The Church: God’s New Society

Relationships

In the Home and the Marketplace

Ephesians 6:1-9

Jerry A Collins

10/4/09

SCC

v What is the role of parenting in the Bible?

v What does it mean to not provoke your children?

v How should you view your work in the marketplace?

INRODUCTION

I have four of them. Children that is. Chandler my oldest son. Blythe my oldest daughter. Haley my youngest daughter and Guthrie my youngest son. These four children have been used of God to teach and challenge me about parenting. There are essentially five things I have been challenged to learn along the way.

1. Males and Females require different parenting. Psa 144:12 says that sons are to be viewed early by fathers as a grown-up plant—useful, rooted, growing independently and producing with their lives. So my role has been assisting my sons to be capable of leaving rather than staying. They need preparation to create their own roofs. Psa 114:12 says of daughters are to be viewed by fathers the way one views the most artistic part of a palace. So that she is beautiful, responsible, pillar of her home, who is serving God and her children.

2. Parenting demands time. Our children are the only messages we will send to a world we will never see. They are an extension of our parenting. Quantity of time and a high priority of time is essential. When they are young they are on our schedules. When they are teens we are on their schedules. We must go with our kids in their non-sinful interests even if dangerous.

3. Parenting sets boundaries so they can set theirs later. There are many things the Bible says nothing about like drugs, magazines, movies, rock concerts and abortion on demand. So a Father must decide what he is willing to defend and teach that to his children. Where the line is drawn is crucial because if it is too big you will be compromising and too small you will be a legalist exasperating. Forbid only what you are willing to go to war over.

4. A father takes responsibility to disciple his children. Spiritually and morally a decision to accept the responsibility for instructing your own children is the most challenging and rewarding thing a father can do. According to Proverbs 4:1-5 the fathers instruction becomes the heartfelt conviction of the son.

5. Parenting involves law and grace. Don’t spare the rod since foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child Prov 13:24. So laws and fear of breaking them must contain this chaos. Law is for rebellion, chaos, and disorder. Discipline is for correction not punishment. Maturity comes only with grace. You do not just want to keep your children out of trouble but give him the motivation to live life.

INTERPRETATION

RELATE TO YOUR PARENTS WITH OBEDIENCE AND HONOR

1. Children keep the specific directives of your parents 1. So children are commanded to obey their parents. And the reason given is that ‘it is right’. There is no qualifier here so the idea seems to be that this is the divine order of things. So continually practice obedience to your parents because this is how God has ordered it. It is right from God’s point of view.

2. Ascribe value to your parents 2. This command is also part of the BIG TEN. Yet this has been a problem for mankind? Parents will become an imposition on our lifestyles. We have a history with our parents and aging parents can be demanding on us. Honoring then is both a command and a ministry. So this is a decision we must make to ascribe value to them irrespective of their worthiness.

3. God promises a long and prosperous life 3. The idea seems to be prosperity or well-being and well- lived. This kind of outcome in a family will be passed on to at least 3 generations—grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren. The control of the chaos of rebellion in the home will produce a prosperous life into the future.

FATHERS TRAIN CHILDREN DON’T DISCOURAGE THEM 4

1. Do not discourage your children 4a. Do not place unreasonable demands on your children. Don’t show favoritism with your children. Instead consider each of your children emotionally, physically and personally. Don’t provoke them by nagging them. Children are not your personal property. They belong to God and fathers have the responsibility to train not abuse.

2. Train your children in godly discipline 4b. Understand that a parent’s job is discipline not punishment. Discipline is to keep them on the right path. Punishment is to balance the scales of justice—to pay back. We do not get to decide that. A decision to father our children is a decision to work for God, taking care of His property.

WORKERS WORK DILIGENTLY WITH LORD AS YOUR BOSS 5-8

1. Let’s talk about marketplace slavery. The progress of the western world has always depended on something like slave labor. Low paid labor allows some people to become wealthy and wealthy people seem to create jobs. Then society’s standard of living improves and the demand for increased standard of living makes for the need of slave labor. Communism does not work because shared wealth amongst everyone does not motivate to create new jobs. Today slavery is illegal so we use illegal immigrants and outsource to places like China and western Europe used eastern Europe. So there will always be slave labor and God has called many from both classes.

2. Submit to your marketplace masters 5. Serve your employer with fear and trembling so you won’t take advantage of him. Serve with sincere hearts so that you give them your best, Serve them with obedience to Christ so that no matter what your position is you see yourself as a slave to Christ.

3. Don’t focus on attracting attention for your work 6. Don’t just try to make surface visceral impressions but do your job according to the will of God making God not people the focus of work.

4. Enthusiastically serve Christ not men with your work 7. Literally be happy in mind as you do your work. Don’t have an attitude to rip off your employer or get even but understand that God gave you your job and He is your supervisor.

5. Do this so Christ can reward you 8. This reward will come back to you at the Bema seat of Christ. So one of the things we can be rewarded for is the manner in which we do our jobs and work in the marketplace. Each of these attitudes significant.

MASTERS TREAT YOUR WORKERS IN LIGHT OF JUDGMENT 9

1. Treat them as you would Christ 9a. So both the worker and the employer called out by God to Himself must be diligent about keeping Christ as the focus in work. Working the way Christ thinks.

2. Don’t abuse and unfairly treat your workers 9b. So do not threaten people you are in charge of and try and motivate them with fear. Your workers are not your personal property even if you are paying them to work for you.

3. Both slaves and masters belong to Christ 9c. Both of these groups belong to Christ and there will be no partiality because of ones rank on earth. Christ is in heaven and Lord of all. Our positions here are determined by God but our obedience and reward is up to us.

SO WHAT?

1. Parenting children ends. Discipling them go on for life.

2. Begin the journey of appreciating your parent/s exhibiting caring for them via appreciative acts.

3. Fathers are responsible for the spiritual welfare of their children and must not pass that on to anyone else.

4. God is your boss. Work for Him.

5. If you are a marketplace master understand you have greater responsibility but not privilege.