lone parent whose mate will give no help or sympathetic support to making a truly Christian home. (See Amos 3:3 and 2 Cor. 6:14-18.) In the third place there must be a mutual practice of prayer in the home. The “ family altar” is the most important altar in the world. It is here that the Bible is read and here that prayer is made. The family that prays together stays together. This is proved beyond all doubt. The fourth essential for happiness in the home is for each member of the home to take his divinely ordained place in the relationships of the home. Study carefully Ephesians 5:22-6:4 in this con nection. Make a list on the blackboard of each duty of each member of the home on the basis of the Ephesian passage. June 14, 1953 Am I 100 Per Cent Honest-? Psa. 15:1-5; Col. 3 :9 ,1 0 ; Phil. 4 :8 ,9 This is a practical study. W e live in a dishonest world. The contemporary view is that every man ought to make as much money as he can in any way he can as long as he does not get caught. But this is not the Christian view as the Scriptures given above indicate. Criticize and condemn the Bible and the believer as much as it will, the world must acknowledge that the most honest people are Christian people. When industries want a man for a responsible position, for a position that involves great temptations to dishonesty, they seek out a Christian because they know that he has a high standard of honesty. It is to the credit of Christ and the Bible that the product of His blessed sub stitutionary atoning work on the cross and the product of the Word of God is moral character. Herein lies one of the irre futable proofs of the validity of the gospel. Am I Honest With God? Some men who are honest in their dealings with other men are not honest with God. Many a man who accepts all that God freely gives, life, health, wealth, abilities, sunshine, rain, etc., will not obey Him in believing the gospel (Rom. 2:4, 6). God is good to men, not only because it is His nature to be good, but because He would move men to repent ance and faith through His goodness. Men are dishonest with God in not giving Him a portion of their temporal blessings. This is His complaint in Malachi 3:7-12. Study this passage carefully. Most non-Christians never give God one penny ,of their money, but spend it all on themselves. For this they will be accountable in the day when they must give account of themselves (Rom. 14:12). In the Old Testament God’s people were required to give one-tenth of their pos sessions. But today some Christians do not give even that much back to the Lord who “ daily loadeth us with bene fits.” It seems to many of us that if under law one-tenth was given, under grace God’s people ought to give more than one-tenth. How about you? CONTINUED ► 35
one wife) and divorce were never intended by the Almighty, but are products of sin in the human heart (cf. Matt. 19:1-12). Genesis also teaches us that the estab lishment of the home is the natural and normal order (Gen. 2:24). The nat ural thing, and the God-intended thing, is for the man to leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife for the purpose of establishing a home. The home is the most important insti tution in the world because it is the basic unit of society. As such it is to be held in honor and is to be protected at any cost. Because the home is so vastly im portant to the well-being of the world God has commanded that parents are to be held in honor by their children (Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-3). He has also safe guarded the sanctity and sacredness of the home by divine law (Ex. 20:14, 17). As a further protective agency for the home God has clearly indicated that divorce is not to be countenanced by His people except on one condition, that of unfaithfulness to the marriage vow (Matt. 19:1-12). Again, the home is important because it is the basic unit of the church. This is clearly taught by both the Old Testa ment and the New Testament. In Ephe sians 5:22-6:4 the home is made the classic type of the relationship of Christ and His Church. 'The Enemies of the Home These are many and powerful. Divorce is the most deadly. Modem man enters the marriage relationship as a mere ex periment or as a mere expediency. But the Christian enters marriage with a sense of its sacredness and tremendous responsi bility. The vast majority of divorces in volve unsaved and non-Christian people. Homes today go on the rocks because they are not founded on the Rock Young peo ple, when 'you consider marriage, make sure you do it according to the Word of God! Another enemy is that of drink. We are told that some 75% of Americans drink. There are approximately five mil lion drunkards in the United States. Americans spent some nine billions of dollars for alcohol last year. The cost to American taxpayers from the effects of drink is staggering. But the most devas tating m in of all comes to the American home. Judges in courts handling do mestic problems tell us that the majority of cases have as their root trouble the use of alcoholic beverages. Young man, young woman, stay away from drink; hate it as you hate poison, for it is poison. Keep your body pure and your mind active for the Lord Jesus Christ, and in so doing you will be protecting yourself and the future of your home. The Essential Elements of a Happy Home Of course, the first of these is a per sonal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man can live a Christian life until he is first of all a Christian. A man be comes a Christian by letting Christ into his life as his Saviour, his Lord and his Master. The second essential for happiness in the home is for both parents to want a Christian home. Our heart goes out to the
Helps for Christian Endeavor and Other Young People's Groups By Chester J. Padgett, D.D.
Associate Professor of Bible Bible Institute of Los Angeles June 7, 1953 Together, Yet Not Together Mark 10:2-9
The Scripture which- forms the basis of our study today has to do with the home. The religious leaders of our Lord’s day (the Pharisees) were exceedingly opposed to Christ and His teaching. They did all in their power to find something whereby they might accuse Him and do away with Him. The question they asked (v. 2) was designed to this end. In His answer the Saviour indicates the original intent of God in the establishment of marriage and the home: it was to be a permanent relationship never to be dis solved in this life. Let us note several lines of truth sug gested by the incident before us: The Importance of the Home Our Saviour’s words on marriage indi cate the tremendous importance of the home. A ll the teachings of the Bible on this subject teach the same truth—the home is the most important institution in the. world. The importance of the home is indi cated in the fact that God Himself in stituted it, and this long before any other institution was given (Gen. 1:26-31; 2:18-25). Thus the sacred relationship of husband and wife constituting the home is one of the first facts to greet us in the opening chapters of the Bible! Note in the Genesis account that a man and his wife together are constituted in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28). Together, husband and wife, as one flesh, have the God-given and marvellous power of pro creation. In this they share in the cre ative power of God. By their union husband and wife are made one flesh (Gen. 2:24). This verse indicates that the original purpose of God was that each home consist of one hus band and one wife with their children. The practice of polygamy (more than
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