What is your role as a Parent, Grandparent, Family Member, and believer in Christ?
A. Our New Family
God, in His infinite love and grace, and through His blood and the power of His Holy Spirit, is creating a people for Himself, a people known as members of the Kingdom of God, the “new” blood lines. This Kingdom is a family that transcends fleshy, human family ties, the “old” blood lines. It is global, transnational and transcultural in nature.
Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God, and revealed the will of His Father in what He said, did and was. God is now working through assemblies of His people in every nation. This new family is bound together in service to Jesus Christ and to God Almighty, our new Father.
B. Our Obedience to Separate from the World
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, … but now is My kingdom not from here” (John 18:36). Paul explained that all those who name the name of Christ “be not conformed to this world” (Rom 12:2) because we as Christians are “not of this world” (John 17:16), but have been chosen by Christ out of the world (John 15:19). It is His divine purpose to keep them from the evil in the world (John 17:15). Indeed, Satan has been given control and gives the world’s power and glory to whomever he wishes (Luke 4:6).
Once again, let us stress this point. Those who have been regenerated have been translated into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Col 1:13; John 3:3, 5). We are no longer of this world (John 17:16). We have citizenship in heaven (Phil 3:20), and it is our responsibility to live like pilgrims and strangers in the world (Hebrews 11:8-16). Our conduct is patterned after the Kingdom of the Heavens, with Jesus Christ as our perfect model (1 John 2:5b-6). We are a royal priesthood (1 Pt 2:9), soldiers of Christ (2 Timothy 2:4) and ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).
C. Our New Heavenly Purpose
Jesus’ assembly throughout the world is a voluntary association of believers, a covenant community in which the Kingdom of God has visibility. We are a minority people that is separate from the secular world because we have agreed to operate within “the perfection of Christ”. That is, we are to use spiritual weapons, and not carnal weapons (Ephesians 6:12).
We are to meditate on things that are only true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good reputation, excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). We are to be gentle, pure, reasonable, full of mercy, bearing good fruit, unwavering in the things of God and without hypocrisy. Our conduct and life attitudes are a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ and we are to seek His righteousness at the expense of all (Mt 13:46). Indeed, our love for Him must make our love for other family members appear as “hate” in comparison (Luke 14:26)
D. Our Holy Purpose as Parents and Grandparents
Because we are a royal priesthood consisting of volunteers bound to the higher principle of love and God, we are commanded to “train up a child in the way he ought to go” (Proverbs 22:6). God wants us to do everything we can to ensure that our children will both love and fear God more than man, as this will help ensure that our children become abiding Christians. Certainly, through God’s lovingkindness, a child is protected until some age of accountability for his own sin.
However, without his own personal conversion after this age of accountability (God knows this time intimately), a child cannot inherit the Kingdom. They will spend eternity in everlasting torment in hell, a place intended only for the devil and his angels. Nothing is more heart-breaking than to imagine our own children burning in hell, in part because we as parents and grandparents lacked diligence (Matthew 18:6-7).
Do we as parents and grandparents allow, or even lead, our children to indulge in the distractions and amusements of this culture vs. “musing” on Jesus Christ, Kings of Kings? Are they watching and listening to movies, TV, music, sports that are not making our great God larger to others by glorifying Him? Are we seduced that we must be accepted by our pagan “friends” vs. being ostracized like the early Christians?
Are our children disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, without self-control, conceited, lovers of pleasure (2 Timothy 3:2-3)? Are our children a true pleasure to be around…or are they a carbon copy of the culture due to our lack of training and discipline? In short, are we as parents causing our children to stumble and in danger of having a millstone hung around our neck and dropped to the bottom of the deepest sea (Matthew 18:6)?
As God’s ambassadors, we Christians have a vital and active role in this world. This role is certainly one that few will be able to undertake because it is too difficult (Mt 16:24-25; John 6:66). We are to use only God’s ways, and many will depart from the faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and run head-long into their own destruction.
And finally, we must train our children in the ways of God because the enemy, the devil himself, will seek to destroy them. He will use money, family, the world, and our children’s own flesh. If these don’t work, Satan will physically seek to destroy them.
Simply, we must train our children to become diligent Christians, and then persevere as Christians to the very end (Matthew 10:22). He must be an overcomer (Revelation 2:3, 21:7). To fail in this is eternal death, residing in the lake of fire where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies.
God has primarily assigned this training to parents and grandparents, with a particular responsibility to the father, and with the help of the invisible church of Christ.
Deut. 6:7-9 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
This is a most serious responsibility. We must not underestimate its importance nor our enemy’s strength and craftiness.
He is focused on his goal. Will we be in ours?
Many today wrongly say you must keep to yourself and not admonish other’s children, even in your own family. This is not eternally loving, and shows a lack of discernment and speaking the truth in love.
Our eternal destiny, as well as our children’s and grandchildren’s, hangs in the balance by our obedience through the guiding force of the Holy Spirit. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:15).
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This was written over 15 years ago in response to a family crisis observed, prayed over, and sounded the warning. As is so familiar in these perilous times, the warning went unheeded by the parents, and the children became worse, washing up on shore after a verbal profession at a younger age. Some young people and teenagers in this group even now claim the name of Christ, but live fruitless lives (Mark 4:19). Prayers continue to rise to the throne of God for their fruitful salvation so they may fight the good fight of faith, by the grace of Jesus.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,
Marc
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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!
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You may view our Archives here: MONDAY MANNA – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org
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