The Fifth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother.
Last week we did a survey of scriptures in the Old and New Testaments where we saw how serious this commandment is. Immediately after the first four commandments pointing us to God and how to properly honor God and treat His name and schedule regular time with Him, God gives us this commandment that we are to honor our fathers and mothers.
We noticed that rebellious children and children who cursed their parents were sentenced to death under God’s law. Exodus 21:15&17, Deut. 21:18-21, Lev. 20:9
We saw in Deuteronomy 6 that the best way to insure that our children obey God and honor us is for us as parents to obey God and honor our parents. We are to model what we expect from our children.
One of our texts from last week’s lesson was Ephesians 5:1-2. Here we are instructed to imitate God as dearly loved children…
After I dropped mom off at Martin Boyd, I turned on the radio and heard a sermon by John MacArthur on this very text. (http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/grace-to-you-weekend/) It was a very powerful lesson that captured something of the culture we are raising up our children in. As I listened I was more and more impressed with the profoundness of God’s word there in Ephesians 5. Open your Bibles to that passage and hear what God says to us and think about how we are called to be light in a very dark world.
John Lennon wrote a song: All You Need is Love. It was supposed to be a song that could be understood by all people of any nation or culture. The message of His song was intended to be so universally clear and true that it could not be misunderstood. All you need is love… how could anyone misunderstand that? But the question is, what is this love? What we discover when we open our Bibles and open our eyes is that most people in the world haven’t got a clue what love is. Like marriage, love has been redefined to mean something that actually destroys its true meaning altogether.
Go with me to Ephesians 5 and let’s look at this amazing text and what God shows us about love and how love gets redefined by those who are in darkness and sin.
First we are told: Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love…
God made us in His image and likeness and He wants us to live according to that likeness. God is love, says 1 John and so we are to live a life of love to imitate our God and Father in heaven. But what does God look like? What does it look like to live a life of love? He tells us: just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Can you see it? We are to live lives that look like Christ. We are to love as Christ loved. How did Christ love? He gave himself up for us. Think of it. Jesus Christ demonstrates God’s love by denying himself and giving himself up for us as a sacrifice. This sacrifice and offering was so that we could return to God as our Father. It was a love offering that redeems us from sin and death. Jesus demonstrates God’s love so that we can enjoy God’s presence and by His marvelous grace, we can live lives of love both now and forever!
What a sublime concept! Living lives of love God’s way looks like humble self-sacrifice for the purpose of helping others know and come to God.
That is the most loving thing we can do, live lives of love like Christ. That defines love God’s way. This is something we need and our children need. It is something everyone needs. But our focus today is on how we can help our children obey God and honor us according to His word. Here we find love defined by God so that we can practice it for our families and raise up our children to know the love of God, and indeed become like God and enjoy His fullness.
Eph. 3:14-21 Notice the basis for what is said in chapter 5.
Eph. 5:1-2 (read again)
But right after this notice what he says next: What will the fallen world do to redefine love?
Notice how the text turns from the sublime glory of God to the dirty fallen filth of sin. The contrast is purposeful here. After looking at God’s love, look at what the fallen world and culture around us calls love.
Eph. 5:3-7 (read)
What happens when our children are partners with those that practice these things? What about us as parents? Do we partner up with people who practice these things? Like father, like son.
1 Cor 15:33 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. (Notice, this does not say evil commanionships MIGHT corrupt good morals. They will do it. Beware!)
The Week, Oct. 5, 2012: How teens’ texts lead to unsafe sex. (Read Article)
Basically the article points to a study that shows how texting between teens has turned sexual. When this happens those doing it are 17 times more likely to engage in sexual activity with multiple partners. What are our children facing in their public schools and entertainment activities today? How is this affecting them? The article says: if their friends are doing it, they are doing it. (Read 1 Cor. 15:33 again).
Would you send your children into a leper colony regularly and for long periods of time? Why not? We understand that contagious diseases should be avoided, don’t we. If we must be in contact with contagious diseases we understand that we need to protect ourselves to keep from contracting the sickness.
God expects us as parents to help our children obey Him. In fact, I would argue that God has made this the most important part of parenting. Above feeding and housing our children, we have the obligation from God to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We simply can NOT give this responsibility to someone else.
Let's close with a look at a child who was dedicated to God and how he turned out:
The book of 1 Samuel tells the story of how Samuel was born and came to be a great prophet of God.
Before he was born to Hannah, she was a barren wife. She went to the tabernacle and prayed for God to bless her with a son and she promised God that if He would give her a son she would give her son to the Lord for all the days of his life. The Lord heard Hannah’s prayer and gave her a son and she was true to her promise. She dedicated him to the Lord and brought little Samuel to live there with Eli the high priest right after he was weaned. So Samuel grew up serving at the tabernacle of the Lord. Look with me at 1 Samuel 3:1-10
Why do you suppose God chose to speak to Samuel? Was there anything about him that stands out?
When Samuel thought Eli was calling him, what did he do? How many times did Samuel obey? What percentage is that? Where did that come from?
