|
By
Mark Benedict
Today our
society, led by many of the leaders and
judges of our land, has rejected our Christian heritage and substituted the principles of
humanism in its place.
It is not surprising then, that we are witnessing an incredible breakdown,
both in the family structure and society.
Today's social decay is not unlike an
earlier time in history when the Roman Empire was in a steep moral decline as a result of
spiritual bankruptcy. We can take some comfort in knowing that it was in just such
conditions as these we are experiencing today that the Gospel first brought light to the
world of sinners. The conditions we are experiencing today are old news when it comes to the
Bible. This is why we should take a close look at the things which were
written in Scripture, as Paul
said in 1 Cor. 10:11:
These things happened to them as examples
and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has
come.”
To understand how God works in families we must
understand the scriptural principle of covenant relationship. Covenant relationship forms
the basis of our marriage, family, and even church relationships. It is the basis of our
salvation relationship with God. It is essential to the smooth functioning of any society
because it provides the basic bonds of trust between husbands and wives, and between each
and every member of society.
A covenant is a solemn agreement between two
parties. In Christian marriage it is reflected in the exchange of vows of faithfulness and
love until death. At the heart of any covenant there are clearly described
responsibilities and privileges for each party to the agreement. Our salvation is a
covenant in which God promises to pardon our sins and secure our eternal salvation.
We agree to trust him and give him full authority over our lives.
Throughout the scriptures God makes many promises
on this covenant basis. Our relationship with God is through a covenant based on
the atoning blood of Jesus. Some of his promises, such as those connected to our salvation
are unconditional. Because of the intrinsic value of Christ's sacrifice, once the blood of
Christ is applied through faith in the Gospel an irrevocable act of salvation occurs. Our
eternal destiny, once secured through saving faith in God's Son, is unchangeable, by the
simple fact that once God declares us justified, he does not change his mind. Our
continued salvation does not depend on any act or continued actions on our part, but upon
God's faithfulness.
However, there are hundreds of scripture promises
that are conditional upon our faithfulness.. These are spiritual cause and effect
promises. Very simply, God promises he will do certain things in response to certain
actions on our part. Many Christians experience spiritual defeat and disappointment
because they confuse God's unconditional promises with those requiring very specific acts
of obedience and faithfulness on their part.
This is particularly true in regard to parenting.
God has promised to do certain things on the basis of his covenant relationship with us.
For the Christian parent there are many encouraging covenant promises regarding the
protection and blessing of our families. But with almost every one of these promises God
established specific conditions and commands concerning our duties and responsibilities.
Many Christians latch on to specific promises which answer their needs while ignoring the
requirements God established as pre-conditions. Not only is this unwise, it is dishonest!
During the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8,
Solomon gave a detailed recitation of God's covenant with the Israelites and their
responsibilities under it.
1 Kings 8:22-25 "And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23
And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth
beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all
their heart:
Note the two responsibilities: God keeps his
covenant of love; We, his servants, continue wholeheartedly in his way.
24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him:
thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this
day. 4
God promises, then acts. When we enter covenant
relationship with God we too must act to fulfill our responsibilities.
25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father
that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on
the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before
me as thou hast walked before me."
God's promise in this verse, as in many others,
has specific conditions attached. In fact, when David's sons failed to walk before God He
removed them from the throne, just as he promised. See 2 Kings 24:3.
1 Kings 8:35-36 "When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because
they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and
turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive
the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way
wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people
for an inheritance."
God continually reacts to our actions with
appropriate consequences. Here, Solomon expects God to withhold blessing (rain) to turn
the people back to God when they sin against his holiness.
1 Kings 8:39-40 "Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and
forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest;
(for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 That they
may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our
fathers."
God, as a covenant keeper, deals with us in
accordance with our actions. This remains true even after we trust him as savior.
1 Kings 8:44-45 "If thy people go out to battle against their enemy,
whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which
thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: 45 Then hear thou
in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause."
Solomon, though confident God would uphold his
people when they prayed with faith toward the temple, was equally confident God would
personally deliver the Israelites into captivity to their enemies in response to their
sin. This very clear statement of Solomon's theology shows how he expected God to support
his people only when they obeyed him. He clearly believed that God would quickly judge the
Israelites for willful disobedience.
1 Kings 8:46-49 "If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that
sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they
carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 Yet if they shall
bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make
supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have
sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48 And so return unto thee
with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led
them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their
fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and
maintain their cause,"
1 Kings 8:61 "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our
God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."
Verse 61 clearly states the primary ingredient
for living every moment under God's blessing -- full and unqualified devotion and
obedience to his Word and Will for your life.
In scripture, God promises to make children a
blessing to parents, but this promise is intended for righteous parents who habitually
obey his commandments. These covenant promises on the subject of parenting are
conditional. They require faithful adherence to God's instructions as a precondition for
his action on our behalf.
Many Christians overlook these scriptural
qualifications just as they overlook the numerous warnings in scripture about the negative
long term consequences to families when parents and children deliberate violate God's
commandments. The apostle Paul warned in Gal 6:7-8:
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
This is a spiritual law reflecting God's nature.
It governs all human conduct. Since he gave us free will he designed his moral and
spiritual government over the universe to reward the exercise of our will with appropriate
consequences. When we choose to sin we experience negative consequences. When we choose
righteousness we are blessed. This principle is not very complicated, yet many believers
unwisely believe that
grace excludes the Christian from the law of spiritual cause and effect. This is not true at all!
We are excluded from the normal law of sowing and
reaping only through the specific application of God's grace to our particular
circumstances. God does not indiscriminately relieve of us from experiencing the
consequences of our actions. Like any wise parent, he knows it is often best that we
experience the results of our choices, even when they are unpleasant.
Fortunately, even when we sin God tempers his
judgment with mercy. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. See Psalm 103:10. But
Christians must never trifle with sin. All sin has very real, and sometimes long lasting,
consequences.
There are repentant former drug addicts and
sexually promiscuous Christians who turned to God, repented, and believed in Christ. Yet, despite
the exercise of saving faith, many continue to experience the side-effects
from their former lifestyles in the form of AIDS and other diseases. Violation of God's moral laws always
has negative consequences. Subsequent repentance will not always free us from the residual
results of disobedience. Christians should never be careless about sin. We ignore God's
warnings at our own peril. He is just as faithful to judge us with temporal punishment for
our disobedience as he is to bless us when we honor him. The rules of cause and effect
continue to impact our lives as long as we live.
So it is with parenting. The choices
parents
make will continue to influence their families for many years. God promised that
spiritual carelessness and disobedience on the part of parents would be visited upon their children.
His cycle of judgment cannot be broken except through genuine repentance and the
application of his mercy. Fortunately, for those times when we have sinned there are clear
instructions in the scriptures on how to seek God's grace in our time of need.
To summarize, there are many specific promises in
God's word, both of blessing and judgment. As Christians, we are often selective in
applying only the blessings to our own situation, but God is very faithful to do all that
he has promised, both in blessing and judgment. Our present difficulties often result from our
failure to wholeheartedly follow after God. |
