Study the Bible at Hope College Australia
Image via WikipediaOur era is characterized by national and global attacks on the historic Christian faith and on the Christian moral vision for civilization. As relativism and postmodernism have been on the ascent, the idea of absolute truth has nearlydisappeared. Multiculturalism and egalitarianism have borne fruit in attacks on the idea of moral absolutes for society and culture.
Disdain for the practice of sound reason has risen as irrationalism—not to mention irrationality—and mysticism have gained traction. Disdain for history has accompanied infatuation with the modern. Overall, as secularization and anti-Christian religions hinder and harm the church from without, leaders within the church reject or compromise teaching by which the church has been historically defined. This is no time for Christians to be fainthearted or weak minded.
We should hardly be surprised by what we see. Ignorance of God and the things of God has its consequences, not only for God’s world but also for God’s people and their children. Hosea the prophet proclaimed these consequences to Israel of old, and through him, the Spirit of God proclaims it to us: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge … And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children,” (Hosea 4:6) Ignorance of God and the things of God is, in the words of Matthew Henry, the mother of destruction, not only for us as parents and grandparents, but also for our children and grandchildren, that is, for succeeding generations of God’s people.
We should hardly be surprised by what we see. Ignorance of God and the things of God has its consequences, not only for God’s world but also for God’s people and their children. Hosea the prophet proclaimed these consequences to Israel of old, and through him, the Spirit of God proclaims it to us: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge … And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children,” (Hosea 4:6) Ignorance of God and the things of God is, in the words of Matthew Henry, the mother of destruction, not only for us as parents and grandparents, but also for our children and grandchildren, that is, for succeeding generations of God’s people.
Christian families must recognize the challenges we face and meet them, or we will only continue to reap the consequences. The prophet’s message is clear: each generation of Christ’s church must act both to preserve and to pass on the heritage of our Christian faith and moral vision. Christian education is key, from our families and churches to our colleges and seminaries. The problems we face have not occurred in isolation; the remedies we need will not come in an instant. If ignorance of God and the things of God is the mother of destruction and ruin, knowledge of God and the things of God is the mother of devotion and reformation.
To see a reversal of the declension that surrounds us we need to refurbish and strengthen the links in the chain of Christian education: families, churches, elementary and secondary schools, undergraduate institutions, and seminaries.
Confident that God’s promises are to us and to our children, we who cherish the faith once delivered to us recognize our duty to pass on our heritage. With God’s help we at Hope College Australia want to pass on the knowledge of God and of the things of God to the generations that follow us. So come and join us as we labor that our children and grandchildren might become sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of reformation.
Confident that God’s promises are to us and to our children, we who cherish the faith once delivered to us recognize our duty to pass on our heritage. With God’s help we at Hope College Australia want to pass on the knowledge of God and of the things of God to the generations that follow us. So come and join us as we labor that our children and grandchildren might become sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of reformation.
