Your Family’s Place in the Eternal Purpose of God
(If only we knew what the # 1 Purpose of Family is!)
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, & with all thy soul, & with all thy mind. This is the 1st & great commandment” (Matt. 22:36-38). Jesus quotes from the “Shema” in Deuteronomy. 6:5-7:
“Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, & with all thy soul, & with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, & shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, & when thou walkest by the way, & when thou liest down, & risest up.”
Jesus is confronted with one of life’s most important questions: “What is the most important commandment in the law?” In other words what should be the #1 priority of my life? When the world, the devil & my own lust tempt me to waste my time or divert my energies to secondary issues; How do I make sure I fulfill the purpose for which I was created? How do I prevent life from becoming vain & meaningless?
Jesus answered this question by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus, God manifest in human flesh, says nothing is more important than pursuing your relationship with God.
But how do I obey this command? Where do I start? The answer is found in the context of Deut. 6:5. These verses are part of the “Shema” Isreal, so everyone knew the entire passage by heart! They all knew that at the heart of the Great Commandment is family discipleship with parents being the primary spiritual trainers of their children.
“These words, which I command thee shall be in thine heart: thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
The church teaches a lot on “Discipleship” especially through small groups. God loves discipleship small groups too. He just calls them families. He wants every believer to experience the ultimate discipleship small group – a Christian family. A great commitment to the great commandment, & the great commission not only builds a great church, it builds a great family & a great society! Thus our #1 Priority in response to the Greatest Commandment is to do everything we can to lead our own children, & the children of the church family, into a personal relationship with the LORD God that consistently impacts every area of their daily life.
THE FAMILY IS THE FOCUS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Psalm 78:1-7 gives us a picture of the powerful impact families have in advancing the Kingdom of God.
“Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard & known, & our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, & his wonderful works that he hath done. For he.… appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise & declare them to their children” (Ps. 78:1-6)
As biblical history unfolds we see God’s constant focus on the family. The genealogy of Japheth records how “the isles of the Gentiles divided after their families, in their nations” (Gen. 10:5). God takes note of the “families of the Canaanites” (10:18) and records the genealogy of Ham, after their families (10:20). God records the genealogy of Shem, after their families…” (10:31). God summarizes this early history after the Flood by telling us “these are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generation, in their nations” (10:32). We have abundant evidence in the Bible that God will use you in some way to bring your relatives to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Covenants of God reveal the salvation of the entire family is His intent. God enters a Blood Covenant relationship with: Noah & his seed (Gen. 9:9); Abraham & his descendants (Gen. 17:7); David & his descendants (I Chron. 17:10). In the Old Testament, Rahab & her family were saved (Josh 6:17, 25). The entire family was redeemed from slavery by the blood of the Passover Lamb in Egypt (Ex. 12). Even as Gomer finally forsook her backslidden ways (Hosea 3), so our Heavenly Father waits for the return of every prodigal in repentance & faith.
God’s Covenant with Abraham & his family was so that through him all the families on earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Eventually all the Families become all the nations in Genesis 18:18-19).
This promise is ultimately fulfilled when every tribe, language, people & nation glories before God’s throne in worship (Rev. 5:9, 7:9). Families are at the very heart of God’s redemptive plan for humanity.
Not only does God take seriously his commitment to bless and use our families, God also takes seriously the commitments heads of households make to serve Him. Abraham made a decision on behalf of his whole household and all of his descendants. God says of Abraham:
“…Abraham shall surely become a great & mighty nation, & all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (19) For I know him, that he will command his children & his household after him, & they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice & judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him”(Gen 18:18-19)
Joshua challenged the families of Israel to make a deliberate choice to follow God: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-22). Similarly, when God was pleased with David’s commitment to Him, He announced that the Messiah would come from David’s descendants, his future family (2 Sam. 7:1-18)
Do not underestimate the willingness & power of God to bless your whole family once you commit to make God’s #1 priority for you your #1 priority for Him. “For the promise is for you & for your children & for all who are far off” (Act 2:39). First you come to Christ, then lead your family to Christ, then reach the world for Christ! God’s plan & goal is that by blessing your family, your family becomes a blessing to all the families of the earth. [Illus: The story of Ditt whose commitment to bring His family to Christ resulted in saving over 400,000 Chuhras in India].
THE FAMILY IS THE FOCUS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Apostles obviously understood that Jesus intended the great commission to focus on families. How do we know this? Because from the beginning they won and incorporated whole families into the church. Few isolated individual converts are highlighted in the New Testament. All through the N. T. we find the entire household is God's concern: in Acts 16:30-31 when the Philippian jailer ask Peter: "What must I do to be saved?" Peter answered: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
This does not teach that your relatives are saved simply because you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior. Each member of the family must make their own decision, repenting of their sins and making Jesus Christ LORD of their life. As the scripture above points out they all need to believe the "word of the Lord."
Acts 16:14,15 Lydia and her household were all baptized
Acts 16:33 The Philippian jailer and his household were baptized
Acts 18:8 Crispus believed in the Lord with all his household.
Acts 10:24,44 "Cornelius called together his kinsmen and near friends. “while Peter yet spake, the Holy Ghost fell on all which heard the word."
Acts 11:14 "he shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved" (see I Thess. 2:13; Col. 4:3-4).
Acts 21:8-9 Philip had "four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy."
Acts 23:16 the son of Paul's sister supported Paul in the work of the Gospel (Strong evidence his sister was a Christian).
Even Jesus’ own family didn’t believe in Him at first (John 7:5). But after the resurrection we read in Acts 1:14 that Jesus' Mother & his brethren prayed together with the believers in the upper room.
God designed the family to be the most enduring important structure of human society. The family is God’s prime mission strategy to redeem a lost world. Thus it became the epicenter of a horrific spiritual war. It is crucial that we understand the authority we have “in Christ” to defeat the arch enemy of our family (I John 3:8; Heb. 2:14). Jesus has guaranteed ultimate victory!
Every Christian parent can have a faith based assurance for the salvation of their children. Jesus often taught: "be it done to you according to your faith" (Matt. 9:29; 17:20; Mk 5:34; Lk. 7:50; 17:19). The Bible also teaches us that "faith cometh by hearing, & hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17; I Tim 4:6). The following Scriptures will help you pray for your family’s salvation with true biblical faith. (Ps. 102:16-17, 28; Ps 103:11-13,17; Ps. 90:15-16; Isa. 59:19-20, 21; 66:22).
Your Family has an Essential Role in the Redemptive Plan of God
In terms of Christian history, the common practice up to the 1600s was to equip each family in the church to disciple their children through regular family worship. But today we’re losing more of our own children to the world than we are leading to a relationship with God through the LORD Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther said “I am much afraid that Schools will prove to be great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount.” Make sure you know who is teaching your children & what they are teaching them!
Important Lessons:
1.) God accomplishes the Great Commission through parents Discipling
their Children & Grandchildren in their Home with the help of the
Church Family.
2.) God will bless our family abundantly if we are faithful in this
Command.
3.) I will start a regular prayer time with my Family & a regular Bible
reading time with my Family. I will serve the LORD together with
my family Or Pray fervently… till they are willing!
4.) I must never surrender my family to the enemy. When I come
under heavy attack I will DEFEAT DESPAIR WITH THE POWER
OF PRAYER!
