Apostasy and Degeneracy.
By The Armory
It is frequently a matter of remark that the children and successors of godly people do not manifest the fervent piety and love which marked their fathers. And people sometimes inveigh against this manifestation of the degeneracy of the times in which we live. But it is possible that they overlook one fact, which, if recollected, would fully explain the evils of which they complain. The one vital fact bearing on this question is, that righteousness or piety is not hereditary. A good father may have a bad son. Righteousness and holiness are not the natural heritage of man. No man, however good or gracious his parentage may be, is born so well that he does not need to be born again. Religion is not transmissible by descent. It is consequently entirely unreasonable to expect that the unconverted children of any generation will live lives corresponding to those of their parents and predecessors who have been converted to God. The child of a saint is a sinner, and will live a sinner and die a sinner, unless he is converted to God and made a saint by the same process by which his father before him was led to believe in Christ and follow him. Hence, the entire work of regeneration, conversion, or renewing of heart and life, has to be repeated with each successive generation. It was vain for the Jews to say, "We have Abraham to our father;" it is equally vain for us to boast of pious ancestors, and saintly fathers and mothers, when the only thing that can save the children of the best of parents is a thorough conversion to God, and a personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not therefore to think it strange that the children of good people go wrong, or that they fail to manifest the fervor and faith of their predecessors. We are to look to God for the renewal and salvation of our offspring, knowing that unless they repent and find salvation they will as surely perish as though they were the children of the vilest sinners that ever lived. Of course, training, instruction, and good example may do something toward leading children to Christ; but when all this is done, the work of salvation is his and his alone. And, instead of wasting our time in fruitless complaints over the degeneracy of the rising generation, it is better for us to labor that they may be converted to God, made heirs of the grace of life, and so fitted for faithful service in the Master's cause. It is utterly unreasonable to expect sinners to act like saints because their parents were Christians. The way to have men act like Christians is to persuade them to yield themselves to God; and when they are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, grace will reign and blessing will descend.