“that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”“that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
3 sermons cite this verse
… text. We'll come to the catechism as an illustration in a little bit. But I want to work from a simple text from Ephesians chapter 6. You can follow along in your Bibles, Ephesians chapter 6, verses 1 through 3. This is where Paul, in chapter 4, having urged the Ephesians to live a life worthy of the calling they received, gives explicit instructions. And what does it mean to walk the Christian walk. This is in the middle of a particular section, sometimes called the household codes, where we have specific instructions with the various relationships that we might encounter in the household, wives and husbands, and now children and parents. Verse 1, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, this is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. Isn't it interesting to note just at the outset that Paul addresses children as part of the covenant community, as those who belong to the church? He does not say, Now, children, if you hear this, I know that you have not yet made a profession of faith, and you have not yet joined the church, and you are not yet Christian. So, I'm saying this to you, children, as simply children who are in earshot of my commands, this would be a good thing for you to do. He says rather, children, here is my command to obey your parents in the Lord. …
… 5, verses 22 through 33 of displaying the gospel and a husband's selfless sacrificial love for his wife, a wife's submissive respect and love for her husband, which leads to Ephesians chapter 6, verses 1 through 4, and a father and a mother loving their child in a way that reflects the love of God for that child. There's so much we could talk about here, but just to bring the data on to bear on why this is so important, do you know what percentage of women seeking abortions are unmarried in our country. Approximately 86%. So almost nine out of 10 women in our country who seek abortions are unmarried. We in our culture have decoupled sex from marriage and the effects are tragic for children in the womb. the devilish fruit of sexual immorality is the death of millions of boys and girls and do you know who's the most influential person in a woman's decision to have an abortion research shows it's the father of that baby there's not even a close second And most fathers are at best abdicating that decision, if not encouraging it. …
… Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." That is a minimalist approach to the family, and yet it covers everything. There are plenty of places you can go and get bad advice about the family. This is the foundation of all God's design for the family, directed at children and at parents. I don't need to belabor the point. We all know that the family is being assaulted. I mean, it's just wholesale. Men are being assaulted by the culture and have been for a long time. Women are recast as toxic, a toxic patriarchy that has had a destructive impact on society. Women are the abused targets of this toxic patriarchy by being forced to stay home and have children and never find their real fulfillment, which would come to them in the corporate location, because that's where women need to be fulfilled. …