Marriage and Family: A Reformed Look at Husbands, Wives and the Heritage of Our Children
March 2003
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In Molech worship, the child was passed over a low fire, or incense burner, before an image of the king, or the god of the state, or some insignia of the state to indicate that the child's life now belonged to the state and could be used at the ruler's will.
Too few Christians have any idea what marriage represents or the significance of its institution in Eden. Marriage either serves God's purposes or it serves man's. If it serves God's purposes it will be a source of joy and strength; if it serves the purposes of individuals it will be a source of constant conflict, as well as personal and social instability.
Educational methods properly grow from an educational philosophy with its particular goals. A Biblical educational philosophy, in turn, properly stems from a Biblical understanding of life.
Whenever Sunday Boston Globe, I enjoy scanning the wedding announcements to see if I know any of the couples or their families. It gives a quick view of culture, religion, education, careers, and honeymoon destinations, all which reveal a great deal about our society in a very small amount of printed space. But this Sunday, there was something on the Special Occasions page that had never been there before, a section headed by the word Commitments, which listed three same-sex "affirmations of partnerships," the partners being all males.
Opinions about a woman's role in marriageabound. Around the world the spectrum runs from viewing women as abject chattel to infallible matriarchs. Even within American society, attitudes about the position of women in marriage vary greatly. Men and women alike seem uncertain or confused about this issue.
The news is full of the horrors of divorce and of single parent children. Everyone (perhaps I should say "Every person," as I'm sure the lawyers aren't losing sleep over divorce) is very sad about it.
My question is, how much of your family income had to go to support the various activities of the federal, state, and local civil governments that serve your community? The truth is that no one knows exactly, but it is certainly much more than most people think.
When Reformed Christians defend the practice of infant-baptism, we generally present a detailed delineation of covenant-theology. The problem, however, is that most evangelicals just don't know what the covenant is. They do not understand "covenant theology" and, therefore, our defense of infant-baptism based on the inner workings of the covenant generally sounds forced, contrived, and disjointed.
Adominant part of family life is teaching one's children. The imperatives of Scripture make it so; the promises are to us and our children. The demands of teaching our children are too important for our children not to dominate family life.
Consider the following college mission statement: "Every one shall consider as the main End of his life and studies, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is Eternal life. John 17:3."
I have been an avid fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers for a long time. One of my favorites is The Testament. Perhaps its most outstanding feature is its refreshingly realistic and edifying portrayal of a lively, devout missionary — a portrayal that avoids both the "plaster saint" hagiography often found in Christian writing and the derogatory depictions frequently penned by mainstream authors.