Christ Church

New Birth & New Creation

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INTRODUCTION

The theme of creation and new creation is a significant one in Scripture, but sometimes we may forget where God has determined to begin that new work. The new birth is not merely a significant improvement of who we are. It is a new creation; it is heaven breaking into this world. And this is what makes the Christian Church tick. This is what makes Moscow tick. This is the center of who we are and what we’re about.

THE TEXT

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create… I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; not more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress…” (Is. 65:17).

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband… He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:1-4)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17).

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

Because of where I want to focus this message, it is important to nail a couple of things down first. None of what follows should be taken to downplay or lessen the physical return of Christ, the glory of heaven, or the new heavens and new earth in the slightest. For Christians to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord in heaven, and it is far better to be with the Lord than to be here (2 Cor. 5:8). At the resurrection, when we are clothed once more in new, immortal bodies, all things will be finally and completely made right (1 Cor. 15:15:53-55). The glory of heaven will be immense and completely perfect. We will see God face to face, and we will be like Him, without any sin or suffering (Rev. 22:3-5, 1 Jn. 3:2). This is our hope and joy.

HEAVEN ON EARTH

Nevertheless, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray that heaven would come down to earth. And Scripture says that the new heavens and new earth are coming down out of heaven like a bride coming down the aisle to her husband, like a city full of light and jewels (Rev. 21:1-2ff). Furthermore, the Bible teaches that by the gift of the Spirit, God has come to dwell with us already: “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit” (1 Jn. 4:13). Finally, we are able to behold the glory of the Lord even now, so that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another, becoming more and more like Him in this life (2 Cor. 3:18). What is that like?

HEAVEN NOW

The temptation – growing up in a Christian family/church/school is to take this for granted, to underplay the radical nature of the new birth. The great blessing of living in a covenant community is the momentum and gravity generally pulling in the direction of holiness and faithfulness. But that is also the context in which it can become perilously easy to float, to go with the flow, which is not the same thing at all as being made new. The text says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). To be “in Christ” is to be made completely new. The old has passed away, the new has come. Another way to make this point is to recognize that the language of “new creation” is the language of heaven.

What is heaven? It is the presence of Christ – God with us. It is the presence of His perfection, His holiness, His joy, such that we know Him and the power of His resurrection (cf. Phil. 3:10). Heaven is the full possession of unending, indestructible, abundant life. And what does Jesus say? “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (Jn. 11:25-26). Our text from Isaiah 65 goes on to describe life in this world, foretelling days in which people live extraordinarily long lives and children are born for blessing and not cursing (Is. 65:20-23). In other words, that new heavens and new earth begin here, in a Jerusalem of rejoicing, where there is no weeping or crying (Is. 65:18-19). For those who are new creations in Christ, the old is passed away. Christ is with us and everything is fine. He is wiping away every tear even now.

CONCLUSION

The same Creator God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness in the beginning is still in the business of creating new worlds in human hearts, through the knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). We have this treasure in the earthen vessels of fallen bodies and souls (2 Cor. 4:7). But this is the point: we have this treasure. The New Birth is a New Creation of a new and perfect world inside every believer.

Do not settle for a decent conservative Christian life. Do not settle for reasonable. Do no settle for mediocre. Christ does not make mutant mistakes. Christ died to make people new creations. Christ rose in order to give the treasure of everlasting life – heaven now. He came to give abundant life, to make us more than conquerors. We do live in a veil of tears, but if you are in Christ, you live in that veil of tears with Christ. Christ is with you and in you. And if Christ is in you, the fullness of heaven is already in you and your tears disappear almost as quickly as they appear. Do you have that treasure? Do you know that joy? It is impossible for you to get this for yourself, but it is something that God delights to do. Call on Him now. Turn to Him now.

This is what makes us tick: Jesus. 2000 years ago He was crucified on a Roman cross between two thieves. And when He was beaten, whipped, and nailed to that cross, our sins were laid upon Him. And now we bear them no more. The old is passed away, behold the new has come. Because Christ is here. He is with us. He is our heaven, and He holds us tight.

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Grown Up Christian Business Principles (Further Up #6)

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INTRODUCTION

Another one of the ways God is blessing our community immensely is through the explosion of businesses and industry. As this grows, the opportunity for business bumps will increase. Of course it’s often a great gift to be able to do business together as believers, but there is no guarantee that Christians will not sin, make mistakes, or botch projects. These are challenges that we must embrace, and work through as Christians. And this process is essential to growing up into a mature Christian city.

THE TEXT

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (1 Thess. 4:9-12).

LOVE IS OBEDIENCE FROM THE HEART

We cannot say this enough in our current cultural moment, but “love” is not whatever we want it to be. Love is obedience to God from the heart. And in this case, the “love” that Paul is urging the Thessalonians to “increase more and more” is clearly spelled out. Just before our text, love means abstaining from all fornication and not defrauding one another sexually (1 Thess. 4:3-7). We may as well spell out the fact that this means: monogamous heterosexual marriage. And then he adds to that here: study to be quiet, mind your own business, work with your own hands so that you are known for your honesty and lack nothing. This is love. Notice that Paul doesn’t say anything here about warm feelings or following your heart.

The connection here between sexual ethics and economic and business practices is not accidental. Rampant sexual fraud in the bedroom leads to rampant economic fraud in the public square. The family and home are the basic building blocks of business and economy. Covenant keeping in the home is practicing to keep your word at work. Of course it goes both ways, and shoddy work in the market place is a great way to practice unfaithfulness at home. The foundation for our commitment to this kind of love is the gospel of Christ: He was obedient to the death for our salvation. This is love. And we love because He loved us first (1 Jn. 4:9-11).

GIFT GIVING ECONOMY

God so loved the world that He gave (Jn. 3:16). And so it is that the basis for all truly free markets is this kind of love: gift giving. This means that when it comes to doing business, our instinct should always be to blessothers, especially brothers and sisters. This is the opposite of looking for or expecting a deal or a discount – as a buyer or a seller – simply because you’re both Christians. It is more blessed to give than receive, and therefore, the accent is on you giving, not you getting other people to give to you. So, if you need the goods or services of someone else, you should want to give as big of a gift as you can in exchange for it. You are of course free to shop around, but you should want to bless them (pay) so they can give even more. And if you are giving the good or service, pricing should be set sufficiently so that you can keep on giving a good gift that is high quality, excellent, and thoroughly honest. God does not want us to give beyond what He has actually given (2 Cor. 8:12). We are to work in such as a way that we lack nothing (1 Thess. 4:12). In terms of quality of products and services, Christians should despise the sentiment of the bumper sticker that says, “not perfect just forgiven.”

WRITE IT DOWN

Paul said that the Thessalonians didn’t need him to write to them, but he did it anyway, and given the challenge that they would soon face (2 Thess. 2:2), it was very important that he did. We are people of the written word, and therefore one of the hallmarks of Christian civilization is the written contract. Therefore, write all business agreements down. Do not say that since they are Kirkers you don’t need to write it down; do not say they are fellow believers so everything will be fine. Do not write some of it down, and have additional verbal agreements and handshakes. No, from the beginning God wrote everything down for us, not because He would forget His word, but because we are the kind of people who forget. This is central to our commitment to honesty. This need not be a suspicious or accusatory thing; it should be considered one of the central ways we love one another. In the absence of a written contract, the Bible says elsewhere that we should rather be defrauded than bring shame on the name of Christ by making a big stink about it or taking a brother to court (1 Cor. 6:7).

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Of course, as members of Christ and bound together by membership vows, we have promised to watch out for one another and bear one another’s burdens (cf. Gal. 6:2). But in the same place it says, “let every man prove his own work… for every man shall bear his own burden.” If the great principle of Christian business is love (defined as obedient and glad gift-giving), then our duty to work hard and mind our own business so that we lack nothing means that our goal should be to mind our own business, which is not at all the same as autonomous self-sufficiency. Part of minding your own business means take care of your own garden. It also means not assuming you know anything about your brother’s situation. This applies to what you might be tempted to think your brother can afford to pay or give; this also applies to various business decisions, whether it’s your competitor or the fact that somebody in the church went with your competitor. Don’t assume the worst; don’t assume anything. Life is complex. Related is the fact that you must not take business decisions personally. And while you should want to do everything you can to be at peace with a brother and cover a multitude of sins, a negative review of work need not be cause for being out of fellowship.

CONCLUSION

When a business deal goes south it can be a real tangled mess, especially in a small, tight-knit community, but the gospel applies here as well. This doesn’t mean being naïve, gullible, or being walked all over. The cross teaches us is that love is obedience from the heart. Obedience is scrupulously honest (Ps. 15:4), but love also speaks the truth, holds brothers accountable, and is willing to work long and hard to bring resolution and make things right, because Christ suffered for us. They will know we are Christ’s disciples not just because we get along but because we love one another even when by all human standards we shouldn’t (Jn. 13:35).

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Excellence in Education (Further Up #5)

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INTRODUCTION

Education fills up our days and hours and weeks and spills out constantly in our community, and that is entirely on purpose. Teaching and learning is at the center of discipleship, and we are disciples of Jesus who have been given the Great Commission to disciple the nations, beginning with the ones living our own homes. But we do not want this mission to grow into anything perfunctory. What we are doing is aiming at cultural impact over generations.

THE TEXTS

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily… And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou rise up…” (Dt. 6:3-9) “… That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:1-4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

Both of these texts teach not only the moral imperative of teaching God’s truth to your children diligently, they also teach the significance and potency of that education: lives going well, mighty increases, and long lives in the land (Dt. 6:3, Eph. 6:2-3). Both of these texts also clearly lay the responsibility for education at the feet of parents, and fathers in particular (Dt. 6:7, Eph. 6:1, 4). Finally, both of these texts insist that a Christian education take place all day long: at the breakfast table, in the car, in the front yard, on the front porch, and when you go to bed and everywhere in between (Dt. 6:7-9) and it must be applied to every area of life: giving the counsel and culture of Jesus in everything (Eph. 6:4).

EDUCATION, BLESSING, AND POWER

Pagans understand in a very narrow, limited way that education is important for jobs, and jobs are important for money, security, and provision. Many Christians are either Gnostic in their thinking, pretending that they have no needs or responsibilities with regard to jobs or provision or they imagine that vocational skills and wisdom will just happen. Both tend to mismanage the opportunities of education and resources. Other Christians simply live bifurcated lives, where they pretend to be Gnostics on Sundays and during small group, and then they just assume pagan assumptions about their work, 401Ks, or retirement plans. But notice that both of our texts connect material prosperity and the blessing of God to the task of education (Dt. 6:2-3, Eph. 6:3). This is because living under God’s blessing really does tend to prosperity. This does not mean that God’s blessings are like a vending machine. We are in no position at any point of demanding anything from God. But those who obey God’s commands and honor their parents are offered the promise that it will go well with them, and this promise that was originally given to Israel in Canaan, was then offered to Gentile kids in Asia Minor, and therefore we can apply it to us here in Idaho. Teaching God’s truth diligently to our children is God’s ordinary way of raising up generations that increase mightily in every form of wealth: wisdom, children, churches, businesses, lands, houses, technology, medicine, influence, etc.

EDUCATION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS

The duty of teaching children is placed squarely on the shoulders of parents, and this begins with teaching obedience to children (Eph. 6:1). This is the foundational lesson: hear and obey (Dt. 6:3-6). And parents are the first people that must hear and obey by teaching their children to hear and obey. It is not heavy-handed to require complete, cheerful obedience of your children, but your first lesson you are teaching is your parental obedience. If you are slow to correct, angry, or frustrated, the lesson you are teaching is that it is ok to obey slowly or with a bad attitude. Fundamentally, if children are not taught to hear and obey, they will not be able to learn any other lessons. We should also note here that this task of education applies to both sons and daughters. While we do recognize the gloriously different callings of men and women, this does not mean that our daughters need less of an education.

Notice also that it is not enough to teach wooden conformity; the center of Christian obedience is love: “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Dt. 6:5). Instinctively, people tend to remember and learn well those things which they love the most, but do not fall into a modernist sentimentalism, love is a skill and duty that God requires, that must be taught and practiced. This need not devolve into cold duty, but it really is something like warm-hearted duty (Prov. 3:1, 4:23). Related to all of this is the requirement that fathers in particular not provoke their children to wrath (Eph. 6:4). This provocation can come from a father’s harshness and short fuse, but it can also come from a father’s abdication and emotional or physical distance or detachment. But God the Father is loud about His pleasure in His Son, and now you are in His Son. The education of children is the responsibility of both parents, but the father is responsible for the state of his whole household. Many Christian families suffer from the father’s lack of leadership in education.

EDUCATION & VOCATION IS ALWAYS MORAL

Finally, wound through both of our texts is the clear teaching that all education is always moral in nature. There is no neutrality. You are either growing to love God all day long or not. You are either learning the counsel and culture of Jesus in mathematics, science, writing, history, literature, and music, or else you are learning some other counsel and culture. The greatest lie of modern, government education is that there is such a thing as “religion-free” zones, which is what the First Amendment has been twisted to mean. But it never meant that; it always meant that the government could not run churches or be partial to a particular denomination. But our founding documents universally acknowledge the Christian God and Creator, and our constitution recognizes Sunday as the Lord’s Day and the birth of Christ as the most significant date in human history. All of which should have kept government out of the education business. In the absence of Christ, other gods and values always fill the vacuum. The other side of this lie is the claim that you can have math or language or history work apart from Christ. But all things hold together in Christ (Col. 1:17). Remove Christ and you remove reason. But Christ is always there to be loved and worshiped. And refusal to do so is disobedience and cowardice.

CONCLUSION

The center of Christian education is to love all that God is with all that we are. This is the “counsel and the culture of Jesus.” But we are only able to love God rightly as we receive His love in Christ: Christ the Creator, Christ born, Christ obedient, Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ ascended over all. And where Christ is there is always flourishing and abundant life. This life is creative, curious, joyful, diligent, savvy, courageous, and it looks for fruit over many generations.

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Nation, Family, Church, and Gospel (Further Up #4)

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INTRODUCTION

We continue our series on Christian maturity and the pursuit of excellence, and we turn to what the Bible teaches about political maturity. In the midst of the mud-slinging of much political discourse, it can be easy to lose sight of basic Biblical principles, much less, long term goals. Apathy, perfectionism, and compromise are all enemies of political maturity. Central to mature thinking, planning, and acting politically is understanding the Lordship of Christ over all, and the different jurisdictions he has assigned to different authorities.

THE TEXT

“… Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told Him by certain which said, ‘Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see Thee.’ And He answered and said unto them, ‘My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it’” (Lk. 8:19-21).

NATIONS AND FAMILIES

The Bible teaches that nations are the natural extension of families multiplying. It frequently refers to nations as the “families of the earth” (e.g. Gen. 28:14, Ps. 22:27, Zech. 14:17). In Eph. 3:15, Paul writes, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” The word translated as “family” in Greek is patria, which is derived from the root word pater, which means “father,” but it can also refer to a much larger sociopolitical group such as an entire nation of people. Patria is where we get the words “patriot” and “patriotism” and the notion of right love and loyalty to one’s nation. This family-nation connection is true biologically, but Paul is clearly insisting that it goes deeper and broader than that, since every family is named after God the Father. And this is precisely what God began to teach His people early on through the gift of His covenant. To Abraham, God said, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee” (Gen. 17:4-5). While biological conception was always an important part of the growth and expansion of families/nations, from this very moment, God also instituted circumcision, in effect saying, but do not think of this covenant as a purely physical/blood relationship. Abraham’s entire household, including his male servants, were circumcised, Israel went up out of Egypt as a “mixed multitude” (Ex. 12:38), and Paul goes to great lengths to insist that this covenant was by faith not by the power of the flesh (Rom. 4:16-21). “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7ff). God has always taught His people that water is thicker than blood.

JESUS, LORD OF ALL NATIONS

All of this means that the Bible views the governments of the family, church, and state, as different sorts of families, nations, or covenants. While we have already seen this with families and nations, the Church also has “fathers” (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15) and is called the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10), “the household of God” (Eph. 2:19, 1 Tim. 3:15, 1 Pet. 4:17) as well as a “holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9) in which Christians have a citizenship (Phil. 3:20). And this brings us full circle to the words of Christ: “‘My mother and My brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it’” (Lk. 8:21). The point is not merely one about biological family (although it includes that); it’s far more expansive, including all of our “mothers and brothers,” in our families, churches, and nations – all natural loves and kindred are subject to God’s word. When Jesus rose from the dead, He said, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me, therefore go and disciple the nations…” (Mt. 28:18ff). Jesus is Lord of the nations: Lord of family-nations, church-nations, and country-nations. In the ordinary course of things, there are spiritual and physical relations and loves, similarities and differences running through all of these nations, including language, culture, belief, tribes, practice, land, work, marriage, children, history, symbols, and more. But only allegiance and obedience to the Father who is over all and in all can rank and sort these allegiances rightly (Eph. 4:6). How do you build a family, a church, or a nation? By hearing and obeying the Word of God.

HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?

Family: The marriage covenant is the core of this governmental jurisdiction, and it constantly pictures the Covenant of Grace in which Christ is Head of the Church (Eph. 5:22ff). As Lord of the family-nation, Jesus assigns the tasks of education, health, and welfare to this jurisdiction (Eph. 5-6). This includes care for elderly parents or other needy relatives (Mk. 7:11), the first line of defense for orphans and widows and similar needs, and a man that does not provide for his own household is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:1ff). Our fundamental allegiance to Jesus sometimes does mean losing or straining family relationships where there is a refusal to hear God’s word and obey. But the gospel turns the hearts of fathers and children (Mal. 4:6).

Church: The church has been given the keys of the Kingdom by Jesus Christ and is commissioned to preach the gospel to every nation, teaching them to obey the entire Word of God, calling the saints together for worship, admitting disciples through baptism to the Table, and barring those from fellowship who do not obey Christ (Mt. 16:17-19, 18:15-20, 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 2 Thess. 3:14-15). The church proclaims the water of the Word – which is the Word of the New Covenant in the shed blood of Christ that cleanses families and nations from their animosities and feuds. But the church is not partisan to any other government. It teaches all men to honor all of their fathers (at every level), and so it teaches true family loyalty and patriotism in Christ. A patriot honors his fathers. But the church is a completely independent government from all other governments. This is why it is unseemly and confused (at best) and idolatrous (at worst) for churches to conduct worship services that confuse national identity with Christian identity.

State: The civil magistrate has been given the sword by Christ to punish criminals and keep good public order (Rom. 13:4). Civil magistrates receive their power from God and are established to praise the good and be a terror to those who do evil (Rom. 13:3). Just as God establishes the authority, He also establishes the standards and the definitions. A magistrate who ignores or openly defies the One from whom he receives his authority is cutting off the branch he stands on. Magistrates are true “foster fathers” (Is. 49:23) who hear the word of God and obey it in their offices, laws, and judgments. And those nations that keep covenant with the Lord of the nations will bring their glory and honor all the way into Heaven (Rev. 21:24). But all dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, and idolaters will be shut out (Rev. 22:15). So it is right and good to ask God to cast down all evil, to thank Him for the true glory He has given to our nation and celebrate it, and ask Him to grow and safeguard it all the way to Heaven.

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The Powerhouse of Marriage and Family (Further Up #3)

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INTRODUCTION

Most conservative Christians know the basics of what husbands, wives, parents, and children are supposed to do and what they are not supposed to do. And they generally know that they are supposed to be Christians in it all: forgiving one another and staying in fellowship and the joy of the Lord. And we really must not underes- timate the blessing all of that really is. The value of peace and joy and fellowship is inestimable. But what grows in that soil is a powerhouse of influence, generosity, and blessing.

THE TEXT

“… Drink waters out of thin own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dis- persed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets… Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth…” (Prov. 5:1-19)

OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT

Solomon the King and father continues to exhort his son to listen to his instruction (5:1-2). He specifically warns his son about the immoral woman who promises to be sweet but always ends up being bitter and deadly (5:3-6). The father repeats his plea to be heard to stay far away f rom her, explaining that he is not speaking in metaphors: the bitterness and death means losing honor, years of labor, wealth, sadness, sickness, and regret (5:7-14). In place of a reckless and bankrupt sexuality, the father exhorts his son to a joyful and fruitful mo- nogamy, picturing fruitfulness and productivity in terms of wells of water and gushing fountains of life, flowing from a continual delight in his own wife (5:15-19).

DO NOT GIVE THY STRENGTH TO WOMEN

Proverbs 31 was written by a woman, the mother of King Lemuel, and the queen mother exhorts her son not to give his strength to women, nor his ways to that which destroy kings (Prov. 31:3). Given what follows, what she is warning him about is drinking too much and loose women (31:4-10ff ). Gluttony and immorality are a couple of the chief ways men give their strength away to women. Rather than using their strength to build houses and families, businesses and cities, legacies and inheritances, men give everything they work for away (5:9-14). Ironically, Solomon himself is one of the great examples of this contrast: remember how he built the temple and his palace and other cities with the wisdom that God gave him (1 Kings 5-10). But then chapter 11 opens with the ominous words: “But King Solomon loved many strange women…” Instead of being faithful to God and building houses and cities of blessing, his many women turned his heart away from God and he built high places for all of them (1 Kgs. 11:7-8). What a draining, painful, and worthless waste.

FRUITFUL FOUNTAINS

In place of draining power and strength, Solomon describes the fruitfulness and power of a faithful marriage and family as fountains and springs (5:15-18). In an arid climate or when it’s baking hot outside, you under- stand the glory of cool, flowing water. A fresh mountain spring or river not only keeps you alive, it allows you to keep working, to keep producing and with joy. And think of all the uses of water: watering crops, keeping animals alive and working, cooking, cleaning, cooling, making paper, building, water wheels, hydroelectric dams, steam power, shipping, travel, not to mention recreation and fun. What Solomon sought to urge his son to understand was not merely the joy of faithfulness to one woman and the children she bears, but the political and economic powerhouse a faithful marriage and family can be. Cities have always been built close to water

for all of the above reasons. A thriving faithful marriage and family are little cities, proto-economies, micro nations. Just think: a thriving faithful marriage and family are a team of people who practice commu- nicating and working together regularly. As they learn to communicate, they learn to anticipate one another. They know the standards; they know what is expected; and they learn to problem solve quickly. Where there is joy and love and loyalty to one another and the mission, there is safety in sacrificing for one another. These bonds are tightened and strengthened through particular experiences, trials, and accomplishments. Under the blessing of Christ, this is where the water of family life flows from, begin- ning as a trickle and growing into a gushing fountain over generations.

APPLICATIONS

Sexual Fidelity: the center of this fruitfulness and power is sexual faithfulness and delight. As with all repentance, there is a turning from and a turning to. Fundamentally, this is turning from self and the old man and turning to Christ and the new man (Eph. 4:22-24). And by God’s design, this is how sin is conquered. It is not merely a matter of will-power. You need to replace one way of thinking and liv- ing with a new way.The self-centeredness of lust and immorality needs to be replaced with the selfless- ness of faithfulness to one spouse. And because God made the world heterosexual, this means that a man needs to pursue and continually delight in his wife, and she needs to welcome him. When a man gives his strength this way, it is blessed.

JOYFUL ECONOMY

Do you want your fountains blessed? Rejoice with the wife of your youth (Prov. 5:18). The center of this joy is the forgiveness of sins, and therefore, you cannot have this joy if your heart and home are full of the gunk and bitterness of unconfessed sin (1 Jn. 1:4-9). Many professing Christian homes are sad and stressful places because there is so much unconfessed sin, which is like a bunch of debris clogging the fountain. But when you confess your sins, the dam breaks, and the drought is over (Ps. 32). A Christian home should be a happy place, a joyous, raucous place of welcome, delight, and peace. It’s not a sinless place, but it’s a place that is continually applying the blood of Jesus and so it really is clean and full of joy.

WISDOM IS WEALTH

We are not materialists and so we need to think of wealth biblically. Wealth is not just cash or pos- sessions, and some forms of cash and possessions are not nearly as valuable as they may look at first glance (Prov. 23:5). But wisdom really is more valuable than gold or silver or rubies, and durable riches and honor really are with wisdom (Prov. 8:18). By wisdom kings reign and princes rule (Prov. 8:15-16). Wisdom has great strength, and by wisdom, God built the universe (Prov. 8:14, 22-29). And God has this strength by daily delighting and rejoicing in wisdom (Prov. 8:30). Delighting in stupid sitcoms, braindead music, and mindless movies is a great way to not get wisdom. And while the Bible should be the center of our wisdom, knowledge of creation (biology, technology, art, music, etc.) is wealth. And in a healthy marriage and family, that wealth builds houses, businesses, and legacies for generations that influence cities and nations and provide life to the world.

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