Introduction: The Bible Contains Divine Principles for Good Family Relationships.
- God’s purposes for the family have been challenged, but they have not been changed. In the Bible, God gives the principles and the power by which His purposes for the family can be fulfilled.
- Illustration “Disintegration of Cultures”
I. HUSBAND-WIFE RELATIONSHIPS.
A. The Bible calls for mutual fulfillment in sexual union in the marriage relationship.
- “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” (1 Corinthians 7:3-4).
B. The Bible calls for mutual fidelity in a monogamous relationship.
- “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4).
- “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
C. The relationship of the wife to the husband.
1. She is to love him.
- “…older women are to… encourage the young women to love their husbands… so that God’s message will not be slandered” (Titus 2:3- 5).
2. She is to be responsive to his leadership.
- “Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives should [submit] to their husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24).
- “Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the [Christian] message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live, when they observe your pure, reverent lives” (1 Peter 3:1-2).
- God commands that wives—whether married to a believer or non-believer—should seek to honor their husband’s leadership. The passage suggests that wives’ exemplary lives can cause their unbelieving husbands to come to know Christ personally. A Spirit-filled life can be convicting and also provides a platform to share the Gospel. The passage, however, does not suggest that the wife should obey her husband when such actions would nullify or compromise her Christian witness.
D. She is to respect him.
1. “…the wife is to respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).
E. The relationship of the husband to the wife.
1. He is to love her.
- “Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her… In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies… each one of you is to love his wife as himself…” (Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33).
2. He is to be committed to her.
- “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31).
3. He is to be considerate of her.
4. “Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with understanding of their weaker nature yet showing them honor as co-heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).
II. THE RELATION OF PARENTS TO THEIR CHILDREN:
A. Parents are responsible for teaching their children.
- “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
B. Parents must train children.
- “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
C. Children need loving discipline.
- “And fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
D. Children need a worthy example.
- “…clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
E. “Uzziah… did what was right in the Lord’s sight as his father Amaziah had done” (2 Chronicles 26:3-4).
III. THE RELATION OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS:
A. Children are to honor their parents.
- “Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).
B. Children are to obey their parents.
- “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right” (Ephesians 6:1).
- “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord” (Colossians 3:20)
C. Children are to learn from their parents.
- “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).
D. Children are to provide for their needy parents.
- “But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to practice their religion toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God” (1 Timothy 5:4).
CONCLUSION:
The Bible contains God’s plan for achieving quality and health in family life. Christians are constrained to take very seriously the Word of God as it relates to the family.
