The Christian Home

The Christian Home

April 30, 2006

Introduction

Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?

and . . . Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?

The marriage vows. We’ve all heard them. Many of us have repeated them. We all know they are the essential part of a wedding. With all due respect to the church and the importance of the church, it is the home that is God’s oldest institution. It is the home that is the foundation in many ways, for the church, and the nation. Good homes support good schools, good communities, good churches, and great nations.

How did the home begin?

Body

I. Marriage is a part of God’s creation.

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

A. God recognized man’s need of companionship.

B. Today, many people are pretty much alone even though they live with their companion in the same house.

1. Men can become so involved in sports on television that a wife can feel she is not really a part of his life.

2. Sometimes we simply settle into our own world of activities whatever those activities may be.

a. It may be something as useful as maintaining the house or yard.

b. It may be work, games, or the internet on the computer.

c. Sometimes we say people are lost in their own little world, and that can happen to many of us.

C. God designed man and woman to become one.

Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

1. Becoming one flesh involves more than our sexual relationship.

2. We need to become one in our relationships together.

a. Taking time to do things together.

b. Taking time for Bible study and prayer.

II. What about those wedding vows: Weddings are meant to be a once in a lifetime affair.

A. Jesus made the permanence of marriage very clear.

Matthew 19:3 “The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’5 “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?6 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

B. With a marriage comes a commitment.

1. It is a commitment to provide--to earn a living.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

2. It is a commitment to be a good father.

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

3. It is a commitment of the husband to love his wife.

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

4. It is a commitment of the wife to honor and obey her husband.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

5. It is a commitment for life.

a. It needs the commitment of love.

(1 Cor 13:7-8 NKJV) [love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. {8} Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

b. It is a commitment for the wife.

1) a pregnant wife is very dependent.

2) God intended that her husband provide for her.

c. Children are very dependent and count on their parents to be there to provide.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Conclusion

I. God has given us homes for which we should all be thankful.

II. God intended for our homes to be Christian homes.

III. Are you a Christian?

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