Jeremiah 52:12-13
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
One of the sad parts of the book of Jeremiah is how the people didn't listen to their destruction. However, this is not the saddest part of this book. The saddest part about this book is that the sins of the people destroyed all the work of the past generations. The house of the LORD and all the homes being burned down were the labors of people in the past going up in flames. You see, somebody built those homes, but the sin of the people wasted those labors. The walls that were torn down were the labors of many people who built those walls. The instruments in the temple that were taken away were the hours of labor that many put into making them so that people could serve the LORD. This selfish generation that didn’t listen to Jeremiah were wasting not only their own lives, but the thousands of hours of labor that others put into those things that were destroyed.
As I think about all that happened to Jerusalem, I am reminded of the many great works that have been destroyed by sin and compromise. I think of the great Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that is closed. Why was it closed down? Because someone thought that compromise was the answer instead of following the same paths that Dr. Lee Roberson followed, the man God used to build that great work. Think about the thousands of hours those who worked with Dr. Roberson labored to build that great work. The buildings and the great ministry are all gone because one preacher thought he knew better than the man God used to build that great work. One man thought the King James Bible that Dr. Roberson used was not good enough, so he changed to a perversion. That same man thought all the chapel churches he built were of no purpose, and he closed them down. That man thought the bus routes were not needed, and he closed them down. That man replaced soul winning with worldliness to the detriment of that church. Sadly, he closed down the power of God on that ministry, and today the thousands of hours of people who sacrificed to build that place are wasted because of one man’s arrogance to compromise.
I could spend pages writing about ministries like this that are no longer in existence or have completely changed from what they used to be, and how those who compromised or walked into sin didn’t take into consideration the thousands of hours that someone put into the place given to them. My friend, you waste the thousands of hours of others who gave you what you have when you choose to compromise. You are spitting on the labors of very good people who built what you have when you choose to walk into sin. Compromise and sin are one of the most selfish sins because they waste the thousands of hours of labor that others put into giving you what you have.
My friend, you inherited a heritage that thousands of people have handed down to you. Don't you waste their sweat and tears. Do right and don't change anything. It is your responsibility to give to the next generation the heritage of the old paths in the thriving position that you received it.