Honour To Whom Honour Is Due

HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE

Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:1-9

Dorn Ridge Church of Christ May 11, 2014

Audio link to sermon: http://chirb.it/0M8APA

INTRODUCTION:

1.) On this Mother’s Day Sunday, I want to address an important theme from the Word of God on honouring our parents.

A.) Certainly in this room are represented various stages of our walk in life.

B.) The reality of the different stages of life can often make Mother’s Day an awkward time and subject to address.

ba.) For many people Mother’s Day is hard.

bb.) Many here today would no longer have mothers or fathers who are still alive.

2.) The theme I have chosen for today is that of giving honour to our parents.

A.) I have chosen to speak this Mother’s Day from a passage from the ten commandments.

B.) Honouring our parents is something we can do regardless of our age, or if our parents are living or deceased.

3.) In particular, I would like to specifically address three topics on this theme today:

A.) Honouring your parents is not always a value of society.

B.) Honouring your parents is a value given us from the Word of God.

C.) Honouring your parents means different things at each stage in life.

I. HONOURING YOUR PARENTS IS NOT ALWAYS A VALUE OF SOCEITY.

1.) Traditionally most societies have valued the previous generations, their values, and wisdom.

A.)This is not always the rule, and today it may even be more challenged than during previous generations.

2.) Today many forces seek to excuse us from the honour we owe our parents.

A.) Some of the music, videos, and games youth will take into their lives today can challenge the values of the family.

aa.) Prized qualities such as: Godliness, and traditional values are often mocked or ridiculed by television, and other stimuli that impact our youth and culture today.

ab.) This includes teachings directly from the Word of God including teachings on the honour we are to give to parents.

ac.) There are numerous individuals whose influence through song and video encourage young people to be disrespectful to their parents and not give them the honour that is rightfully theirs.

aca.) Past generations would have been shocked at the challenges to family in the 21st.century.

B.) Today there are just so many forces battling against the family, and traditional values of society.

3.) Perhaps this has always been the case.

A.) Maybe this is nothing new as the family and the church have always been the two strongholds upon which society has been guided, and given direction, and stability.

aa.) These two institutions have been backbones or foundation walls to establish the next generation into the best it can be.

B.) Because they have been powerful forces for the good of our nation Satan has always attacked, and tried to remove the parental honour that God himself has put in place.

4.) Today some would even argue one does not have to honour a parent if deemed by that person as unhonourable.

A.) The reality is that every parent who has been on this earth is not perfect.

aa.) Every parent on this earth including ourselves have had times we have failed in parenting and the way a situation may have been handled.

B.) But regardless of flaws or failures we have an obligation to pay honour to our parents.

ba.) This is a debt of honour that is to be without exception.

C.) It is possible that a situation would come up in which a parent could desire a child to enter into sin.

ca.) If such a situation was to come up one would have to make a choice between that decision and obedience and loyalty to Jesus Christ.

cb.) Yet even if such a situation arose, we would still be required to use respect for our parent/s and to honour them in the other areas of life.

cc.) The reason for this is simple:

II. HONOURING OUR PARENTS IS A COMMANDMENT FROM THE WORD OF GOD.

1.) To honour our father and our mother comes right from the ten Commandments.

A.) Exodus 20:12

B.) The importance of this statement is seen when we appreciate what the ten commandments actually are.

ba.) On one level these commandments were laws summarizing briefly the will of God.

baa.) In fact, the ten commandments have formed the basis of Jewish religious and civil law.

bab.) Really we cannot stop there, for the ten commandments have formed the backbone of law for many nations of the world including Canada and the United States.

bb.) Yet on another level the ten commandments including the commandment to Honour our fathers and mothers have a much deeper meaning, and importance.

bba.) You may recall a few years ago I had a series of messages on the Jewish Wedding ceremony as a symbol of our relationship to God and Jesus Christ.