become increasingly recognizable, and after while the words of Jesus will come to pass, “the last state of that man is worst than the first.” (Matt 12:45). Remember, subtlety! The enemy knows that if he can influence us with little, unassuming things, they will eat at us and tear at us, bit by bit, until our spiritual man is weakened to the point of being irrelevant. I recall the scripture in Song of Solomon 2:15, “take the little foxes that spoil the vines.” Sometimes the little foxes can be pose an even greater threat than the full grown foxes, because the full grown foxes can easily reach the grapes without harming the actual vine, whereas the little foxes will destroy the vine by reason of their climbing the vine to reach the grapes. What is this verse saying? Beware of the little things Satan presents to us.
Another trap, in the dastard attempts by Satan, used to destroy my generation is pornography. This demon spirit is not only crippling churches, but it is tearing apart families. Again, the devil presents us subtly with the opportunity to indulge the ungodly desires of our flesh, deceiving us into believing that there is no harm in it. So we hold to the persuasion that no one sees us, we’re not hurting anyone, and no one is being adversely affected by what we are doing, so it’s ok. The reality is, these images and videos carry very real spirits that are having debilitating effects on God’s people. I recall an instance in which a young man was casually browsing the internet, and a popup flashed across his computer screen. Because he did not immediately dismiss the popup, he was drawn in by that evil spirit. Unfortunately, as a result of him being enticed, that young man is backslidden and a homosexual today. And since I mentioned homosexuality, since when did it become acceptable to be saved and be gay? It is absolutely appalling to go to our churches, our councils, and our conventions and see so many homosexuals parading around as if they are saved and sanctified. Again, this is a device of the enemy. The devil has deceived people who are completely wrong into believing that they are ok with God. I am writing this to inform you that if you are engaged in these and other sins, you are not okay with God. In fact, God is not pleased.
While these sins and more continue to plague my generation severely, I do remain hopeful for our salvation. We can overcome any and every assault waged by Satan. In fact, because we have the Holy Ghost, we are by nature overcomers. Remember, Jesus overcame the tempting of the devil in Matthew 4. You’ll recall, He met every inducement by Satan with the word of God. So if we are to overcome, we must rely completely on the word of God. Additionally, our overcoming is contingent upon us following the urging of Jesus in Revelation 3:18, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment.” What Christ is telling us here is that we need to get some faith. Not the type of faith that believes simply in miracles and blessings, but the kind of faith that produces the white raiment and that white raiment is holiness. We must adopt the faith that says I can do all things, and furthermore, I can overcome all things through Christ, who is my strength that enables me to do so.
It’s time for my generation to return back to believing God’s word for what it says concerning sin. It is time for us to return back to holy living. Only then will we be able to effectively resist the attempts of the enemy. It is through holy living that we will ensure our salvation in this, the single most dangerous time in human history.
For ministerial invitations, please contact Dr. Johnson at philnjohnson@hotmail.com
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