The world’s idea of family is not God’s
By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

The world is full of changes. You don’t know what to expect from one day to the next and from one minute to the next. There was a time when people had a sense of security and stability in their jobs and in the established institutions around them.

However, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper or listen to the television or radio to see that is not the case today. The big guys are eating up the little guys, whether you’re talking about banks, politics, or whatever else.

Security? There is no such animal. Stability? What’s that?

You must understand that I’m talking about the things of the world. As Christians, we should know we have true security and stability only in the things of God. If you are relying on the world to keep you safe, sound, and secure, you are in for a big letdown.

The greatest attacks continue to be upon the family, and not just upon families without Christ. I’m talking about Christian families.

We are seeing the Christian family as a changing institution. Some of the change is very good, but far too much of it is not.

The greatest and most tragic change is that the enemy is far more successful than ever before in breaking down the family structure. The lack of guidance and high standards lie at the root of the fact that so many families are being dissolved.

Do your own thing mentality

There is a prevailing problem with the society we live in, and unfortunately, we have allowed it to penetrate deep into the Christian world. That problem is the "do your own thing" mentality.

Everyone wants to have his own way in society. We are a world, in a sense, gone wild. The answer to the breakdown of the family and the negative changes within the family, can be found in the Bible. If Christians were adequately using the Bible, there would be no marriage or family problems. But because believers have neglected the dictates of the Bible, Christian families are experiencing the exact same set of changes and problems that were previously associated with the general secular society.

Satan has always tried to destroy the family, but now we can see that the family is not only a changing institution but an endangered one.

 

The individual Christian family should be a replica of the Body of Christ. We have a responsibility to be examples to – not followers of – the world. People in the world should look at the Christian family and desire to be like us. But because so many church folk live such tacky lives, you cannot tell the difference between their lives and those of the unsaved family. Why should they want to be like us when they see Christians lying, drinking, committing adultery, fornicating, their kids running wild, and the rest of the mess?

So many of the world’s adverse and perverse ways about family matters, family relationships, and other issues are being accepted, embraced, and even followed by the Christian community. There was a time when people believed a person should marry before having children. There was a time when it was clear in the minds of most people – believers and un-believers alike –that sex between unmarried persons was wrong, and same-sex marriage was unthinkable.

The wages of sin -- death

This is not to blast the people who practice homosexuality; but sin is sin, and Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death.

The Bible is clear in its stance about the practice of homosexuality in Romans 1:21-25: because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools,

and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Despite God’s stated position regarding homosexuality, this evil has crept its way into the Christian arena as a tolerated, if not acceptable, practice.

God honors a Christian man and woman coming together in marriage – it is not just a custom, culture, or society. It is God’s principle. Look at Genesis 2:18-24:

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

A divine ordinance

According to the scriptures, marriage is a divine ordinance. It is a union sanctioned by God, and the blessing of God is upon it. Without marriage as a divine ordinance, there is no such thing as a family. There may be a group of people all living in the same house together, but it cannot be called a family – not in the true sense that God intended. It may be a living arrangement, but it is not a godly relationship.

Proverbs 18:22 says:

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.

Hebrews 13:4 states:

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

God further clarifies His position on marriage in 1 Timothy 3:12:

Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

Despite what society or some in Christian circles may now believe or do, those scriptures alone tell us that (1) sexual relationships between unmarried men and women outside of marriage are in total and direct opposition to the clearly revealed Word of God. (2) Marriage is an honorable state, although one may choose not to get married. It is a choice one can make on his or her own, according to the Bible. Therefore, no church or person can forbid someone to marry or tell that person that marriage is not for him. (3) A man should have only one wife at a time, and vice versa.

Although God’s order is for male and female sexual activities to be carried out within marriage, He did not initiate marriage just so one could have sex. And He did not initiate marriage just so that Adam and Eve could begin to replenish the earth. He could have arranged for babies to be born any way He wanted. After all, He created the planet and everything in it.

Woman for man

God made woman for man – but not as a plaything, a possession, a doormat, or a footstool. He did not make woman to be abused or to be a competitor with man. He said that He made woman so that man would not be alone. He made Eve as a helpmeet appropriate for him.

Notice also that God did not take a bone out of Adam’s foot to indicate that the woman should be under his feet. Nor did He take a bone out of Adam’s head to show that woman should be above him. But, rather, according to the scriptures, God took a rib out of Adam’s side, indicating that woman was to walk beside man – not in front of him and not behind or beneath him.

Marriages, however, do not work by themselves. There are almost as many divorces among Christians today as there are marriages. God’s best is to have two people – a man and a woman – who love Him enough to make whatever adjustment is necessary so that His Word has first place in their lives. God’s will is that they work out their problems through their spiritual knowledge. If they do that, there is no way they cannot have a successful relationship.

Outside the Bible, there is no lasting right answer to any marriage or family issue, or any other issue of life. And despite the changes within the institution of marriage and families, God’s Word is unchanging. It remains our only source of stability and security in a helter-skelter world.
     
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