Is the family the most important institution to God?

Understanding, explaining and practicing the biblical view of the relationship between the family and the church can be a challenge.

Opinions about how the two should relate to one another run the gamut. In fact, we have seen them run the gamut in just our small fellowship, Covenant Community Church. And those opinions can be strongly held -- sometimes prompting, partly, people at both ends of the spectrum of opinions to depart the church family.

Because of opinions expressed in our church, I have given a lot of thought to the issue over several years. I have wanted to address it at this blog but have not seemed to find a good entry point for the discussion. I think I have now.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw that an acquaintance in the ministry whom I respect a lot had begun serving in a pastoral position with another church. I went to that church's website and found the following statement in the information about its ministry:

We believe that the family is the first and most important institution that the Lord created. Moreover, following God the family should hold the highest priority.

I believe we would all agree the family -- marriage specifically -- is the first institution God established. The other assertions -- "the family is the . . . most important institution that the Lord created" and "the family should hold the highest priority" -- raise questions for me, however. And I think they should for you, if you are a disciple of Christ identified with a church.

In this post, I don't intend to address those questions with answers. I have opinions that I think are biblically based. For now, however, I just want to ask some of the questions I think the statement above raises.

I welcome your responses to these questions and any additional questions you think should be raised.

Here are my questions:

-- Is this -- the assertion the family is the "most important institution" and "should hold the highest priority" -- what we see as we read the four gospel accounts, Acts and the letters in the New Testament?

-- Is this consistent with what Jesus is teaching when He offers some hard sayings at various points in His earthly ministry regarding His disciples' devotion to Him in contrast to their devotion to family members?

-- Does this mean the government is more important than the church, since God established it (Gen. 9) before either Israel or the church and this statement appears to be based partly on chronology?

-- Does this mean an institution based on flesh and blood is more important than one based on the blood of God the Son?

-- Does this diminish the church and thereby diminish the work of Christ in His perfectly righteous life and totally satisfactory, substitutionary death that created the church?

-- Does this mean the church is subservient to the family?

-- What does this mean for church members who are not part of a nuclear family? Is their value less because they are only part of a church family and not part of a biological/adoptive family?

-- Does this mean it is okay for me to think my family is more important than God’s family?

News through the gospel lens: The Muslim protests

Some Muslims again are participating in protests -- some violent -- at various locations around the globe, this time apparently in response to a short film posted online.

What is a gospel-focused way to view this development?

David Mathis provided helpful insight by posting Sept. 14 on the Desiring God blog some quotes from John Piper and brief commentary. The Piper comments come from an important 2006 article in response to protests by Muslims against another affront to their prophet, Muhammad. You may read Piper's 2006 article here.

Here are some quotes from that article:

The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.

For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of his mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience.

[A] religion with no insulted Savior will not endure insults to win the scoffers. It means that this religion is destined to bear the impossible load of upholding the honor of one who did not die and rise again to make that possible. It means that Jesus Christ is still the only hope of peace with God and peace with man. And it means that his followers must be willing to "share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).

Why preach the gospel to yourself (No. 13)

Here is another reason -- "Chosen for Prayer" -- to preach the gospel to yourself as provided by Milton Vincent in his book A Gospel Primer for Christians.

When God chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world, He did not merely choose me to be "holy and blameless"; He chose me also to be "before Him in love." To be sure, I am always in God's presence on earth, and in heaven I will be in His presence more fully than ever. But it could also be said that in this life I am especially "before Him in love" when I come "before Him" in prayer and worship.

Therefore, I can infer that prayer is not simply something I am allowed to do as a Christian; prayer is actually one of the great purposes for which God chose to save me. Christ Himself confirms this fact when He makes the following statement to His disciples: "I chose you . . . that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you." As a chosen one of God, I was saved to pray; and whenever I come into God's presence to behold Him, worship Him, or make request of Him, I am arriving at the pinnacle of God's saving purposes for me.

God is radically committed to my life of prayer. He shed the blood of His Son so that I might be cleansed and rendered fit to stand before Him in love. He also permitted the brutal rending of His Son so that I might now have a way into the Holy Place through the torn flesh of Jesus. "Draw near," He says in Hebrews 4; "draw near," He says in Hebrews 10; "pray without ceasing," He urges elsewhere. How can I not feel the infinite sincerity of these invitations, especially when considering the painful lengths that God endured so that I might enter His presence in prayer?

Indeed, the gospel itself serves as the sweetest of invitations to pray; and preaching it to myself each day nurtures within me a mighty impulse to come "before [God] in love" and do the praying that I was elected to do.

(Scriptures cited: Eph. 1:4; Ps. 100:2, 68:4; I John 5:14; John 15:16; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 10:19-20, 4:16, 10:22; I Th. 5:17).

Mondays are for music: 'Glorious Christ'

The folks at Sovereign Grace Music continue to amaze. Year after year, this collection of musicians -- led by SGM Director Bob Kauflin -- produces songs that glorify God, exalt Christ, make the gospel known and teach biblical theology in its richness. The video below is of an acoustic version of "Glorious Christ" recorded in the SGM studio earlier this year. The song is from the album "Age to Age," which was released in April. This version features a different singer than the album version. He is Eric McAllister. Three of the musicians playing in the studio are members of the band Enfield who help with some SGM songs. Playing the keyboard is Kauflin, who wrote the song.

Worth repeating from the Twitterverse

Here are some tweets from the last week by people I am following:

“God gave us life so that we might live to show He is more precious than life.” – John Piper

“Corporate worship is designed to decimate your allegiance to the kingdom of self and enthrall you with the grace and glory of Kingdom of God.” – Paul David Tripp

“The reason you and I struggle with scandalous grace is because down deep we really don’t think we’re that bad.” – Tullian Tchividjian

“Spiritual growth is NOT arriving at some point where we need Jesus less because we’re getting better and better.” – Tullian Tchividjian

“If you don’t believe you are utterly accepted by God in Christ you will find some other means to define your worth.” – Greg Breazeale

“Prosperity is a great mercy, but adversity is a greater one if it brings us to Christ.” – Tullian Tchividjian

“Christian growth is seen best in our acknowledgment of weakness.” – Tullian Tchividjian

“You and I don’t just need to be rescued from the idols around us. No, we need to be rescued from our idolatrous hearts.” – Paul David Tripp

“Pulpits are full of preachers telling one-legged people to jump higher and run faster.” – Tullian Tchividjian

“True Christians are happy to be despised if, by their being despised, somehow the Gospel is displayed.” – Mark Dever

Preparing for corporate worship: Encountering God

In Job 42, the book's namesake responds to God's continual questioning in the four previous chapters -- questioning that points to the truth that God is sovereign and Job is not. When God finishes speaking, Job says, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2-6). Job encounters God, who reveals Himself to Job. Job responds with worship -- declaring who God is, humbling himself before God with a new knowledge of who He is and repenting of his sins. We gather as a community weekly to encounter God, especially through His Word, that we might know Him better, worship Him and be changed by Him. May we come Sunday desiring this kind of life-changing time of worship of the one true God.

Marriage: Primary or secondary?

One of the concerns I have about the often valuable emphasis on traditional values by the pro-family movement in our country is that we, as Bible-believing Christians, can elevate marriage and the family to a place God did not intend in our effort to demonstrate the importance, beauty and value of these institutions.

We should attempt to protect marriage legally. We should seek to build strong marriages and families. We should not, however, make these really good things -- which are gracious gifts from God -- into ultimate things, as Timothy Keller puts it.

In my opinion, John Piper is one of those pastors and writers who have succeeded at promoting marriage to its biblical position while demonstrating it is not ultimate. David Mathis of Desiring God pointed to this in a recent blog post in which he excerpted the following from Piper’s book, This Momentary Marriage:

Focusing on the pragmatic effects of marriage undermines the very power of marriage to achieve the effects we desire. In other words, for the sake of all these beneficial practical effects, we should not focus on them. This is the way life is designed by God to work. Make him and the glory of his Son central, and you get the practical effects thrown in. Make the practical effects central, and you lose both.

. . . I want people to flourish in every way. I want the poor to rise into joyful, self-sustaining, productive work and stable households. Therefore, for the sake of these good effects of marriage, let it be heralded with joy that there are reasons for marriage that are vastly more important.

Marriage is not mainly about prospering economically; it is mainly about displaying the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church. Knowing Christ is more important than making a living. Treasuring Christ is more important than bearing children. Being united to Christ by faith is a greater source of marital success than perfect sex and double-income prosperity.

If we make secondary things primary, they cease to be secondary and become idolatrous. They have their place. But they are not first, and they are not guaranteed. . . . So it is with marriage. It is a momentary gift. It may last a lifetime, or it may be snatched away on the honeymoon. Either way, it is short. It may have many bright days, or it may be covered with clouds. If we make secondary things primary, we will be embittered at the sorrows we must face. But if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Every one of them will be, not an obstacle to success, but a way to succeed. The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church shines brightest when nothing but Christ can sustain it.

In a post that is somewhat related, Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote Sept. 11 on “Christian Values Cannot Save Anyone.” You may read it here.