Salvation:It's A Family Affair

Acts 10:24, 33; 16:14-15; 16:31-33.

The New King James Version Chapter 10

24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.

The New King James Version Chapter 10

33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”

The New King James Version Chapter 16

14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

The New King James Version Chapter 16

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

As we get into the last part of the summer season, and especially in this time, where many have been vaccinated to protect against the Delta variant of COVID-19 (I hope that everyone that hears my voice will take the shots…protect yourselves and your family and friends), people are getting together for cookouts, and family reunions. There is a song by Sister Sledge that goes…:(Play “We Are Family”)

Family is important. Just like I said in the begining of this portion of the series, Family is the basis for civilization. As the family goes, so goes the nation. Ashley Brown writes on betterhelp.com:

Healthy families produce people who make positive contributions to the community too. Parents tend to get involved with their community more often than people living alone. What's more, they teach their children at a young age that the only way they can control what kind of community they have is to contribute to it. When parents contribute to their community by donating money or needed supplies, they model an attitude of caring. They show their children that providing money, food, or supplies to the community helps support it so it can serve everyone better. Parents contribute to society by working to ensure that their family gets the best possible educational opportunities. They may donate funds, or they may use their social network to help a college-age student find a job. Their emotional and practical help might be even more important than financial support.

Families also help us build our moral foundation.

the family is the community in which children learn morality, faith, and ordered freedom, all of which are necessary for a free and flourishing culture [1]. The family is, in other words, the primary educator of the community: the parents are and have the responsibility to be the primary teachers of their children. The Church is tasked with handing on the true faith of the apostles, but it is the parents who do this first, with the Church acting as aide in this regard. The Church defines the doctrines and ought to provide the resources for passing them on, but the parents are the ones who ultimately are tasked with passing on the Faith and inculcating virtue: it is their witness which either especially underscores or undermines the Church’s teachings [2].

The Bible recognizes the importance of family in faith development. In fact there are numerous examples in scripture where God brings salvation to entire families. You could say that family salvation is evident from the beginning, think the deliverance of of the Children of Israel, Rahab the Harlot and her family.

Here are three separate episodes of salvation coming to the Gentile people in the book of Acts. The first one is where the apostle Peter is used of God to open the door for all non-Jews to be included in the family of God. The other two incidences feature Paul and Silas. What I would like to pull out of these scriptures is the fact in every case salvation came not only to the main individual in each passage, but also to their families and on one case friends as well. The Bible recounts that in every case, God saved everybody in the house.

Now, this morning i want to focus on the main person in each of these episodes, however that main person is not the evangelist of the moment. I want to focus on the main person who brought their family together to hear the wonderful words of life. In these scriptures we have a soldier, a businesswoman, and a crusty corrections officer. Although each of these people lived in different communities and had different life experiences, they exhibited the same characteristics when it comes to God’s gracious salvation coming to them.

First, they each recognized that they had a need: Acts 10:33; Acts 16:14; Acts 16:30

Secondly, They reached out to God, or more correctly, they responded when God reached out to them

Third, They rallied their families together to hear. Note: They did not do the preaching. All they did was invite folk to hear. That’s all you have to do. Bring them to church and let the preacher do all the work (while you pray and support the preacher)

Lastly, they received the blessing that God has for all of us. They became a part of the family of God through Jesus Christ. Everyone in the family was saved. I mentioned last week that it was my OLDER brother who caused me to commit my life to Christ, as he told us about his experience, playing for the youth choir that our neighbor had organized.

Note that it started with one individual who gathered his family and friends together to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. What about you? You might not be a Christian, but you have heard about Jesus, and you are realizing that this life is too tough to fight alone. You probably are looking at your family and seeing how fractured, sad, and messed up everything looks. You can be part of a great change in the family by giving your life to Jesus today. You will help bring the King of Kings into your household, and you will be able to sing,

“O’ there's a great change in me O’ a Great change in me I am so happy Lord, and I'm so free Since Jesus brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light

oh, oh, oh there's a great change in me” Lyrics from <a href="https://www.elyrics.net">eLyrics.net</a>