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I. "CHILDREN OBEY YOUR PARENTS IN THE LORD."
A. It should first be noted that the commandment is to obey your parents in the Lord.
1. Unfortunately some children have ungodly parents who are demanding actions from them that are that are sinful.
2. The Bible speaks of unnatural affection, and that surely is seen in our world today.
a. The sexual abuse of a child is one of the worst crimes that a person can be guilty of.
b. The child suffers the rest of their life from the effects of such molestation. Some more than others.
3. There are times when parents fight against their child's faith in God.
a. Jesus said that it would be better for a millstone to be tied around a persons neck and they be cast into the sea than to offend a child that believes in Him.
b. We have had occasions where parents have forbidden their children to come to church.
c. We have had parents say that they would rather their children be on drugs rather than on what they termed this Jesus kick.
4. So as the wife is to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, so the children are to obey their parents in the Lord.
B. Paul affirms, "for this is right."
1. One of the first signs of a breakdown in a society is when children refuse to obey their parents.
2. This is why in the Old Testament under the law, they dealt so severely with the unruly child.
DEU 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and [that], when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
DEU 21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
DEU 21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son [is] stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; [he is] a glutton, and a drunkard.
DEU 21:21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
3. The proverbs say that a child left to himself will bring shame to his mother.
PRO 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
PRO 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, [and] tie them about thy neck.
PRO 6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and [when] thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
PRO 6:23 For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:
PRO 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
PRO 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
PRO 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
PRO 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
PRO 6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
C. In the book of Jeremiah we have a classic example of the obedience of children to their father.
1. God told Jeremiah to go the Rechabites and bring them into the house of the Lord and offer them wine. So Jeremiah did so, he set pots of wine before them and gave them cups and invited them to drink.
2. They refused to drink for they said that their father Jonadab the son of Rechab had told his children never to drink wine, this is 280 years later and they are still obeying this commandment of their ancient relative.
3. God used the illustration to commend the sons of Rechab, and then He chastised the children of Israel for not obeying His voice.
II. HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER.
A. When Moses brought down the two tables of stone on which God had inscribed the ten commandments, the first table of stone had the commandments that dealt with man's relationship with God. The second stone tablet had the laws that governed man's relationship with his fellow man.
1. The very first commandment in dealing with human relationships was, "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee."
2. In Deuteronomy when the law is repeated it is there said, "Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee in the land in which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
3. In the commandments in the book of Exodus the honoring of one's parents was related only to their days being long in the land that the Lord was giving to them.
a. As we mentioned earlier, the breakdown of the family is one of the first signs of the breakdown of the society.
b. As Paul wrote to Timothy of the perilous times that were coming in the last days one of the signs was disobedient to parents.
c. Paul speaks of it in
Romans 1 as one of the signs of the total breakdown of the society that is ready for the wrath of God to be revealed from heaven.
4. In Deuteronomy it is also related to a good long life. "That thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee."
a. What blessedness and joy their is in a good strong family relationship.
b. It seems that our relationship with our children and grandchildren just gets better all of the time.
B. It seems that Paul is referring to the book of Deuteronomy when he speaks of the promise that is attached with the commandment to honor your father and mother.
1. What a delight it is to visit in a home where the children are obedient and honor their parents.
2. What misery it is to be in a home where the children are not under control, but seem to have the run of the house. It is pure chaos.
3. How many times those children who are not disciplined die early because they have never been taught to follow the rules.
4. How many times have they suffered in later life because they were allowed to just do things their own way, only ate the foods they liked. If they make it to their later years their bodies suffer from the lack of proper nutrition in their early days.
PSA 19:7 The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple.
PSA 19:8 The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes.
PSA 19:9 The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether.
PSA 19:10 More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
PSA 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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