2 Samuel 23:20
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
One of David’s mighty men was mighty for something that many never see. Benaiah was known as a mighty man because he went down in the midst of a pit on a snowy day to kill a lion that kept Israel’s troops from advancing. This is a great act that nobody else did.
However, I believe Benaiah was a mighty man because he followed his father’s example. Benaiah’s dad was a valiant man who did many valiant acts, one being that he slew two lionlike men of Moab. Benaiah could have easily ridden on his daddy’s coattails and talked about all that his dad had done. Benaiah could have easily had a great name because of his dad, but he realized that he had an example to follow so that he could be an example to the next generation that followed him.
If you are an old paths, independent Baptist believer of my generation, you have had great examples to follow, examples that were valiant and mighty men whom God used to build great works for Him. We have men like Lester Roloff, Harold Sightler, Jack Hyles, Lee Roberson, and B.G. Buchanan, to name a few. These men were not sissy men, but they were valiant men who gave us an example to stand for truth, be passionate in reaching the lost for Christ, live by faith, and live separated lives from the world. Their examples should stir every believer to be an example of valiant believers themselves for the younger generation that follows.
We have a choice; we can live on the legacy of these men and tell everyone the great works of God that we saw these men do, or we can take their example and slay our lion in our day so the generation to follow will also have an example they have seen do valiant acts for God. What is sad is that too many of the present generation are more keen on criticizing and tearing down these men than they are with learning and copying their examples to do the same things they did to preserve the old paths for us.
The next generation is dying for believers and men of God to be valiant examples for them to follow. We can bury our heads when truth is under attack and say that we don't want to be involved, or we can boldly and publicly stand for truth without concern about what friends we may lose. Let me remind you that there has never been a valiant man of God who was silent when truth was attacked, and there has never been a valiant man of God who attacked the one standing for truth. We have these examples because they were valiant while others were silent. These examples were examples because they were willing to lose all for truth.
My friend, it is time that our generation slays our lion to give the next generation an example to follow. It is time we slay our lion and build great churches for God, win many souls to Christ, and stand for truth no matter what the consequences may be. God gave us examples so that we can be an example so that the old paths Baptist churches can be perpetuated until Jesus comes again. By the way, the old paths Baptist churches will be perpetuated with or without you. However, I would rather be a part of the crowd that perpetuated these old paths than to be a part of the crowd that meets Jesus who idly sat by while the old paths were attacked.
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