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Title: Children, Part Two: A Distinctive Mark
Intro:
What is Paul Quoting?
Exodus 5:16
16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
and/or
Exodus 20:12
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
JI Packer Provides an Excellent Insight:
“Children have responsibility for carrying out part of Christ’s plan to bring unity to the human race, this time, unity between generations. For Paul, part of what characterizes Gentile culture as standing under God’s judgment is that it is marked by children’s disobedience to their parents.”
Packer’s examples of this concept in the NT:
Romans 1:28-32
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
2 Timothy 3:1-2
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, (etc…)
Takeaways:
- One of the ways a Christian family should, in fact, be distinctly different from a non Christian family is that the default setting of the children should be to obey (hypo-akouo) their parents.
2. A secular teen may be texting their friends telling them how stupid their parents are and how they know nothing; a Christian teen should not.
3. A secular teen may roll their eyes, at their parent’s command, a Christian teen should not ever do this.
4. Other examples of ways in which a Christian child’s obedience should be distinct from the world?
Pastoral Question: Okay, so why isn’t it different with our Children?
Why do Christian kids disrespect their parents in disobedience in the same way secular kids do? (Sure, a Christian kid may complain about their parents to their Christian friends, but they are behaving exactly like the world.)
Three Possible Explanations:
- Parents and Children do not understand what’s a stake because of an ignorance of Scripture.
- Parents are lazy.
- Children need to repent and be saved. (Not every child in a Christian home is saved; this is obviously “step one”)
- We don’t actually understand what’s actually at stake.
What’s actually at stake? (Everything!)
The Future of Christ’s church on Earth will fail (much like Israel did) if Children to not obey their parents. (Think about that the next time you roll your eyes a mom and dad.)
The witness of Christ’s church will fail if our children behave in disobedience and disrespect; just like the world.
Children: the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
What will your verse be? (DPS)
QA