The Elements of a Christian Home- Order

Introduction

Last week we began a five week sermon series on “The Elements of a Christian Home”. Over the course of these five weeks we will examine the fundamental building blocks that produce a truly Christian Home.

Last week we looked at the most basic element of a Christian home, that being Christians. If we are to have a Christian home each member of the home, the husband/father, the wife/mother, the children must be saved, separated from sin, surrendered to the will of God, and Spirit-filled.

Today we are going to look at the scriptural principle of order in the home. If a home is to be a Christian home there is a very specific order that must be observed in regard to the authority in the home.

In our modern society, this order is often rejected as outdated or unfair, but the scripture has not changed and thus a truly Christian home will be ordered according to God’s design as revealed to us in the pages of the Word of God!

Husband is to be the Head of the Home

The husband is called to lead his home as he ultimately submits himself to Jesus Christ.

- head of the man is Christ- - follow me as I follow Christ

It is the husband who is ultimately accountable for the spiritual and physical well-being of his family.

The husband has the responsibility to provide and protect his family-

There are many husbands/fathers today who have given up this leadership role in order to satisfy their flesh.

Husbands who sit and play video games or watch sports neglecting the leadership role that God has called them to fill.

Not every one of us is a natural born leader but if you are a husband and a father there is no excuse for not leading your family!

This does not mean that you Lord over your wife or your children, a wise man will receive counsel from his wife and will treat her and his children with love and with the utmost respect.

Husbands/fathers you should be determining the direction of your home. It is your responsibility to lead your wife and children into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

This means if you and I are going to lead our home to be a Christian home, we must be determined to seek the Lord and follow his leading! We do not have the wisdom to lead as we should without God’s help!

Wife is to be a Helpmeet in the Home

The wife’s role is to complement and support the leadership of her husband.

This does not place the wife in a role of lesser value only in a differing position.

- not found an help meet- one who would supply that which Adam was lacking

God saw that Adam was in need and God’s answer to that need was a wife. A husband will not be successful in leading his home without the submission and support of his wife!

- what the young ladies should be learning from more mature women

The wife may feel that she is better qualified or better equipped to lead the home, but this is not God’s design for the home.

The wife is to submit to her husband unless it would cause her to disobey a direct command from the Lord. The wife is certainly to offer her counsel and help her husband as he leads the home.

The wife should be committed to following her husband’s leadership and supporting the decisions that he makes as he charts a direction for the home. She has every right to voice here concerns but once her husband has made a decision a godly wife will support him and help him to see it through.

She is to submit to her husband and his leadership as though she were submitting to the Lord.

She is to play a complementary role, encouraging and supporting her husband, using her strengths to contribute to help him to succeed.

Her highest priority should be the care of her home. This does not mean that she cannot work outside the home but this should not cause her to neglect her duties at home.

She is a vital piece in the Christian home, without which the home cannot be complete. She is the heart of the home!

Children are to be Humbly Submitted to their parents ()

The primary responsibility of children in the home is that of respectful obedience of their father and mother.

You will not always agree with the rules and instructions you receive from your parents but your are still to obey so long as they do not conflict with God’s commandments.

You will not always understand why your parents place certain restrictions on you or instruct you to do certain things but your response is to always honor your father and mother.

The home was never intended to be run by the children. Children in a Christian home will humbly submit themselves to their parent’s authority.

Even if you do not have a Christian mother and father you must still honor and obey them.

You can be either a tremendous help in the development of a Christian home or a great hindrance to that process.

Conclusion

In every other area of our life we expect order and organization and the Christian home is no exception

God is the designer of the home and it ought to be ordered according to His will not our own.

Christ is the chief authority and the husband is to follow Christ and lead his home, the wife is to be a helpmeet in submission to her husband, and the children are to respectfully and humbly submit to the authority of their parents.

If we ignore the order that God has set forth for the home then we will not have a Christian home, we will have something else entirely and our home will never function as God intended.

We must not also that your role in the order of the home is not dependent upon the role of anyone else in the home. You are accountable to God for how you carry out the role assigned to you.