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
Grace Baptist Church of Danville -- Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438