What Does a Father Look Like According to the Bible?
Notes
Transcript
What Does a Father Look Like According to the Bible?
I. A good father is in charge.
* From the beginning God has meant for fathers to be in charge.
Genesis 2:7–9 (NKJV)
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Life in God’s Garden
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15–23 (NKJV)
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said,
“It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
19 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.
20 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.
21 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. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 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.”
* God has ordained that fathers act as God’s special agent of administration to represent Himself, that is God, upon the face of God’s creation.
* Fathers this morning are God specially ordained administrators.
Genesis 3:16–19 (NKJV)
16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said,
“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
1 Corinthians 11:2–3 (KJV 1900)
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know, that
the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 11:6–11 (KJV 1900)
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
* Now there are some things that we know that God intended fathers to be in charge of. Let’s take a look at a few of these:
A. A father must first be in charge of himself.
* Before a father is qualified to be in charge of anything else, according to the Bible, he must first learn to be in charge of his own spirit, or will.
* According to the Bible a father who has no self-discipline is just a mess.
Proverbs 25:27–28 (KJV 1900)
28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit Is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
* A man that has not been taught to control himself and exercise self-discipline is not fit to lead a wife and children.
* A a young man who has not been taught by his own father to be a man of personal character is not ready to be a father.
* Anybody can make a baby, it takes a self-disciplined, man of character to be a father.
* When a young man becomes a father he must possess the self-discipline to get his lazy but out of bed and go to work in the morning!
* When a young man becomes a father it’s now time to put that Xbox controller down!
* According to the Bible, a good father is not lazy!
Proverbs 24:29–34 (KJV 1900)
30 I went by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, And nettles had covered the face thereof, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; And thy want as an armed man.
* When a young man becomes a father Saturday is now time to get up from in front of that tv set and mow the yard… and
- fix the leaking roof
- fix those broken water pipes
- do the maintenance on the car
- paint the house
- fix the gutters
- put up ceiling fans
- install a dishwasher
- build some shelves
- clean the garage
- take out the trash
- trim the hedges
- build a clubhouse
- build a barn
- fix the kid’s bicycles
* In the New Testament, the apostle Paul had much to say about any Christian who refuses to work:
2 Thessalonians 3:10–15 (KJV 1900)
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
* Now, I am not able to cover every area of self-discipline God expects a good father to possess, but this one is important:
* According to the Bible, a good father keeps his anger under control.
Proverbs 16:31–32 (KJV 1900)
32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
* According to the Bible, a good father is a sober father.
Titus 2:6 (KJV 1900)
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
* In the day and time in which we life we have a lot of young fathers that think they and party and get drunk and get high and still be a good father.
* Well, according to the Bible you are wrong!
* Well, I’ve got news for you young man, or young lady for that matter, The Bible says that a good father stays sober for the sake of his family!
* Now this applies to drinking and drugs, but this also refers to anything that will cause you to not think right.
* The primary meaning of teaching the young men to be sober in this passage means to teach them to be serious-minded.
* According to the Bible a good father does not have a party attitude! Good fathers, according to the bible, will a mindset of seriousness!
* A good father will not let any kind of addiction control him. A good father will not be addicted pornography, laziness, video games, or any such thing that will cause him to not think straight!
B. According to the Bible, a good father must be in charge of his family.
* In the book of I Timothy we are given by the Apostle Paul the model and degree of how a good father will be in charge, not only of himself, but of his home:
* These passages were given by the apostle Paul to the churches to help choose church leaders that would be qualified to rule the churches.
* These men were to be the examples of what God expects of fathers.
* These men were fathers and these men were supposed to rule their homes.
* I will never forget that I was told years ago by one of the experienced pastors who was one of my teachers in Bible College “He said always remember, anything with two heads is a monster.”
* He said this concerning a father and his relationship to his home. The father is expected by God tobe in charge of this in his home.
* This is a matter of basic social structure. If a group of people we stranded on a deserted island, the first thing they would do is decide who will be in charge. Someone has to have the responsibility of being in charge.
1 Timothy 3:3–5 (KJV 1900)
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1 Timothy 3:11–12 (KJV 1900)
11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
C. Of his church.
1 Timothy 2:10–14 (KJV 1900)
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
1 Corinthians 14:33–38 (KJV 1900)
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
D. According to the Bible, a good father is both in charge of, and obedient to his government.
* The Bible speaks very clearly about the relationship between the father and the government.
* As the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.
* the father who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2).
* The apostle Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Peter 2:13-14).
* According to the Bible, A good father will obey governmental authorities.
* But we have learned throughout history when the government does not live up to its God appointed role, we are still to live up to ours.
(1 Peter 2:18-19).
“Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God”
* Both Jesus and Paul used taxes as a way to illustrate this. The Roman government taxed the Jews unjustly and many of the tax collectors were thieves.
* When asked about this dilemma in(Matthew 22:20-21), Jesus took a coin and said, “‘Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar's,’ they replied.
* Then he said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's’”
* When the government asks us to do something that is in direct disobedience to God’s Word, a good father will disobey the government in order to obey God.
* According to the Bible the government is supposed to treat us justly and fairly.
* Many times, however, a government will stray from its purpose and become oppressive.
* If our families are going to be treated right by our government, then it will take good godly fathers to get involved in government.
* A good father will be concerned about government and vote.
* In the Old Testament, Daniel is a model we should use when it comes to our relationship with government.
* Daniel worked himself into the highest levels of his pagan and unbelieving government and made a difference for his people.
* Daniel faced a dilemma when the governors and satraps tricked the king into signing a decree “…that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions” (Daniel 6:7).
* Daniel responded by directly, and in full view of everyone, disobeying the order.
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10).
* Daniel was completely loyal to any ruler placed over him until that ruler ordered him to disobey God.
* At that moment, when a choice had to be made between the world and God, Daniel chose God.
* According to the Bible, a good father will obey government authorities, and if the government takes sides against God, a good father will stand his ground in favor of God and righteousness.
II. A good father is responsible to provide safety and security for his family.
A. A good father is responsible for the safety and security of his family.
* According to the Bible, Jesus expected a father to be courageous and protect his family and property.
* Story of Dad and Rich Abney defending the ladies at the church…
* Dad coming out of the garage with a pipe to defend his home…
* Story of the Dad teaching us to defend ourselves from the bullies…
* By what Jesus says in Mark and Matthew, I think that if Jesus lived in America today, He would have voted for the “Stand your ground” laws. And Laws like “the castle doctrine” that says that a man has the right to defend his life and the lives of his family.
* I believe that Jesus would have been a supporter of the second amendment to the Constitution that give the right to “bear arms” in defense of our families.
Mark 3:27 (KJV 1900)
27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
* I like the wording of Luke 11 ever better:
Luke 11:21–22 (KJV 1900)
21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
* There was a very strange and interesting conversation that Jesus had with his disciples. Jesus told his disciples, if any of them had no sword, that they should some of their clothes and go buy one.
* Turn with me now to Luke 23:33:
Luke 22:33–38 (KJV 1900)
33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.
* Here Jesus is knows He is about to leave this world in a few hours, and He knows that the persecutors will be coming after his disciples to imprison them and torture them.
* Jesus says to them. “When I was with you I told you not to take a weapon to defend yourself before, well now I a going to be gone soon, Look at verse 37 “for the things concerning me have an end.”
* Jesus gives not only gives them permission to defend themselves from their oppresors, by the even commands them to arm themselves with sword.
* Not only that, but it was so important to arm themselves, he said if you have to, sell your clothes and buy a weapon.
* Now the weapon of choice in Jesus day was a sword. The weapon of choice today is a gun.
* Now I am going to say something controversial from the pulpit right now, but something very true.
* God expects a good father to have the courage, intestinal fortitude, and foresight to protect his family and his nation from harm.
* In order to do this a father must be mentally prepared and physically armed.
* This applies to the defense of our individual families, and the defense of our families collectively in military service.
* By way of example, I want to remind you that God ordained that the 3½ tribes that requested to stay on the other side of Jordan were morally obligated to go and fight until all of the other tribes were able to safely dwell on their side of the river also:
Numbers 32:20–27 (KJV 1900)
20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: 27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith.
* According to the Bible a good father has a responsibility to defend his family from all harm both individually and collectively.
B. According to the Bible, a good father is responsible to provide for the needs of his family.
1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV 1900)
8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
C. According to the Bible, a good father will be held responsible the discipline of his family.
* The Bible strongly stresses the importance of discipline for children as well as adults; discipline is something we must all have in order to be productive people.
* Discipline is much more easily learned when we are young.
* Children who are not disciplined grow up rebellious, have no respect for authority, and as a result find it difficult to willingly obey and follow God.
* The book of Proverbs contains plentiful wisdom regarding the responsibility of a father to discipline his children. Listen to the words of Proverbs 29:15:
Proverbs 29:15 (KJV 1900)
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: But a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
* This verse outlines the consequences of not disciplining a child—the parents of an undisciplined child will be disgraced and shamed.
* Here are some other tidbits found in Proverbs concerning a father disciplining his children:
Proverbs 22:14–15 (KJV 1900)
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:12–14 (KJV 1900)
12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child:
For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Proverbs 20:29–30 (KJV 1900)
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: So do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
Proverbs 13:23–24 (KJV 1900)
24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
* God Himself uses discipline to correct us and lead us down the right path and to encourage repentance for our wrong actions.
Hebrews 12:5–11 (KJV 1900)
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons
. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
* According to the Bible, and good father will gain the respect and reverence of his children because he disciplines them.
shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
* Do not misunderstand me this morning— I am by no means advocating child abuse.
* A child should never be disciplined physically to the extent that it causes actual physical damage.
* A good father’s discipline must have as its goal the good of the child and must never be used to justify the abuse and mistreatment of children.
* A good father will never use the excuse of discipline to vent anger or frustration toward his children.
* According to the Bible, though, a good father will apply appropriate and restrained physical discipline his children so desperately need.
D. According to the Bible, a good father will cause his children to be blessed because he is a man of high integrity:
Proverbs 20:7 (KJV 1900)
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: His children are blessed after him.
* According to the Bible, when a good father lives with honesty and integrity, he models this for his children so they will also life honestly and with integrity before God.
* By this a man can equip his children blessings for the rest of their life.
* The example of a life of integrity lived by a good father will became the key that unlocks the treasuries of heaven.
* Because of my father’s example, I have had the blessings of God upon my life, and those blessings will not stop until I walk through those pearly gates in heaven.
* I remember once telling my son Tim, “Son, my father was a poor man and didn’t have much to give me but a life that was an example of integrity and the fear of God. It looks like that’s all I have to offer you too.
* I real realize now that the example of a good father who lives a life of integrity, is a million times better that any amount of possessions or wealth.
III. According to the Bible, A good father will teach his family about God.
Genesis 18:17–19 (KJV 1900)
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord,
to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.