YOU CAN BUILD
YOUR HOME
FOR THE GLORY OF CHRIST
You can build
your home for the glory of Christ. I am talking now to you men and women who
are believers. I am talking to you who recognize the authority of the Word of
God, to you who know the saving grace of God in Christ, to you who submit
yourselves to Jesus Christ as your Lord, to you who seek his glory and endeavor
to live for his honor. You can build your home for the glory of Christ. I can
speak with some measure of understanding and experience in this matter. I have
been preaching the gospel of the grace of God in Christ for thirty-two years.
And I have been blessed with a happy marriage and pleasant home for the past
thirty years. I do not speak as a novice, or an idealistic boy when I say that
you can build your home for the glory of Christ. If you would do so, it will
require deliberate effort on your part. Three things must be done, if you would
build your home for the glory of Christ.
First, YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR
HOME. You must not allow social philosophy, human opinion, or the
customs of the day to govern your home. We must not allow the latest opinion
poll in Ladies Home Journal to dictate our families’ principles. The
Word of God gives us plain, clear, unmistakable instruction in all areas of
family life. Finances, sexual behavior, child rearing, and moral conduct are
all plainly explained for God's people in the Bible. God tells us what is right
and what is wrong. If we are interested in building our homes for the glory of
Christ, we ust recognize and subject ourselves to the authority of the Word of
God.
Second, YOU MUST GET YOUR
PRIORITIES IN ORDER. There are some things more important than a big brick
home in the most elite section of town, the social class to which you belong,
designer clothes, money, and recognition. It is positively wrong for believers
to live for and seek after those things. Concerning ourselves and our families,
our primary concern should be about our souls. SEEK THE GLORY OF GOD IN ALL THINGS. Make that your first priority,
and you will not greatly err. SEE TO IT
THAT YOUR FAMILY WORSHIPS GOD IN CHRIST. Do not allow anything to keep you
or your children from worshipping the Lord God. SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. My own family is not my
primary concern, but rather God’s family. ENDEAVOR
TO PROMOTE THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD. I do not suggest that you should
rob your family of food and shelter; but I do say that it is more important for
me to give myself, my time, my labor, and my money for the furtherance of the
gospel than it is for me to live in the lap of luxury. If you would build your
home for the glory of Christ, and have any real spiritual influence over your
families, you must get your priorities in order.
Third, YOU MUST LIVE AS
BELIEVERS IN YOUR HOMES. If we are truly the children of God, we are strangers and
pilgrims in this world. We should be content with God's good providence,
desiring neither more nor less than that which he has given us. If we are true
believers, we should demonstrate love, patience, tenderness, and self-denial in
our homes. There is no place in a believer’s home life for anger, wrath,
malice, and selfishness.
Would you build
your home for the glory of Christ? If you would, you must recognize the
authority of the Word of Gods get your priorities in order, and live as a
believer in your home. May the Lord graciously enable you to do so.
Don Fortner, Pastor