This morning we will bring our "Holy & Free" series to a conclusion. I had not intended for this series to last so long, but it seemed like there was always another particular subject I wanted to address so that we all could better understand how to pursue holiness while also living in the freedom we have in Christ.

 

Today we come to the 15^th part in our series on being Holy and Free. As those who have been redeemed from our sin through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we want to honor our Lord by pursing holiness in our lives. As those made free from the curse of righteousness by works of the law, we do not want to go back into legalism. We want to live in the freedom Jesus Christ gives us while daily becoming more like Him.

 

This morning I want to deal with cultural traditions. That is especially appropriate at this time of year because, if we are not careful, many of our society’s cultural Christmas traditions can overwhelm the purpose of the season. There are, of course, many American cultural traditions that we may need to think through, but this morning, I want us to concentrate on those related to Christmas. The principles that we will learn here can be applied to any other cultural tradition.

 

One of the greatest areas of human pride is a parent over their children. I have met adults that can accept criticism in any other area that will not accept any criticism of their children. My friends, Gary & Ann Marie Ezzo, who founded and lead Growing Families International and whose material most of today’s sermon is based, have received severe and unjust criticism and condemnation over the years from folks who, from my view, do not like their parenting practices challenged. Some of them do not like the idea that they carry responsibility for the kind of adult their child becomes. Others react strongly because their area of greatest pride, their children, has been challenged. With that in mind, it is always with some trepidation that I venture into the area of child rearing, yet like the Ezzo’s, regardless of what reaction I receive, it is more important that the principles of God’s word be proclaimed concerning how we raise our children.

 

Last week we began looking at Ephesians 6:4 and the role of parents in the family, but we only got as far as the second word, "fathers." We must take seriously the responsibilities God has entrusted to us in giving us children. The task is something that is utterly beyond you or me, but with God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, our children can be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is also so good to know that when I fail in carrying out all the Lord's commands to me concerning my children, God, as my loving heavenly Father, wants me to learn and do better, so He is ready to forgive me as I confess my sins to Him.

 

Over the last two weeks we have been discussing the family as part of our "Holy and Free" series. As Christians, we have a lot of freedom in Christ to choose the specifics of how wey will live within the parameters of pursuing holiness according to the commands and precepts of God’s Word. This is also true when it comes to the family. Each family will be different from every other Christian family in many specific areas, but every Christian must still fulfill the role that God has designed for them within those families. We have already discussed the role of the wife, the role of the husband and the role of the children. This morning we will examine Ephesians 6:4 and the role of the parents.

 

I think most people understand and would agree that the radical changes that have occurred in our society over the last two generations have resulted in the family being in trouble. I pointed out in an earlier sermon that the 2000 Census figures show that only 52.8% of households are now headed by married couples. Single parent families now account for over a 1/4 of all households. Overall, 30% of children now born in the U.S. are to single mothers, with that figure rising to over 70% in some sub-cultures. These figures do not even count the number of children never born because the mother chose abortion instead of life for her child. Marriage rates have dropped as people delay marriage until later in life or never do get married. Divorce rates remain high.

 

This morning I want us to return to our Holy & Free series that I have delayed for the last 6 weeks so that we could look at the purpose of the church. Remember that our purpose here is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ through Communicating New Life in Christ, Cultivating New Life in Christ, Caring for New Life in Christ and Celebrating New life in Christ. In our Holy & Free series we have already covered a lot of topics including as drugs, drinking, dancing, dress, music, entertainment, leisure, dating, courtship, marriage, and having children. Before we get into our exposition of the book of Philippians sometime next month. I want to expand on the subjects of marriage and children. There is a lot of freedom in the specifics of how a marriage might function and in the specifics of how children are raised, but there are also some very clear Biblical principles for both that we need to clearly understand if the specifics are to fit within Biblical parameters.

 

This morning we come to the fourth aspect of how we carry out our purpose. Here at Grace Bible Church we strive to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We do that by Communicating New Life in Christ - Evangelism; Cultivating New Life in Christ - Edification; and Caring for New Life in Christ - Fellowship, and finally, Celebrating New Life in Christ - Worship.

 

I have spoken to you for the last three weeks about the purpose of the church which is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We carry out our purpose of making disciples through four tasks: Communicating New Life in Christ (evangelism); Caring for New Life in Christ (fellowship); Cultivating New Life in Christ (edification) and Celebrating New Life in Christ (worship).

 

Change is a part of life. Some changes are good and some are bad. Some changes are neutral, but all of them can add stress to life. We are glad to see our children getting taller and stronger, though it does mean buying them more clothes. Some of us are noticing more character wrinkles etched into our faces and our hair is changing color - for a few, that color is gray. We don’t really care for those changes. As you get older your perspective changes and instead of counting the years from birth, you start thinking more of how many years you may have until death. Some of have had the joy of adding members to your family this past year. Others have had the sorrows of family members passing away. There is constant change in our lives and stress because of it.

 

Last week we started our series on the church by explaining from the Scriptures the reason that we have stated that the purpose of Grace Bible Church is to Glorify God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ. We saw in our study of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 that Jesus’ command to make disciples was to be carried out by three activities. Going into all the world, baptizing those who believed, and teaching them to observe His commandments. This morning I want to expand on the first part of that - Going into all the world.

 

I had been planning to talk about raising children this morning as part of our "Holy & Free" series, but we are going to take a break from that for the month of October. I will get back to raising children and the several other issues left in that series in November.

 

This morning we are going to be looking at the Scriptures to see what God says about children, both having them and raising them. It is fitting to do this today since we will be having a baby dedication later in the service.

 

This morning we will continue in the series of messages I have entitled "Holy & Free." We have been examining the scriptures to see what Biblical commands, principles and precepts apply to various areas of everyday life. Many people strive to live the Christian life bound by non-Biblical rules that not only steal the joy out of walking with Christ, but are often legalistic in that they define righteousness by standards that God did not set. Other people go to the opposite of extreme in which they view the liberty spoken of in 2 Cor. 3:17 or the freedom spoken of in Gal. 5:1 as license to do whatever they want. But neither is true.

 

As all of you are well aware, tomorrow is Labor Day in the U.S. and so it would seem to be a fitting time to talk about work. Is labor a curse or a blessing?

 

What do you do for leisure? Some of you will immediately think of one particular activity while others of you will think of a whole list of things. Over the years Christians have responded in radically different ways to leisure.

 

This morning I want to continue from where we left off last week in our discussion of music in worship and then expand that into general principles on all music. Let me quickly summarize last week's message before going on this morning.

I approach this morning's message with some fear and trepidation because there is no greater area of opinion driven by emotion that can be discussed than music. The only other area I have found that people can be more touchy about is to talk with them specifically about how they are raising their children. In addressing this topic, I will be doing so first from the stand point of the use of music in the worship of God. I will make some comments here and there about the application of the basic principles we will be learning to wider application, but it will be next week that we will specifically tackle "secular" music and entertainment. If you simply keep in mind that Christians are to be Christians full time, then you should be able to make application of these principles to any circumstance

 

As we begin this morning, I want to remind you that if you were not here July 20^th, then get the tape, CD or the text of that sermon. It was the first part of this series we are doing on living in both holiness and the freedom we have in Christ. That sermon lays the foundation on which I am simply expanding and applying to particular areas.

 

For the next 6 weeks we are going to be getting into some "rubber meets the road" Christianity. We will be looking at how to live in both holiness and the freedom that we have in Christ. There should be no question that both freedom in Christ and holiness are not only compatible but are necessary. To pursue holiness without freedom results in legalism. To pursue freedom without holiness results in licentiousness. Both are dishonoring to God.

 

As a preface to this morning's sermon, I want you to know that the outline for it came from a taped sermon of John MacArthur's entitled "Making the Hard Decisions Easy." I remember the night MacArthur preached it some 17 or more years ago. It made an impression on me then, and I still think his outline was an excellent way to cover this subject, which is why I am using it with you this morning. What is the subject? How do you deal with those issues the Bible does not directly commend or condemn? How do you go about figuring out whether it is right before God to engage in any particular practice?