As an employee, should I not try to be pleasing to my boss. So before sharing some thoughts on these passages, it might be useful to examine the first century family. looks at what Ephesians 5 has to say about building gospel-centered relationships—not just in marriage but in … Those who would seek to use this passage as an excuse to subjugate their wives, or women in general, are seriously misusing this passage. 5:22-33 The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honouring and obeying them, from a principle of love to them. You have to follow Wife respect your husband - v. 33 3. Fathers, train your children in the Lord. It is this that is at the heart of the biblical gospel, this that is at the center of Christian character. 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Besides the negative moral impact, TV stifles such wholesome activities as family conversation, Bible study, reading good books, and enjoying art and good music. They’re “successful”! I preached on these verses on December 30, 1979, in a message titled, “Making the Most of the ’80s.” After mentioning the erosion of a number of Christian values during the seventies, I said, “There is a very real danger ... for Christians in the ’80’s to throw out the biblical absolutes regarding morality and other values and to adopt the relativistic values system of our humanistic culture. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. In the average home, it is on for seven hours a day. A Brief Introduction to Ephesians: Who and Why, From Death Into Life: An Act of Grace – Ephesians 2:1-7, Rooted and Established In Love – Ephesians 3:14-21, Growing a Mature Church – Ephesians 4:11-16, Out With the Old, In With the New – Ephesians 4:17-32, What I have Entrusted to Him – 2 Timothy 1:12. In 1971, it was 43 percent. --An estimated 70% of juvenile offenders come from single-parent families. Before leaving this section on marriage, I believe it is worth noting what Paul’s instruction to the wife is not. Or is it possible that there is something that we can still learn from them? And not just when he is watching, but all the time; serving him as though I were serving God? 136-137), we view marriage as some sort of thing, like a broken down car that is beyond our ability to deal with. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo... More, Happy New Year: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives, 4. Even Christ did not come to be served, but to serve. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. In submitting to each other as believers, as members of the body of Christ, we are putting each other’s interests ahead of our own; something that is challenging, but needful if we are to live in community as a body. Great perspective! If an accountant says, “Is that a 10 or a 100? If it works for you, then its true. By emphasizing the magnitude of the problem, I hope to motivate you to come for the rest of the series. Of course, it’s impossible for an absent parent to communicate Christian values to his or her children. A wise couple will seek to grab every opportunity to communicate God’s truth to their children, both by example and by word. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. The idea here is that pagans are in bondage to their aimless, sensual, feeling-oriented, greedy way of life (4:17-19). Ephesians 1:5-6 NLT God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Sermons From Ephesians 5 a. Husbands and wives (5:18-33) b. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Need I say that TV is not helping to instill Christian values or to model Christian relationships! This was a very male dominated society where women and children are little more than property. --Children under 18 are 244% more likely to be killed by guns than they were in 1986. Since the cultural value of personal fulfillment is also the common goal among Christians, if your marriage isn’t bringing you fulfillment, then trade it in for a new model! But the direction he gives to those homes still has application to us today. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. So can we ignore the admonitions that seem at odds to our families today? There are a number of powerful cultural factors that affect us who live at the end of the twentieth century, and these factors spawn a number of worldly concepts that we must stand against if we want godly families. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. Why? (7) No absolute truth--Our society does not view truth as rational, objective, or universal. 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. The Search OF the Savior: Why Jesus Came, Part 1 (Luke 19:1-10), Bible Storying Series - Teaching The Story Of God Chronologically. Fifty percent of the “Baby Busters” or “Generation X,” those born between 1963 and 1977, come from broken homes. A study done back in the 1970’s revealed that the average American father spent 37 seconds a day with his young son. In Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9, Paul deals with some specific family type relationships. At least 40 percent of all abuse cases involve drugs or alcohol (statistics from Newsweek, 12/12/88). It is not instruction to the husband to force submission. It fosters a way of life that is worldly and self-centered to the core, promoting the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:16). ( B) 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us. At the root of this concept, of course, is the love of self and the notion that the other person is there to make me feel good. Wives submitting to their husbands as well as instructions for slaves and their masters just don’t seem to sit well with a lot of people. It is direction to the wife. There are two parts to Paul’s command as to how to live wisely in such evil times: The word translated “be careful” means to consider with exactness or precision. This is coupled with our feeling-oriented approach so that if something seems intuitively to be true or if it makes you feel good, then it must be true. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body.31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. But Christians can buy back time that otherwise would be wasted in such selfish living and use it for eternity. As God chided Israel through the prophet Hosea, “Strangers devour his strength, yet he does not know it; gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, yet he does not know it” (Hos.