Family's RoleThe Biblical Family

“The Church was not ordained by God to be a substitute for the home but rather a support for the home. We are not to compete with the family, we are to complement and complete it.”

The most pressing problem facing the Church today is the disintegration of the Biblical family.  The family is being redefined before our very eyes by a society that has rejected the Bible as its source of authority.  The seeds sown in the Sixties by the sexual revolution have led to the break down of every Biblical norm of behavior.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the family.  Dr. Spock created a revolution in child rearing practices that has created a narcissistic focus on self fulfillment and self actualization.

Parents no longer have any confidence in the Biblical methods of discipline as outlined in Scripture, instead opting for the latest fad of manipulating kid’s behavior.  The “rod” has been replaced by the “time out.” Instead of practicing Biblical methods we “give to Caesar what is God’s” and adopt these worldly ideologies and pragmatic practices.

The Puritans of long ago rightly understood that the function of the family along Biblical lines was fundamental to the Churches ability to permeate society as salt and light.  The great Puritan Pastor Matthew Henry said in his excellent sermon “A Church in the house: A sermon concerning Family Religion”: “Now I know not anything that will contribute more to the furtherance of this good work than the bringing of family religion more into practice and reputation. Here the reformation must begin.”

Rather than relegating the home to a place of subservience to the Church they understood that once Men saw their responsibility to lead in the home as their central calling in life, the leadership ability that they learned by leading wife and children would seep out of their lives and cause them to seek to become leaders in civic affairs as well as the Church.  These men would reject passivity and embrace their calling.

Isn’t it interesting that the Biblical qualifications of elders in both I Timothy 3 and Titus 1 place much emphasis on a man’s ability to lead his family? In fact we are told: “If a man does not know how to lead his home, how can he lead the Church of God?”
Today, as we focus on our families, lets seek the Lord in humility- asking His help in building homes to His glory.
Because of grace,
Tim

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