Families In Troubled Times-The Need For Strong Biblical Families In Today's

Ephesian 5:23-6:4

Introduction: (Video)

- World Vision’s decision

- Situational ethics

- I will step on some toes today

- This message will take a mature mind to listen to it and understand it.

- The tag line “Building Strong Families for Christ”.

I. Families are the foundation of this world. (vs. 25-27)

- I Timothy 4:1-3

- Families are the foundation of the church, the community, the country, the world.

- When our families are weak all of these things are weak.

- We should be looking to strengthen our families by higher moral standards rather than capitulation to situation ethics.

- We certainly need to love each other

- But that is not enough. We need to also hold to strong biblical standards in our families.

- When we fail to do this each subsequent generation gets weaker and weaker morally and biblically.

- In today’s world our families are doing their way and families have never been more unhappy.

- Families can never grow stronger by rejection biblical standards

II. Fathers are the Biblical anchor of the family. (vs.23-24)

- This is not about who gets to be in charge.

- That is a childish way to view this passage

- Men have a responsibility to lead the home.

- Failure to do so means the family will not function according to biblical standards.

- Story about leading a squad through enemy lines.

- Men cannot lead the home if they first are not following Christ.

- In order to be leaders we must first become followers.

- In other words men we have got to give our wives something to follow.

- Men are equipped by God to lead the home, women are not.

- Men are designed by God to lead the home, women are not.

- It is a moral calling of men to lead the home.

- It is a biblical calling that men lead the home.

- It is a Holy calling of God on the lives of men to lead the home.

III. Wives lead by submission to the husband. (v.22)

- It is true men need to give the wife something to follow by following Christ.

- Jesus lead this world by being in submission to the Father

- Submission does not mean subservient

- Women are not subservient to the husband just because they follow God’s mandate.

- Submission to the husband is submission to God.

- It is to be done out of obedience to God

- Not because the man is perfect, because he is not.

- Not because the man is worthy, because he will never be.

- But because God chose to lead families through the man.

- This is not an “I get to be in charge” thing for the man.

- It is a “what a tremendous responsibility I have” thing given by God.

- The family cannot function biblically without it.

- The children will never learn to properly submit to authorities if the Father is not leading and the mother is not following.

IV. Children need to be taught to honor their Mother and their Father. (vs.6:1-3)

- Parents are not perfect and make mistakes

- Children honoring their parents is not dependent on how good a parent they have.

- Any more than wives should respect and submit to the leadership of the husband is dependent on how perfect the husband is.

- Children are to honor their parents whether they get things right or not.

- Parents who have issues with authority will have children who have issues with authority.

- Children who have issues with authority will have trouble buying into the gospel.

- When the Father is not willing to follow Christ the children will have trouble also

- When the Father is not willing to lead his home biblically the children will have trouble with the gospel

- When the mother is unwilling to be a leader in her home by following Christ and the husband then the children will struggle with Jesus and salvation

- Parents we cannot run our homes in direct opposition to God

- We cannot do things our own way and think that there will not be repercussions where our children are concerned.

- It is either God’s way or failure. There are no other options.

- It matters not how bad our parents were

- It matters not how poorly we were raised

- There are no excuses for situational ethics

- That is just us trying to have it both ways.

- It will not work

- We will fail our children.