Passing On the Gospel Baton

Introduction

Good morning, and thank you so much for inviting me to be here. I usually watch your recordings on YouTube, but I'm so glad to be here in person to join you as we hear from the Bible and hear God speak to us this morning.

Before we begin, let me pray: "Our dear heavenly Father, we thank you this morning for your mercy and for your faithfulness as we've been reminded through the songs and through your word. Thank you for saving us, thank you for bringing us together as your holy nation and your church. Father, we have come to hear you speak to us. Please tune our ears to your word, and may your Holy Spirit apply it to our hearts and minds. Father, please teach us and transform us by your word, that we may be the men and women you have saved us to be. And for those who don't know you, please bring them to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We ask this for the glory of your holy name. Amen."

Understanding Deuteronomy and Joshua's Legacy

Thank you very much for reading Deuteronomy to us. Deuteronomy was Moses' farewell address—his handover speech as he prepared to pass the leadership baton to Joshua. Moses and the Israelites were not allowed by God to enter the Promised Land because they sinned against Him. It was their children—the next generation—who were given the Promised Land.

In that Deuteronomy sermon, Moses reiterates the covenant terms and conditions God made with Israel. He urges them with a repeated cry: "Remember the Lord." Remember the Lord who saved you out of Egypt. Remember the Lord who brought you into this Promised Land. He also urges them to apply God's word—to keep His commandments and pass them on to their children so that they would know the Lord, serve Him, and know His word.

During Joshua's leadership, God broke down the walls of Jericho and led Israel into their inheritance. They arrived at their destination after their long wanderings and entered Canaan. But they failed to remember what God had said. They were still to drive out the other nations—nations that would become a snare to them if they remained. They had to eliminate idolatry and paganism from Canaan because these would become stumbling blocks to their walk with the Lord. Only then would they enjoy peace and rest in the land with the Lord.

When Joshua died, the people cried out to the Lord asking what they should do. The Lord told them to go and take possession of the land, with each tribe going to the piece of land God had given them. But they failed to take over the land as God had asked.

The Cycle of Israel: From Joshua to the Judges

In the book of Judges, we see a summary of Israel's life in the Promised Land from Joshua's death until the rise of their first king, Saul—a period of about 300 years. Here we are introduced to a cycle that defines the rest of the Old Testament: Israel living with God, sinning against God, facing God's discipline and judgment, crying out to the Lord in distress, and God mercifully rescuing them in His compassion.

This summary is not flattering to Israel. If it were their school report card, it would have a big F for Failed. Although the Lord was Israel's king, they lived as though there was no king in Israel. The refrain throughout Judges is haunting: "Everyone did as he saw fit."

Can you imagine a world where everyone does as they see fit? It might seem nice in theory, but it creates a world nobody wants to live in. Strangely enough, that seems to be the slogan of our day, doesn't it? We see around us a seemingly godless world, a world without apparent morals, a people wanting to do what is right in their own eyes.

This morning, I'd like us to see how this all happened in Judges as we look at the end of the Joshua dynasty and consider how we live in a world today under a new Joshua—Yeshua, Jesus. So how do we live under Jesus' dynasty?

The End of the Joshua Dynasty: Verses 6-10

Let's look at the end of the Joshua dynasty in Judges chapter 2, verse 6:

When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land and the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years.

During Joshua's reign and the time of those people who had seen the Lord work wonderfully—destroying Jericho's walls, leading them into the land—those people served the Lord. The first generation had heard Moses preach that great Deuteronomy sermon; they submitted to Joshua's leadership; they served the Lord.

But Joshua died. Yet those stalwarts who outlived Joshua persevered and continued to serve the Lord. They knew Him.

Then, in verse 10:

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers and they arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

A Change of Leadership at Church

Over the last few months, we've experienced an end of dynasty here at this church, haven't we? A change of leadership. I'm sure it has unsettled some of you, and various questions arise. But let's be assured: as we're reminded, Christ remains in His church. He is the one we depend on. He is the one at work in His church by His Spirit.

Jesus said: "Go, make disciples, teach them all that I have commanded, baptize them, bring them into the family, and I will be with you to the very end." I'm glad to see that this church hasn't fallen apart, that the Lord is still at work, and that He is still with you to the very end.

Jesus is the great shepherd of the church. He is the one who sends us as His servants to carry out His gospel mission.

The question for you and me remains: What is my next move? What is your next move? The answer is the same—it hasn't changed. We are to guard the gospel and pass it on. We remember the Lord by sharing Him with others. Let's not drop the gospel baton. Let's pass it on.

The Symptoms of Gospel Ignorance

But for some reason, as we return to Judges, the Deuteronomy sermon that Moses preached seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What we find is ominous: the succeeding generation did not know the Lord. They did not know what He had done.

Consider the symptoms of gospel ignorance shown to us here. You may find some things poking at you; you may find God speaking directly to your heart, and I trust you would respond appropriately.

The First Symptom: Not Knowing the Lord

Judges doesn't tell us why they did not know the Lord, which leaves us with many questions. Perhaps the parents did not instruct the next generation as God asked them in Deuteronomy 6. God said: "It's not your children whom the Lord rescued out of Egypt. They follow you; they come to church with you; they do what you do. It's not your children who are saved. So teach them. Tell them about the Lord. Tell them how He saved you. Give them the commandments the Lord has given."

Perhaps the parents didn't talk about God and His salvation at home. Or perhaps it was the fault of the children—maybe the parents did speak about the Lord, but the children, having come into the Promised Land and enjoyed it, closed their ears to the gospel and forgot the Lord who gave them this inheritance.

Or perhaps it was because of Israel's disobedience and lack of faith in failing to purge the land, to eliminate the nations who would become stumbling blocks, to get rid of idolatry and paganism.

Or maybe the children had a borrowed religion, a secondhand religion, instead of genuine, personal faith in the Lord.

It's not the new generation that teaches itself. But perhaps this generation saw the failings of their parents and wondered: "If mom or dad didn't get rid of the idols and continued living this way, and they are Christians, then it must be good for me too. If they lived like that, then it must be okay for me."

I remember speaking to a man who returned from a trip to England. He said: "Pastor, I'm so worried about our church. I saw so many grand, beautiful church buildings, but they were all empty. Some had been turned into flea markets; others into temples. I'm concerned that in years to come, we're going to find an empty church. The next generation won't continue with the gospel."

I was about five years old when my dad set me on the kitchen counter and asked me a question: "John, if you died and stood before God, and God asked you, 'Why should I let you into My heaven?'—what would you say?"

I thought, "That's easy. I was born into a Christian family. We always went to church. I'm a generally good boy. So God should let me into heaven."

Then he explained to me that that's just not how it works. He explained that I'm actually a sinner, and when we sin, we are wrong with God. But God has sent Jesus to make us right with Him. He explained it very simply.

Parents, are we telling the next generation about the Lord? Are we sharing the gospel with our children? Someone who preached from this pulpit said: "We cannot assume the gospel." Let us not think that the children in our home are Christians simply by birth.

I spoke to a lady during the week who said: "I was born a Christian. I've been a Christian all my life. I was born into a Christian family."

But that's not how it works. A Christian is someone who recognizes their sin as an offense before God, knows they are wrong with God, sees the love and mercy of God's grace in giving them life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, repents of their sin, and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness. Through that faith, they join the family of believers and become a Christian.

You may adopt Christianity as a religion. You may wave the Christian flag or wear the Christian badge. But that does not make you a Christian.

The Second Symptom: Doing Evil Before the Lord

Notice what gospel ignorance looked like in that generation. Verse 11-13 shows it.

They did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Sometimes we parade ourselves as angels, as good Christians. But Jesus reminded us in Mark chapter 7 that sin is stirred up in the heart. The Lord looks at our heart. He sees our sin. These people did evil not only in their hearts but before the Lord. Their very life reflected their spiritual condition.

The Third Symptom: Idolatry

They were idolaters. They served the Baals. They worshipped other gods. They walked away from the Lord. They put their hope in Baal and Asherah—the Canaanite gods of fertility and prosperity, believed to cause crops to grow and to give them children.

It's ironic: they went seeking from idols what the living God had already given them.

Here's our problem: we default to living just like that generation. Baal and Asherah were the equivalent of the god of wealth in our time. They were equivalent to the god of good health, the god of security and safe living, the god of education, and all the other enticing promises the world dangles before us—which we somehow find ourselves pursuing and, in our weak faith, depending upon.

I don't know how you live. You don't owe me anything. We might not consider ourselves leaving the Christian community or walking away from the Lord as that generation did. But could it be that we too are guilty of idolatry?

If we took time to really and honestly examine our hearts and lives, can we say we trust the Lord alone? When there are floods, riots, corruption among politicians, food instability, economic decline—can we say we truly trust the Lord? Can we say we live for the life that is to come and not for all we have in this world?

I think if we were to do an audit on our hearts, we might all be found guilty of living just as that generation lived—living for the world and all that surrounds us.

We may not be found at the altar of Baal, Asherah, Lakshmi, or Ganesha. But could it be we have subscribed to a more sophisticated idolatry? That we trust in the god of money and wealth, education and materialism, personal security and comfort? To worship these gods, we give time and resources, worshipping at the altar of career, entertainment, leisure, and sport. And before we know it, we lead not only ourselves but our families into idolatry.

That new generation did not know the Lord. They turned away from Him and worshipped other gods. And that sermon by Moses in Deuteronomy was forgotten.

In Deuteronomy, God said He would send the rain. He would make the grass grow. He would protect His people. But they turned to the Baals—just as we turn to our bank accounts, to good education, to our careers, to high walls, to safer cities. These things are not bad in themselves, but because of the sin in our hearts, we trust in them instead of trusting God.

One commentator said: "It is strange that anyone would want to trade a personal, real, living God for a false god that is a figment of man's imagination. Yet there is something within man that is afraid of the very God we need. We would rather serve a god of our own creation than the real living God whom we can't control. The gods we create are the gods wanted by our sinful desires."

The Tragedy: God's Judgment on Sin

Friends, look at the tragedy that follows gospel ignorance.

In verse 12, we read they provoked the Lord to anger. Sin stirs the wrath of God. God was not pleased with Israel because they offended Him. They had broken the covenant with Him, and as God had promised in Deuteronomy, they would get the curses they deserved.

Verse 14-15:

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them and he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies so that they could no longer withstand their enemies whenever they marched out the hand of the Lord was against them for harm as the Lord had warned and as the Lord had sworn to them and they were in terrible distress.

Friends, sin brings ruin to our lives. If not now, if not immediately, then when we stand before the Lord, it will bring eternal ruin.

Notice that God is a God who keeps His word. God is faithful to His covenant. He brings the curses of the covenant which He and Israel had agreed to. God Himself comes and carries out discipline upon Israel.

Someone said: "Yet God's love allows such things—to discipline us and draw us back to Himself. While on the other hand, God allows us in our rebellion and rejection of Him to go our own way, like the prodigal son."

God takes sin seriously. We see that in His judgment on Israel. And as we're reminded, when we look at Genesis 3, we wonder: surely when we rebel against God and sin against Him and kick Him out of our lives, surely He should have wiped out the world. But no. God is compassionate. God is gracious. He is abounding in love. Yes, He takes sin seriously and will deal justly with sinners. But notice God's mercy.

God's Mercy: The Judges and the Gospel

Despite Israel's ingratitude, God's mercy is fatherly.

Verse 16:

Then the Lord raised up judges who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

These judges were not legal judges. They were leaders of Israel, rulers who saved and delivered Israel. And by God raising them up, it is the Lord Himself who is saving Israel.

Friends, God doesn't desire the death or destruction of a sinner. He's not a cruel God waiting for us to slip up so He can unleash His wrath. No. He is the God who sent Jesus—who became sin for us, who took the punishment we deserved. Jesus took the punishment for sin by dying for us.

Jesus has come. Jesus has taken away our sins. So whoever believes in Jesus—as John 3:16 reminds us—whoever believes that Jesus is accepting His death, accepting His resurrection, submitting to His lordship will not perish but will have eternal life. They will live in peace with God, no longer guilty but righteous and forgiven.

As I understood it as a five-year-old boy: I am wrong with God because of my sin, but because of Jesus, God makes me right with Him.

Israel, by breaking the covenant with God, deserved God's anger. They deserved this curse because they sinned against God. Yet God was moved to compassion by their distress.

God is moved to compassion when He sees people suffering in sin. He looks into eternity and sees people who will die and go into hell. He looks at people who will suffer under His wrath. And He has come and saved us from that. God has raised up a Judge, a Savior. That is Jesus Himself.

Although the people repeatedly turn away from God—which is what we see throughout the book of Judges—God responds in loving kindness. God responds by saving them.

Conclusion

Friends, the question remains for us: Will we pass on the gospel baton? Will we guard the gospel as we pass it on to the next generation? Will we remember the Lord? Will we share Him with others?

Don't drop the baton. Pass it on.