Bible study on the next Generation ...

A godless one

Four signs of a godless generation......

Proverbs 30:11-14

There is a kind of man who curses his father And does not bless his mother. There is a kind who is pure
in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And
his eyelids are raised in arrogance. There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords And his jaw
teeth like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.

Today's proverb is a four verse description of the hateful, wicked man.

The way this passage refers to this is with the phrase, ".....There is a kind."
The word "kind" is actually the Hebrew word for generation.

When you have a generation of people who are like this - you have a very difficult time coming upon
the earth.
It is an interesting list of things that make for a wicked generation.

Verse 11 describes the first godless characteristic

- which is having graceless......., ungrateful children who dishonor their parents.
This generation curses their fathers..... and does not bless.... their mothers.
They disobey the one commandment...... with a promise - Honor your father and mother.

See The bedrock of any generation .....is their ability to learn from their parents.
When the family goes awry... there will be a basic dysfunction... and rebellion that will pervade the
entire structure of the society.

So The basic unit ....for the passing on of wisdom.... is the family.

Proverbs makes it clear again and again in the first 9 chapters of this book that it is through a father
and mother that wisdom flows to the next generation.

So, when they have lost respect for their parents.... that wisdom is lost to an entire generation.

We watched this in the late 1950's and 60's as almost an entire generation cast off the morals and the
wisdom of their parents .....and decided to start their own revolution.
They decided that their's .....would be a generation of love and peace.
Ah yes Im talking bell bottom jeans,,,Afros,,,and other strange clothing

They turned to...... and tuned out...... on drugs,

And turned their ears from hearing... and honoring their parents,
and did whatever they wanted.
It was a disastrous generation - and those who embraced this kind of lifestyle and are still living today
continue to wreak havoc on society today.

The second godless characteristic;;; of this generation is that they are pure in their own eyes.

The Bible considered this particular sin ...to be one that is very damaging.

Those who consider themselves pure in their own eyes .....are blind to the truth that they are fallen and
sinful.

They will justify themselves..... no matter how disgusting and disobedient their behavior becomes.

It is as if they are deaf to anything God says - and decide that whatever their flesh wants is true and
good.

Those who fall into this trap.... will find themselves hopelessly bound in their sin, and wickedness
and will only be delivered by the sovereign goodness of God as He draws them them to truth that is
outside of themselves.

The Word tells us that even though they are pure in their own eyes,....They are still unwashed from
their filthiness.
Just because we decide we are going to redefine sin in our own minds..... does not mean that we are
not guilty of it in God's sight.

So No matter how many times ...the world tries to redefine sin, God's Word stands as ultimate and
absolute truth.

When the wicked disobey God's Word -... and decide that their own thinking is what defines pure - they
still wind up standing before God as sinners....................................................
But the world in which they live is upside down - ..and as such it is a difficult place.... for believers and
those who desire.... to lead holy lives to live.

The third evil characteristic is that they are arrogant.

This is described as having "lofty" eyes.

This simply means that they look down upon everyone else.
They consider themselves awesome and wonderful, while everyone else is lower than them.
This makes them arrogant.
Arrogance is defined in the Bible... as primarily a sin against God.
 Psalms 119:21
speaks of the arrogant... as those who wander from God's commandments.
They ignore and look down upon God Himself - and therefore think far higher of themselves and what
they want to do than they do of the commandments of God.

Psalms 119:21
You rebuke the proud—the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.

Proverbs says this makes them embrace sin and be careless

Proverbs 14:6
A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

And as well as those who stir up strife;;; Proverbs 28:25

He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife,
But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.

So An arrogant heart..... ultimately disregards God.

Such a generation will exalt their own thinking...... and reasoning above God's.
And If anyone tries to instruct them or correct them - up will go their eyes and eyelids.. as they look
down on the poor fool ......who has decided to oppose their perfect wisdom.

So the Problem is the fool is the one whose eyelids are lifted in arrogance against God and against
those who walk in His wisdom.

So Disregard for parents...., purity in our own eyes...., and arrogance will lead to a society where all
respectability is gone...............................................................................................................

So The last of these four evil characteristics is ....that this generation is one where ..their mouths are
out of control.
Their teeth are like swords - their jaw teeth are like knives - to devour the needy and afflicted among
men.
They have no regard.... for the poor and needy.
They only see them...... as someone to exploit for their own ends.
There is a complete lack of respect....... because there was never ....other characteristics built into their
lives to encourage it.
They do not regard parents .......- who would have taught them obedience and selflessness.
They do not see anything ............as sin - because they justify their own actions and would even justify
treating the afflicted and needy badly
.
Finally, they are arrogant - and view all others as beneath themselves.
This makes it far easier to have little or no conscience at all... as long as they get what they want in the
end.

There is a generation that lives this way.

Before you think I am going to refer to a specific generation - think about what the Bible says about the
heart condition of mankind.

This is actually... what happens ....in every generation of men.

It happens.... because .....of the fall of man into sin.

It happens..... because..... we are in rebellion against God- and want to do our own thing.

The generation of which Solomon speaks is any generation from the fall to the end of the age.

And Unless God intervenes with the gospel and the saving of mankind by His grace - we would all
eventually gravitate in these four directions.

These verses teach us wisdom by helping us to understand where the sinful nature and the flesh will
take us.

If anything these verses should make us very open to running to God for his grace and His
transformation.

Because if we don't -..... this is most likely what life will look like
.
A world filled with a disregard for parents, filth being called purity, arrogance, and a society filled with
harmful and vicious words.
This is a generation to be avoided at all costs.
Unfortunately.... this is where we are heading.....Listen to the youth of today..look at the news...and
social media.....
The world is turning from God,..,and turning it into....... a modern Sodom and Gomorrah

And do you know what God did to those cities...

Lets read about it........Paraphrase first part.........................................................................

Genesis 19:23-29

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down
burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew
those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the
land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the
LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw
dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of
the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
.....................................................................................................................................................

Our nation north America .....is spiritually bankrupt.

Perhaps you are wondering how we will ever make Christ known, and whether we should try new
methods?
Well, Acts 17 is a good place to go for the answers. .........................Paul describes and shows us whats
going on here.........I will paraphrase this for you......

Note carefully that he doesn’t walk away in despair,... but is stirred to the core, ‘provoked’, by what he
sees.
And, at first, his approach differs greatly from the earlier preaching occasions recorded in Acts

It was said of Athens...... that you were more likely to find a god there..... than a man;
the locals even hedged their bets ......by worshiping an ‘Unknown god’.
The place was ‘given over’ to such idolatry ...and Paul’s reaction provides important lessons.

So here now in Athens ....it is different..................................

Here Paul is faced with a people who don’t know about the patriarchs, haven’t a clue about the Red
Sea, and are unfamiliar with the prophets and their writings.

So Paul starts from an entirely different point to the previous occasions.

He says, in (Acts 17:24).‘God, who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heaven
and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands’
He starts at the beginning of everything,.... at the earliest time God reveals his work to us.
He also begins by declaring the name of ‘God’ authoritatively, by assuming God’s existence.
Questions such as ‘Where did God come from?’ or
‘What was there before the world was made?’ .....are never addressed.
The Bible doesn’t give an answer to everything, nor did Paul, and nor can we.
We are to be believers,.... not ‘understanders’, .......nor even ‘explainers’... of every detail.
Paul asserts that it is God ....who ‘made the world........ and everything in it’...... His reasons: ‘
.......Take a look around you ......and ask yourself, “
.......Where did it all come from?
What do I observe .......and how can I account........ for everything that is?”’ And is......
Understand God’s invisible attributes...... are plain and clear ......for all humans to take note of
(Romans 1:20).
0 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

But drawing attention to these things alone .....will accomplish nothing in turning men and women to
God.
Belief in a creator is not enough .....to spare people from the punishment..... of their sins.

Having started with creation,.... Paul then led the Athenians to consider Christ.
Peter at Pentecost concluded with Jesus as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36-38);
Stephen climaxed his sermon with the death of Christ (Acts 7:52); and on both those occasions the
hearers were urged to repent.
Now Paul does the same, ....even though the Athenians come from a very different religious
background.
He says, ‘Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked,....
but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ....because he has appointed a day on which he will
judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to
all by raising him from the dead’ (Acts 17:30-31).
So Wherever we start with people, ...we need to do what Peter, Stephen and Paul did, lead them to
Jesus Christ.
Their preaching led up to, ...‘Repent,... turn,..... believe in Christ .......and be saved’.
For, to acknowledge that there is a God should lead us to confess that we need to seek and find him.
We need to be prepared to come into his presence on the judgement day.
There can be nothing more urgent than that...............................................................

So Do we simply lay out the facts,

Draw upon proofs of a Creator at our disposal and assume all our hearers will be convinced?
No!.......... Nor was it different for Paul.
Acts 17 speaks of a variety of reactions among the Athenians:
‘And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, We will hear
you again on this matter.
‘So Paul departed from among them.
However, some men joined him and believed,
among them Dionysius the Areopagite,
a woman named Damaris, and others with them’ (vv. 32-34).

Yes, some did believe and were added to the church of Jesus Christ.
We pray God will do the same today.
As only He can and is doing so.
But we need to start with people where they are...
And then lead them to Jesus Christ, ........the sinner’s friend.

So for us today now in our time,,, the only way out ...is through the gospel of Jesus Christ
through grace and faith alone in Jesus and coming to repentance - and in the regeneration in Him that
changes us from the inside out.

That's where the change must start......Its a heart issue.......and a mind issue

And therfore the change must take place there first....HOW...........

By a word I made up and...... I like to call RABL

REPENT
ACCEPT
BELEIVE
LIVE

That's the key ........that's needed to change lives........................

And its the only thing... that will turn this godless generation...... back to CHRIST>>AMEN