Trevor S. Ferguson
May 23, 2011
Deuteronomy 6:3-7 (NKJV)
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you--'a land flowing with milk and honey.'
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
INTRODUCTION
In Psalm 127:3, the psalmist describes children as “an heritage of the Lord” and the “fruit of the womb” is describe as God’s reward. In other passages the inability to bear children is considered as a curse or as a sign of God’s displeasure. Children therefore have an important place in biblical theology and serves as the primary vehicle through which the purpose of God is perpetuated in the earth. The problem though, is that knowledge of God and faith in God have not been effectively passed from generation to generation and in many cases what we see is downward drift with greater and greater departure from the principles of holiness and right living.
Today we want to reflect on this issue of inter-generational transfer of faith and highlight some principles for the effective transfer of faith from one generation to another
EXPOSITION
The bible cites several examples where faith was not effectively transferred within a single generation but only a few cases of effective transfer through multiple generations. I will quickly review some of these examples.
The problem started with the first family, when a presumably repentant Adam started his family he was not able to transfer faith to his first son Cain although Abel, his second son, became a man of faith. Thankfully Adam was able to redeem his heritage through Seth.
Judges 2:7-10 contains one of the most telling passages on the failure to transfer faith across a single generation. The passage tells us that Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and while the elders who outlived Joshua were still alive, but when that generation was died there arose “another generation … which new not the Lord”. The book of Judges contains the story of that and subsequent generations, a sorry tale of cyclical apostasy and repentance.
The stories of Eli and Samuel further illustrate this failure to transfer faith. Eli’s sons were describes as “sons of Belial” (1st Samuel 2:12); they were wicked, corrupt, greedy and participated in immoral sexual acts. Samuel’s sons were not much better; they too were greedy, took bribes and perverted judgment.
Thankfully there are a few stories of good inter-generational transfer of faith. The best known are the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Although there were a few hiccups along the way, these three stand out as examples of faith which have served as models throughout all subsequent generations.
The next example is much less flamboyant, nested in the New Testament epistle of 2nd Timothy we find this statement from Paul: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Although Timothy’s father was Greek, the godly influence and faith of his mother and grandmother provided the fertile ground for faith in Timothy, so that Paul could further impart wisdom and knowledge unto him so that he became the pastor and bishop of the church in Ephesus.
What then should we do to ensure that successful transfer of faith from one generation to the other?
The scriptures do not give specifics as to what Abraham or Isaac did or what Lois and Eunice did, but a number of passages give strong and clear instructions to parents. I believe that if we follow these examples we will successfully transfer faith to our children.
The key text for emphasis today is Deut 6:7 “Teach them diligently to your children…” We note that this verse is part of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), which was the Jewish declaration of faith in the ONE God JEHOVAH. It was to be recited daily. I suspect however that for many Jewish children it was more of a recitation than a declaration of faith! Today we must ensure that our declaration of faith (e.g. Acts 2:38) is not just a recitation but backed up by action and obedience to the ONE true God. Note also the command to teach diligently. This implies teaching with passion, repetition and purpose, not passively repeating.
Other instructive passages emphasizing the importance of teaching God’s word to our children include the following:
Joel 1:3 “Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation.”
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Note that training here implies more than passive telling.)
2nd Timothy 2:2 “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
Effective transfer of faith from one generation to the next is fundamental for the salvation of our children. Let us learn from the past. We can’t afford to fail!
I would like to share with you 4 principles which I believe will produce successful inter-generational transfer of faith, these are:
1. MODEL the word of God before your children
2. INSTRUCT children in the word of God
3. ENCOURAGE children to make a personal decision to serve God
4. MOLD believing children in the way of the Lord so that they can become effective ministers of the word!
CONCLUSION
We have been commanded to teach the word of God to our children. It is the only way in which we can ensure that faith is transferred from one generation to the next! None of us know the time of God return so we must ensure that the next generation has a sure foundation on which to build. Failure will have dire consequences with many souls being lost.
Let us all commit today to diligently teach our children the word of God. We must ensure that we effectively transfer faith from one generation to the next. It’s the best gift we could give our children.
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