The Second Foundation of Fellowship

Fellowship: Our Duty to One Another in the Church
By Phillip M. Way

Previous Articles in this series:
The First Foundation of Fellowship: One Body, Many Members

And now for Part 2 -

The Second Foundation of Fellowship:
Do Not Be Unequally Yoked Together with Unbelievers
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

We would all be quick to affirm the truth that we are commanded to fellowship with one another within the church. However, as we have seen, defining fellowship tends to be problematic. Many have come to think of fellowship as any social activity with other people who are members of our church or who present themselves to us as fellow followers of Christ. The truth that seems so evasive is that fellowship is a very specific set of actions that must be motivated by love for God and for each other within the Body of Christ. And we must not forget that for all we seem to not know about fellowship, it is a duty assigned to us by Christ that must be fulfilled if we are to be obedient to Him.

We learned in our last visit that in order to understand and apply what the Bible tells us about fellowship it is necessary for us to see that there are several foundations of fellowship. Each foundation helps give us a more clear idea of what exactly we are commanded to do for one another in the church. The first foundation of fellowship we reviewed was the basic understanding that we are many members but one body. We strive to be unified because we are one body and members of each other. That is why we must be humble, esteeming others as better than ourselves. By not having too high a view of ourselves we are allowed to enjoy genuine, unpretentious fellowship. Remember, humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 tells us:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “ I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “ Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

How often have we heard these verses quoted? Usually it is limited to the context of dating, courtship, and marriage! We tell our children and the singles in our church that they must marry a Christian because the Bible forbids marrying a non-believer. We must never even think about becoming yoked together with a lost person for then we would be violating the command, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers."

Is this true? It is true that this is but one text we can use to show that believers should marry only other believers - marrying "in the Lord" as Paul puts it - but to stop there is to miss the entire context and application of these verses. We, as disciples of Jesus Christ, should not be yoked or joined together with anyone who is an unbeliever within the realm of spiritual intimacy or ministry pursuits. But then I am getting ahead of myself. Before we delve further into what the context tells us about this command, let us spend just a moment to investigate what this principle does NOT mean.

This principle cannot be taken ever in any way to proclaim that we should have no contact or friendship with people who do not know Jesus! This is not a banner verse for setting up a monastery or a Christian social club (which is what many "churches" have indeed become) to function in such a way that we never ever have contact with anyone outside the faith.

Our proof is found in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, which hardly needs explaining:

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

We see then that the unbeliever is not to be avoided at all costs as if he really were unclean. No! Instead we see that while we are given the command to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers we are to be in the world as ambassadors for Christ preaching and living the message that God has sent His Son to seek and save that which was lost and to reconcile sinners to Himself.

We see that this command is at it foundation task oriented. It is built off of the command found in Deuteronomy 22:10 which tells us, "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together." This deals with work, with accomplishing tasks, with being closely tied together in the pursuit of a common goal. If we take a big, strong ox and yoke him to a smaller yet stubborn donkey what kind of furrow can we plow? There could not be any cooperation because these two animals by nature are different. This is how we understand the second foundation for fellowship. Two people who are different by nature, one born again the other lost in sin, cannot undertake successfully plowing a straight row, so to speak.

We have already defined fellowship as "to share in or with; participate; take an interest in; partner with; be connected; or to share in a common pursuit." So how is it that we can befriend the lost and still fulfill this command not to be unequally yoked together with them?

The context of 2 Corinthians 6 helps us see that the command is given in light of spiritual pursuits, ministry, and intimacy. How can two people pursue spiritual things on a common level if one of them is still a "natural man"? (1 Cor 2:14). If a person is saved they have put off the old, natural man and are a new man in Christ! How can there be any deep unity in a spiritual pursuit between one who is alive spiritually and one who is still dead? In fact, how can they minister together? This is the primary error of ecumenism - thinking that we can work together in ministerial pursuits with those who do not even believe the basic fundamental doctrines of Christianity. The truth is that there can be no real spiritual intimacy at all between two people who are members of different spiritual kingdoms.

This is exactly what the text we are examining goes on to prove. Let us look at the differing aspects of this truth - we must not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers because:

What Fellowship has Righteousness with Lawlessness?

Again, the term fellowship means "to share in or with; participate; take an interest in; partner with; be connected; or to share in a common pursuit." How in the world could we ever be talked into believing that righteousness and lawlessness partner with one another in a common pursuit? What common pursuit has righteousness and lawlessness? This sounds so simple and obvious, but think about it. How often do we and people in our churches pursue righteousness and lawlessness at the same time? This would be illustrated by doing the right thing in the wrong way.

The term righteousness means a state of being right with God. The term lawlessness means literally “no law.” How do we figure that we can be right with God and at the same time live with no law? "Ah ha" says the antinomian, we are free from the law and under grace. This of course misses the whole use of the Law, and it presumes that the Law has no bearing whatsoever on the life of the believer. It is a viewpoint that ignores all the commands (Law) given us in the Old and New Testaments. It is blatant licentiousness - using the liberty we have in Christ as a license for fulfilling the lust of the flesh.

The truth is that there is no righteousness without the Law for the Law tells us explicitly what it is to be righteous! And here we have it laid out plainly that a right relationship with God cannot include participation with living with an absence of the Law. The Law, to be sure, does not justify or save us, but we know that the reason we are justified by faith in Christ is because Christ kept the Law and has imputed His righteousness to us! And after the Law points us to Christ (Gal 3:24) we know that it continues to give us guidelines for godly living (1 Tim 1:5).

What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? Consider these verses:

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. - Romans 6:19

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” - Hebrews 1:19

We understand that we cannot be unequally yoked together with unbelievers because we are slaves of righteousness and they are slaves of lawlessness and sin. There can be no cooperation, no common pursuit between the two for even if we have a supposedly common goal our motives and means will be opposed to one another.

What Communion has Light with Darkness?

Further, we see the impossibility of yoking believers with unbelievers in a different light - that is, what communion does light have with darkness? If it is dark, there is no light. If it is light, there cannot be darkness. The two do not co-exist! The term communion helps us further understand fellowship. It means intimacy, referring to a close relationship. How close a relationship can light have with darkness?

Here is why we cannot fellowship with the lost - they are darkness and we are light. Note, the Bible does not say we were in darkness and are now in the light. No, we were darkness and now we are light in the Lord. What cooperation, what spiritual intimacy, what common pursuits can believers have then with unbelievers? Men without Christ are the absence of light. They are unholy, depraved, dead in sin, bound to sin, slaves of sin, able only to sin and unable to not sin! They are deep and utter darkness, void of the light of truth.

1 John 1:5-6 tells us, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." God is light. We, before Christ, are darkness. Opposite ends of the light spectrum. We have no light in and of ourselves.

Consider the difference between light and darkness within the context of believers and unbelievers found in Ephesians 5:8-14:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “ Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

There is the command again, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Sounds cooperative doesn’t it? What level of intimacy can we achieve with one whose fruit and way of life we by our very life in Christ exposed? If we are walking in the light as He is in the light then our lives will reflect Christ. And that reflection will expose, it will manifest and reveal the sinful walk and ways of those who have not trusted Christ.

It is not that we work at exposing their sin by gossip, slander, or ridicule. It is that our life of holy obedience and spiritual fruit is in such stark contrast to a life without Christ that their sin is made that much more blatant and hideous. If we try and hide the light or attempt to live around the lost in such a way that we do not expose their sin then we are living in sin! We are fearing men more than we fear God. And we are denying the power of the gospel through our testimony to be used by the Holy Spirit to call people to Christ for salvation. Do we really want friends so badly that we hide who and what we are so that they cannot see the truth and be saved? How utterly selfish is that kind of life?

The fruit produced in our lives is different. The believer produces good fruit, the fruit of the spirit. The unbeliever produces bad fruit, the works of the flesh. And light and darkness cannot have communion. There is no common ground, there is no meeting in the middle. Light always exposes what is hidden in the dark or darkness always extinguishes the light.

What Accord has Christ with Satan?

In our text Satan is referred to as “Belial”. It is a word that means “the worthless one.” That is a fitting name for the devil, is it not? And we are asked what accord Christ has with Belial. Christ, the most worthy of all (Rev 5:12), is here presented in contrast to Satan, the worthless one. The term accord means agreement. What agreement can there be between Christ and Satan?

There is a progression here that we need to note for a moment. In defining the idea of not being unequally yoked together with an unbeliever we have seen Paul use the illustration of righteousness and lawlessness and then light and darkness. But here there is no confusion whatsoever – what agreement does Jesus have with the devil? Jesus, the anointed Messiah, God in the flesh, the Son of God, perfect in holiness and righteousness, Himself the Light of the world in contrast to Satan, the worthless one, a fallen angel, the father of lies, lawless, and while parading as an angel of light is actually “the prince of darkness grim.” How could these two work together in a common pursuit, on intimate terms, in cooperation?

In 1 Corinthians 10:7-21 we read about idolaters. These worship false gods. They worship themselves. Is this not Satan’s first sin? He desired to be like the Most High, coveting the Throne of God. He wanted to be God, thus committing the ultimate idolatry. We see here that all false religion, all idolatry, the worship of anything or anyone other than the True and Living God is in reality the worship of demons! False worship is demonic.

There is no connection, no agreement, no cooperation between demons and Christ. They are subject to Him and must obey Him as He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The point here is that we cannot “partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” Yet so many try to do God’s work the worlds way and they ultimately corrupt the worship of God and find themselves sitting at the table with demons. We cannot obey the Word of God or work to advance His Kingdom and grow His Church by siding with the Enemy. It is impossible to live a life that exalts the worthiness of Christ all the while we are serving the purposes of the worthless one.

What Part has a Believer with an Unbeliever?

What part, that is, what portion does a Believer have with an Unbeliever? What do they share? One trusts Christ. One has believed to the salvation of his soul. The other does not believe. He is an unbeliever. He has no saving faith and he does not know or trust Jesus Christ. The believer is a new creation in Christ, having been given a new heart, a new mind, and a new life. The unbeliever is dead in sin, a slave of unrighteousness, with a futile mind, a hard heart, a darkened understanding, and a seared conscience.

Here are those in the faith and those who have no faith. What can they share? Proverbs 11:6 says, “The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.” A believer will find deliverance through faith, the unfaithful will be caught by their own sinful desires. This relates specifically to how we would be motivated to pursue a common goal. As I have already stated, the motives and methods are substantially different. If we attempt to cooperate in a common pursuit we who have trusted Christ will not be thinking, speaking, or acting in the same way that those who do not believe.

The lost man cannot have right motives. Think about this. Can someone who is dead in sin, a member of the kingdom of Satan, who is unfaithful, who does not believe or trust in Christ have a right motive? We as Christians often struggle wanting to do the right thing but going about it the wrong way. How much more is this the case with an unbeliever who is incapable in his very nature of overcoming sin and lust on his own?

This is also a very strong contrast. Paul is not leaving any opportunity for the reader to believe that these two being contrasted have anything at all in common. There is no place here for intimacy in spiritual pursuits.

What Agreement has the Temple of God with Idols?

The word agreement means giving approval. So the question here is, “What approval does the Temple of God give idols?” Likewise, does Satan approve of the things of God or does he instead attempt to tempt us and lure us away from obedience to God’s Word? This is the height of ecumenism – joining together with those of other “faiths” (who in reality worship demons, whether they know it or not) with the hope that we can impact our communities or our churches for the better when in reality if we are holding to the gospel then one who would deny the gospel should find no approval from us whatsoever.

The Temple here refers to where God dwells. Can idols be there? What happened throughout the Bible when idols were introduced in the Land of Israel or at the Temple? The Land and the Temple were defiled. The idolaters were speaking out against the very presence and Person of God.

The next verse, 2 Corinthians 6:16, tells us then, “you are the temple of the living God.” God dwells in us, in His church! If we have trusted Christ, God is IN us. He has sealed us and fills us with His Spirit. We are the temple of God. We are where He dwells, in the midst of His people. In the Old Testament the people came to the Temple, in the New Testament we are the Temple.

What approval then does the household of God give to idols? God says,

I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the LORD Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

We understand that we are not to have fellowship with unbelievers, because righteousness does not have fellowship with lawlessness, light does not have communion with darkness, Christ does not have an agreement with Satan, a believer has no part with an unbeliever, and the Temple of God has no approval to give the household of idols.

Friendship with the World – James 4:1-6

In light of all of this, in order to better understand the lesson here, James 4:1-6 has a word for us.

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

The church here is being ruled by her lust, befriending the world, and making herself an enemy of God. To do things the world’s way is indeed to make ourselves God’s enemy! The word used here for friendship means a favored companion, someone we trust intimately, someone we spend time with and fellowship with and from whom we seek counsel and advice. We are not to have this kind of relationship with the world. The world, those who are not in the Church and who do not know Christ, are not to be our favored companions or intimate confidants.

To be a friend of the world is enmity we are told. Enmity means open hostility. If we make the world and those in the world our favored companions then we are being openly hostile to God. This does not mean that we cannot minister to the world, or love those in the world, or reach out to those in the world. It also does not mean that we cannot be friends with people who are lost. But what it does mean is crucial in understanding this principle of not being unequally yoked together in fellowship.

This means that we must be careful about the level of that relationship that we have with those in the world. If the people that we are closest to and most intimate with, those that we open up and share everything with are not disciples of Jesus Christ then we have moved beyond the boundary set forth in our study. If we join in common pursuits without discernment and engage in fellowship with the lost then we are befriending the world system and making ourselves an enemy of God!

To understand this we see that to fellowship with unbelievers is in fact to confuse friendship with discipleship! The mechanism we have been given within the church for intimacy, growth, friendship, and cooperation is discipleship. If however we do not understand discipleship and we seek encouragement and counsel and instruction from people who do not know Christ then we will be mislead. They cannot advise us when it comes to spiritual pursuits and goals. They cannot lead us. They cannot direct or instruct us. They do not know God!

Christ has given His church the leadership that they need (Eph 4:11-16).

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

If we go outside of the body to have our needs for fellowship and discipleship met then either the church is dysfunctional or we have separated ourselves from the Body in a sinful manner. In doing so, we are trying to force the light and the darkness to co-exist and benefit each other, and this is impossible, both in the physical and the spiritual realm. Those who know us the best and teach us need to share the common foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Proverbs to Ponder

These Proverbs help us understand and illustrate this principle:

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.”(Proverbs 12:26). Who are our friends? Who are we close to and who do we trust? We must choose our friends carefully because if they are wicked they will lead us astray.

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24). In order to have friends we must be a friend. Another way to say this is that if we want to have fellowship we must fellowship. The unfriendly usually do not have many friends, and those who shun fellowship usually find themselves being influenced by those outside the church rather than those in the family of faith. And there are those in the Body of Christ who can be closer to us even than family members!

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6). When we have the gospel in common and there is a need to rebuke one another in the Body of Christ, while those rebukes might hurt and wound, these actions are in their very nature acts of faithfulness. We can instruct and correct and reprove one another with the Word of God and even though it is painful it is for our good and God’s glory. On the other hand, when an enemy kisses us (Judas, for example) we find deceit. We think of enemy here as a hostile opponent charging at us to harm us and we wonder why they would kiss us, but in truth, those who are our friends who do not know Christ are indeed our enemies and the enemies of God. We are instructed to love our enemies just as God has loved His enemies. But when the people who are close to us are in their very nature our enemies we must know that their kisses, their approval, is deceitful. Even in the love and care of a kiss, we find our enemies full of deceit, for how can one who does not know the love of God know how to love us?

“Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.” (Proverbs 27:9). Our friends give us counsel and influence us. We must guard ourselves then from being influenced against God.

James 2:23 makes the point this way, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’ And he was called the friend of God.” Are we like Abraham, a friend of God? Or are we a friend of the world? John 15:14 tells us how we make God our friend, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” We are God’s friends when we obey Him. And we need to have as our closest advisors, our counselors, and as our intimate friends those who are God’s friend, those who know Him and obey Him.

The Danger of Spiritual Goals Pursued with Carnal Means – Romans 8:5-11

Having examined these statements we see then that we must ask with Paul, “What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” Further we are motivated to ask why we would befriend the world and make ourselves an enemy of God? The underlying lesson here is that there is a great and serious danger in pursuing spiritual goals by carnal means.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The carnal mind, the fleshly mind, the futile mind of the lost is enmity against God. Those who are not Christ’s are openly hostile to God whether they look it or not! We cannot let our guard down and forget this. We must understand that we can love people who are lost, we can minister to them and befriend them, but to step from friendship to fellowship is to forget that they are carnally minded and that they being in the flesh cannot please God.

Having a deep friendship where we are influenced and advised by those who are in the flesh means that those giving us instruction and direction are those who cannot please God. They have no faith. They do not understand the Word of God. They will mislead us.

I fear that so many in the church are involved so deeply in sinful friendships because they have not been taught how to fellowship. The church is severely deficient in this area. We are particular about our doctrines and our practice and yet we most often fail at living what we believe. We neglect our duty to one another in fellowship and so members of our churches find as their closest friends those who are in the world instead of those who are members of the same Body with them!

How do we know when we have crossed the line between friendship and fellowship? The definition of fellowship helps answer this question. Are we engaged in common spiritual pursuits? Are we involved in intimate and deep decision making with them? Are we allowing them to influence the way we think, talk, or act? Are they instructing us, telling us how to be better parents or counseling us as to how to be a better spouse? Do they have a Biblical foundation for what they teach us? Do we approve the things that they do that are displeasing to God? If so, we have crossed the line. We cannot minister to them because we have embraced friendship with the world and become unequally yoked with unbelievers.

In summing this up, anything that we do with our lost friends that detracts from our living and preaching the gospel to them attacks the very reason we are to be their friend in the first place. We must never forget that our lost friends are lost and that they need Jesus.

Friendship - the Key to Effective Fellowship

What we see then in establishing this second foundation for fellowship is that friendship is truly the key to effective fellowship. We must study and meditate on what the Bible tells us about friendship. We must guard ourselves from the influences of those around us who we love but who do not know Jesus Christ. We must be reminded that our love for the church should come first, that as we learned in the first foundation of fellowship, we are members of one another. And there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

We must not confuse friendship and discipleship. We are to learn from other believers how to live lives that glorify God. In Titus 2:1-10 we are given the characteristics of a sound church. Interestingly, Paul does not give Titus a list of doctrines or church practice. He says, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the characteristics of a sound and healthy church can be found in how the members of the church are living. We must see that sound doctrine always leads to godly living. Jesus told us that the way we would tell the difference between true and false teachers is by their fruit. What results do we see from their doctrine? This also tells us that to know sound doctrine but not live it is useless. We must hear and do the Word of God.

In examining this foundation of fellowship we must ask a final question before moving on. Are we unequally yoked with unbelievers? If so, we must get into the Word, learn the truth about friendship and fellowship, confess our sin, and start doing what we have studied – fellowship with those who share our faith and belong to our Lord. This is the second foundation of fellowship.

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.

Coming Soon – The Third Foundation of Fellowship: Fellowship in the Gospel

C.T. Studd (1860-1931)

CT Studd has been one of my heroes since I was a boy. Revisiting some of his writing and his biolgraphy recently has refreshed my mind about this great man of God.

If you do not know who CT Studd is, then you must learn about him! Read about him. He was a famous cricket player who left the sport for the mission field and gave his inherited family fortune away to fund missions. He served first with Hudson Taylor and China Inland Missions, then served in India, and then founded a mission agency and went as a missionary to Africa.

Here are a few quotes from his writing:

"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

"The best training for a soldier of Christ is not merely a theological college. They always seem to turn out sausages of varying lengths, tied at each end, without the glorious freedom a Christian ought to abound and rejoice in. You see, when in hand-to-hand conflict with the world and the devil, neat little biblical confectionery is like shooting lions with a pea-shooter: one needs a man who will let himself go and deliver blows right and left as hard as he can hit, trusting in the Holy Ghost."

"Funds are low again, hallelujah! That means God trusts us and is willing to leave His reputation in our hands. "

"Our recruits come out from home vastly raw and are largely parrots. They have been crammed with religion as though for an examination, and seem to come out to carry on their education rather than finish it. So many are just taught doctrines without ever having thought them out or searched the Scriptures for themselves. They come out like infants with pop guns. They need to be trained into soldiers with real devil-defying weapons. Some arrive thinking they are the last thing in high-class Christianity and have to find out they know little. That is why I keep the newcomers here at base for a time till I can make them really think out things and settle questions, not from hearsay but from Bible-say."

"How could I spend the best years of my life in living for the honours of this world, when thousands of souls are perishing every day? "

"If you don't want the Devil to hit you, hit him first, and hit him with all your might, so that he may be too crippled to hit back. 'Preach the Word' is the rod the Devil fears and hates."

"Three of the Devil's dogs with which he hunts us are: Swelled head, Laziness, Cupidity."

"Don't go into the study to prepare a sermon -- that's nonsense. Go into your study to God and get so fiery that your tongue is like a burning coal and you have got to speak."

"The "romance" of a missionary is often made up of monotony and drudgery; there often is no glamour in it; it doesn't stir a man's spirit or blood. So don't come out to be a missionary as an experiment, it is useless and dangerous. Only come if you feel you would rather die than not come. Lord Wolsey was right: "A missionary ought to be a fanatic or he encumbers the ground." There are many trials and hardships. Disappointments are numerous and the time of learning the language is especially trying. Don't come if you want to make a great name or want to live long. Come if you feel there is no greater honour, after living for Christ, than to die for Him. That does the trick in the end. It's not the flash in the pan but the steady giving forth of light, it's shining on and on that we need out here. Our job is to make all hear the Word. God's job is to give penetration to His Word. "

"I can easily see why the folks at home want to eliminate Hell from their theology, preaching and thought. Hell is indeed awful unless its preaching is joined to a life laid down by the preacher. How can a man believe in Hell unless he throws away his life to rescue others from its torment? If there is no Hell, the Bible is a lie."

"I am getting desperately afraid of going to heaven for I have had the vision of the shame I shall suffer as I get my first glimpse of the Lord Jesus; His majesty, power and marvellous love for me, who treated Him so meanly and shabbily on earth, and acted as though I did Him a favour in serving Him! No wonder God shall have to wipe away the tears off all faces, for we shall be broken-hearted when we see the depth of His love and the shallowness of ours. "

"God has called me to go, and I will go. I will blaze the trail though my grave may only become a stepping stone that younger men may follow."

Psalm 110 - King, Priest, and Judge

by Steve Owen

People who are new Christians, or who are perhaps looking at the Christian faith for the first time, often ask questions like, “What is Jesus doing now?” and, “If Christ has triumphed over Satan, why is the world still in the state it is?” Or even, ”Why doesn’t God do something about all the wickedness in the world? Why doesn’t He just come and sort it out?” Questions like this are nothing new. The Apostle Peter spoke of “scoffers” who asked, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2Peter 3:4 ). The question that I want to address here is, what is the purpose of this present age? What is our Lord’s role in it, and how will it end? I shall try to answer it by referring to this very remarkable psalm.

V 1. ‘The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."’

Psalm 110 is much quoted in the New Testament. In the Gospels, we see that the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to catch out the Lord Jesus with their questions, until He turned on them and asked, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" And no one was able to answer Him a word’ (Matt 22:42-46). It’s amazing, but to whom can David be referring unless God had given him a glimpse of heaven, a thousand years into the future, to see the coronation of the Lord Jesus Christ, David’s Lord and ours?

Psalm 110 is not the only Scripture that treats of this event. If we turn to Daniel 7:13 we can see the same happening from another perspective: ‘I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.’ Now this perspective enables us to set a time for this event. The Son of Man is coming with the clouds, but not to earth; He is coming to heaven and into the presence of God. Remember what Acts 1:9 says about the ascension of our Lord: ‘Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.’ Daniel is telling of the other end of His ascension, His arrival in heaven. His great mission is accomplished, mankind redeemed, Satan defeated in that great victory on the cross (cf. Col 2:13-15 ). And now the conquering Hero is led into the presence of the Father who says to Him, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

What a change from the words spoken to Him on earth! There men had spat upon Him and mocked Him and cried out, “Crucify Him! Away with this Man! We have no king but Caesar!” How little did they know that all that they said was fulfilling God’s eternal plan, and their every wicked deed was according to His counsel and foreknowledge (Acts 4:27-28 ). And so the Lord Jesus comes to take His place at the right hand of the Father. “The head that once was crowned with thorns, is crowned with glory now.”

The Psalm may be divided, like Gaul, into three parts:-
The Coronation and Kingly Rule of Christ.
The Priestly Rule of Christ.
The Judicial Rule of Christ.

Let’s look at the coronation. "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." Here’s our timescale. How long has Christ been reigning? Since His ascension. How long will He reign? Until His enemies are under His feet. Obviously, this is something that has not yet happened. Heb 2:8-9 says, ‘For in that put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we do not yet see all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.’ So our Lord will continue to reign throughout this present age until everything is under His feet. The fact that He is ‘sitting’ does not indicate rest. When a court is ‘sitting’ or ‘in session,’ that’s when it is doing its work. When a king is seated on his throne, that’s when he is governing and making decrees.

Now what sort of rule is this? You may think that if Christ is reigning there’s not much sign of it in the world at present, but what does the Bible say about the last days? It talks of wars and rumours of wars, it talks of terrible times and of wicked men becoming worse and worse (Matt 24:6; 2Tim 3:1, 13 ). There is nothing happening in the world today that God’s word has not foretold. And Christ is reigning over all of it. He told His disciples, “In this world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33. cf. Rev 3:21 ). We are also told, ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28 ). The setbacks, discouragements, trials- yes, and even the tragedies- that beset the Christian will ultimately be found to be for his good. The Lord uses them to lessen our attachment to this world and to cause us to long for heaven. Thus the Psalmist could say, ‘It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes’ (Psalm 119:71).

v2. ‘The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’

The Lord Jesus Christ is ruling today in the midst of his enemies. All the wars and all the wickedness cannot prevent the Gospel from going forward into the world, with thousands of guilty sinners coming to Christ in China, in Africa, in South America. Christ’s rule is being extended despite all that Satan can do against it. Matt 16:8. ‘I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ This should fill us with hope! Do you have loved ones who don’t know the Lord and who seem to be on the downward path to destruction? By all means warn them, witness to them and plead with them; give them tracts and invite them to church; but the most important thing that you can do for them is that which you do upon your knees, praying to the One to whom all power in heaven and earth has been given, whose mighty sceptre extends from Zion. Does the case seem hopeless? Perhaps it is, for you, but for God it’s easy! I have often wondered how it would be if we could jump into a time machine, go back to first Century Palestine and ask the churches who was the person they thought was least likely to become a Christian- prior to Acts 9. I bet they would have voted Saul of Tarsus the man least likely to. There he was going round from house to house, dragging Christians off to prison (Acts 8:3 ); and when he thought he’d cleaned up Jerusalem, off he went to Damascus to do the same thing there. He couldn’t wait to get up that road to find some more of those blasphemous Christians to persecute, until the Lord said, “Enough!” And the light shone from heaven and he grovelled in the dust. Christ rules in the midst of His enemies and is kingdom is constantly expanding.

v3. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, you have the dew of Your youth.’

God’s power turns the most obstinate rebel into a willing soldier. The Lord Jesus’ volunteers are a holy, separated people who desire to be like their Master. The Psalmist pictures them ‘In the beauties of holiness,’ or as the NIV puts it, ‘Arrayed in holy majesty’ (cf. 1Peter 2:9 ). As at the dawning of the day, the dew gathers in countless droplets, so are the followers of Christ ‘a great multitude that no one could number’ (Rev 7:9 ), as numerous as the drops of dew at daybreak. In the tome of His humiliation here on earth, the Lord Jesus had no trappings of a king save a crown of thorns. Pilate asked Him, “Are you a king, then?” He couldn’t believe in a lowly servant King. But now, as Paul says, ‘Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow' (Phil 2:9-10 ). Has your knee bowed to Jesus? It will! But if you leave it until He returns, until the Day of judgment, it will be too late to save you. Now is the Day of salvation; now is the time of God’s mercy. Be one of Jesus’ volunteer army, come to the foot of the cross to enlist, and the blood of Jesus will wash you clean of all your sins.

v4. ‘The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”’

We asked the question earlier; “If Jesus is ruling, why doesn’t He come down and sort this world out? Why does He tolerate things as they are?’ To a degree the question has already been answered. Now is the time of grace. When our Lord was on earth, He said, “I did not come to judge the world but to save it” (John 12:47 ). Today He offers salvation to all those who come to God through Him, for He is not only reigning as King, but also as ‘High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In Israel, the king was never allowed to fulfil the office of priest and vice versa. We read in 1Samuel 13 that king Saul was waiting for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices for the army, and when Samuel was delayed, Saul offered them himself. Samuel then told him that because he had done this and taken on the priestly role, his kingdom would not endure. Also in 2Chronicles 26, we read of King Uzziah who tried to officiate as a priest and God struck him with leprosy. The only person in whom we see the offices of king and priest combined is this strange figure, Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20 ). The name, ‘Melchizedek’ means, ‘King of Righteousness’ and we are told that he was king of Salem, which means ‘King of peace’ so he is clearly a type or foreshadowing of Jesus. It is interesting to note that Melchizedek offered no sacrifice but instead brought bread and wine the emblems of Christ’s passion. We know nothing of Melchizedek’s birth, death or appointment as priest. The levitical priests in the Old Testament had times of appointment and of retirement prescribed for them; sometimes they died in office and they had access to the Holiest Place only once a year, and then only after offering sacrifices for their own sins as well as the people’s (Heb 9:7 ).

But we have a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek who is sinless and perfect, who has offered one sacrifice of Himself for all time, who has entered not a man-made temple but heaven itself and who has taken His seat at the right hand of God (Heb 10:12-14 ). His appointment is for all time and so, ‘Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 8:25 ).

So Jesus is reigning in heaven as King and High Priest. He is also the last and greatest Prophet. ‘God…..has in these last days spoken to us by His Son’ (Heb 1:1-2 ). There are many people today who are happy to think of Jesus as their High Priest, as Saviour, but who don’t want Him as their Lord; who are happy to believe that Christ died for their sins, but who have no intention of turning away from those sins and of obeying Christ’s commands. The Lord Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Do you know Him in His three-fold office of Prophet, Priest and King?

Can you say, “Lord Jesus, you are my Prophet. I receive Your word as very truth. I look to no other to tell me what heaven’s about, what hell’s about, what life’s about and how to live down here until I get to heaven”?

Can you say, “Lord Jesus, You are my High Priest. I look to no other to intercede for me before the throne of Grace. I look for no other sacrifice than that which You made of Yourself at Calvary. Having no righteousness of my own to plead before God, I place my trust in Your perfect righteousness and in Your all-sufficient atonement to cleanse me from my guilt and sin”?

Can you say, “Lord Jesus, You are my King. I seek above all to obey Your commands. I place nothing else before You- not home, nor health, nor family, nor wealth, nor even life itself, if only I can be found in You on that Last Day”?

For make no mistake, there is a Last Day coming, and those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ in these ways will know Him as their Judge.

vs 5-6. ‘The LORD is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.’

We come to the Judicial reign of Christ. There is a day coming when God will bring down the curtain upon this age and bring about the New Heaven and the New Earth. But that day will also be the day of retribution upon those who have scorned the Lord Jesus Christ during the time of grace. The kings and rulers of this world who have governed in their own wisdom and by their own standards will be struck down, and not only them, but the philosophers and scientists and media people and other ‘opinion-formers’ who have set themselves against the laws of God are surely included among them. The symbolism is warlike and bloodthirsty; it’s there to show that there will be no mercy for God’s enemies when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. The Day of Grace will be over; the Day of Judgement will have begun. If it came tomorrow, or even tonight, would you be ready? “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:42-44 ).

v 7. ‘He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up His head.

Not one of God’s enemies shall escape. The psalmist is making an historical allusion. In 1Samuel 14, King Saul ordered that his army should take no refreshment until they had defeated the Philistines. Therefore many of his soldiers became faint and the enemy escaped. But in the imagery of the Psalm, Christ will drink from a wayside brook or spring to refresh Himself, and so He will be able to continue His assault until all His enemies are destroyed.

Here then are the three reigns of Christ: Royal, Priestly and Judicial. Is this how you know Him? As the King, who rules in the midst of His enemies? As the High Priest, who intercedes day and night for His chosen people? As the Judge, who treads the winepress of God’s fury (Isaiah 63:1-6; Rev 14:17-20, 19:15 )? Don’t have a lowly view of Christ. True theology is that which has the highest view of Him in all His offices.

Quotes on Family Worship

This is a collection of quotes I referenced in a sermon on the duty of Family Worship within every Christian home. Reading them demonstrates just how far we have moved away from the Biblical way of doing things in the home!

Quotes on Family Worship

Charles Spurgeon – “Home Worship” and “Morning an Evening”

"He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." (Isa 50:4)

"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches." (Ps 63:5,6)

We deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own children? Oh, Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be yourselves "holiness unto the Lord"; so shall you stand like a rock amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around us.

J.H. Merle D'Aubigne, 1827

But, my brethren, if the love of God be in your hearts, and if you feel that, being bought with a price, you ought to glorify God in your bodies and spirits, which are his, where do you love to glorify him rather than in your families and in your houses? You love to unite with your brethren in worshipping him publicly in the church; you love to pour out your souls before him in your closets. Is it only in the presence of that being with whom God has connected you for life and before your children, that you can not think of God? Is it, then, only, that you have no blessings to ascribe? Is it, then, only, that you have no mercies and protection to implore? You can speak of every thing when with them; your conversation is upon a thousand different matters; but your tongue and your heart can not find room for one word about God! You will not look up as a family to him who is the true Father of your family; you will not converse with your wife and your children about that Being who will one day, perhaps, be the only husband of your wife, the only Father of your children!

Parents! if your children do not meet with a spirit of piety in your houses, if, on the contrary, your pride consists in surrounding them with external gifts, introducing them into worldly society, indulging all their whims, letting them follow their own course, you will see them grow vain, proud, idle, disobedient, impudent, and extravagant! They will treat you with contempt; and the more your hearts are wrapped up in them, the less they will think of you. This is seen but too often to be the case; but ask yourselves if you are not responsible for their bad habits and practices; and your conscience will reply that you are; that you are now eating the bread of bitterness which you have prepared for yourself. May you learn thereby how great has been your sin against God in neglecting the means which were in your power for influencing their hearts; and may others take warning from your misfortune, and bring up their children in the Lord! Nothing is more effectual in doing this than an example of domestic piety.

They are not merely to be taught out of some elementary book that they must love God, but you must show them God is loved. If they observe that no worship is paid to that God of whom they hear, the very best instruction will prove useless; but by means of Family Worship, these young plants will grow "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither."

Rev. M. Simpson, 1882 - The Influence of Family Worship

Family Worship increases the spirit of reverence for God and His Word. Children copy their parents’ spirit and example. If parents begin the day by invoking God’s blessing, by consecrating the early hour to His service, they show their estimate of the value of worship. If business, society, wealth, and pleasure are deferred for worship, the youth feels that the claims of Deity are above all other claims. Parents thus show that they can do nothing rightly without the divine blessing, and that Divine approval is far more precious than the approval of men. God’s Book is honored. The Bible is for every day, and for the morning hour of every day. If to the parent it is more precious than gold and sweeter also than the honey and the honey comb, will not the child learn to value a volume so honored and treasured?

John Bunyan - Duties of Fathers and Parents

As touching the spiritual state of his family; he ought to be very diligent and circumspect, doing his utmost endeavour both to increase faith where it is begun, and to begin it where it is not. Wherefore, to this end, he ought diligently and frequently to lay before his household such things of God, out of his word, as are suitable for each particular.

Thy children have souls, and they must be begotten of God as well as of thee, or they perish. And know also, that unless thou be very circumspect in thy behavior to and before them, they may perish through thee: the thoughts of which should provoke thee, both to instruct, and also to correct them.

Matthew Henry – Commentary

"Masters of families, who preside in the other affairs of the house, must go before their households in the things of God. They must be as prophets, priests, and kings in their own families; and as such they must keep up family-doctrine, family-worship, and family-discipline: then is there a church in the house, and this is the family religion I am persuading you to. You must read the scriptures to your families, in a solemn manner, requiring their attendance on your reading, and their attention to it: and inquiring sometimes whether they understand what you read? Those masters of families who make conscience of doing this daily, morning and evening, reckoning it part of that which the duty of every day requires, -- I am sure they have comfort and satisfaction in so doing, and find it contributes much to their own improvement in Christian knowledge, and the edification of those that dwell under their shadow;

George Whitefield – Morning and Evening, Part 2

Would then the present generation have their posterity be true lovers and honorers of God; masters and parents must take Solomon's good advice, and train up and catechize their respective households in the way wherein they should go. I am aware but of one objection, that can, with any show of reason, be urged against what has been advanced; which is, that such a procedure as this will take up too much time, and hinder families too long from their worldly business. But it is much to be questioned, whether persons that start such an objection, are not of the same hypocritical spirit as the traitor Judas, who had indignation against devout Mary, for being so profuse of her ointment, in anointing our blessed Lord, and asked why it might not be sold for two hundred pence, and given to the poor. For has God given us so much time to work for ourselves, and shall we not allow some small pittance of it, morning and evening, to be devoted to his more immediate worship and service? Have not people read, that it is God who gives men power to get wealth, and therefore that the best way to prosper in the world, is to secure his favor? And has not our blessed Lord himself promised, that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all outward necessaries shall be added unto us?

John Gill – Christian Duty

Husbands duty to wives - In seeking her spiritual welfare; her conversion, if unconverted, and her spiritual peace, comfort, and edification, she being an heir with him of the grace of life; by joining with her in all religions exercises; in family worship, in reading, in prayer, in praise, in Christian conference and conversation; by instructing her in everything relating to doctrine, duty, and church discipline; in answer to questions she may and has a right to ask him at home (1 Cor. 14:35).

Parents duty to children - It is proper to instruct them in the necessity of faith in God and in Christ, and of the use of prayer; and to lay before them the sinfulness of sin, and show them what an evil thing it is, and what are the sad effects of it; to teach them their miserable estate by nature, and the way of recovery and salvation by Christ; and to learn them from childhood to read and know the holy scriptures, according to their capacity; and by these to be "admonished" of sin, and of their duty, to fear God, and keep his commandments; which may be meant by the "admonition of the Lord"; and the proper opportunity should be taken to instil these things into their minds,

The Puritan Directory of Family Worship

The ordinary duties comprehended under the exercise of piety which should be in families, when they are convened to that effect, are these: First, Prayer and praises performed with a special reference, as well to the publick condition of the kirk of God and this kingdom, as to the present case of the family, and every member thereof. Next, Reading of the scriptures, with catechising in a plain way, that the understandings of the simpler may be the better enabled to profit under the publick ordinances, and they made more capable to understand the scriptures when they are read; together with godly conferences tending to the edification of all the members in the most holy faith: as also, admonition and rebuke, upon just reasons, from those who have authority in the family.

The head of the family is to take care that none of the family withdraw himself from any part of family-worship: and, seeing the ordinary performance of all the parts of family-worship belongeth properly to the head of the family, the minister is to stir up such as are lazy, and train up such as are weak, to a fitness to these exercises;

On the Lord's day, after every one of the family apart, and the whole family together, have sought the Lord (in whose hands the preparation of men's hearts are) to fit them for the publick worship, and to bless to them the publick ordinances, the master of the family ought to take care that all within his charge repair to the publick worship, that he and they may join with the rest of the congregation: and the publick worship being finished, after prayer, he should take an account what they have heard; and thereafter, to spend the rest of the time which they may spare in catechising, and in spiritual conferences upon the word of God: or else (going apart) they ought to apply themselves to reading, meditation, and secret prayer, that they may confirm and increase their communion with God: that so the profit which they found in the publick ordinances may be cherished and promoved, and they more edified unto eternal life.

JI Packer – Of Vital Importance

But family worship was also, to the Puritans, vitally important. Daily and indeed twice daily, the Puritans recommended, the family as a family should hear the Word read, and pray to God.

John Knox – Giving Account

Brethren, you are ordained of God to rule your own houses in his true fear, and according to his word. Within your houses, I say, in some cases, you are bishops and kings; your wife, children, servants, and family are your bishopric and charge. Of you it shall be required how carefully and diligently you have instructed them in God's true knowledge, how you have studied to plant virtue in them, and [to] repress vice. And therefore I say, you must make them partakers in reading, exhorting, and in making common prayers, which I would in every house were used once a day at least. But above all things, dear brethren, study to practice in life that which the Lord commands, and then be you assured that you shall never hear nor read the same without fruit.

Jonathan Edwards – Every Christian Family a Little Church

Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove in effectual. If these are duly maintained, all the means of grace will be likely to prosper and be successful. Let me now therefore, once more, before I finally cease to speak to this congregation, repeat, and earnestly press the counsel which I have often urged on the heads of families, while I was their pastor, to great painfulness in teaching, warning, and directing their children; bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord; beginning early, where there is yet opportunity, and maintaining constant diligence in labors of this kind.

Remember that, as you would not have all your instructions and counsels ineffectual, there must be government as well as instructions, which must be maintained with an even hand, and steady resolution, as a guard to the religion and morals of your family, and the support of its good order. Take heed that it not be with any of you as it was with Eli of old, who reproved his children, but restrained them not; and that, by this means, you do not bring the like curse on your families as he did on his."

AW Pink – Disregarding Duty

On the other hand, we may observe what fearful threatenings are pronounced against those who disregard this duty. We wonder how many of our readers have seriously pondered those awe-inspiring words "Pour out Thy fury upon the heathen that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name" (Jer. 10:25)! How unspeakably solemn to find that prayerless families are here coupled with the heathen that know not the Lord. Yet need that surprise us? Why there are many heathen families who unite together in worshiping their false gods. And do not they put thousands of professing Christians to shame? Observe too that Jer. 10:25 recorded a fearful imprecation upon both classes alike: "Pour out Thy fury upon ..." How loudly should these words speak to us. It is not enough that we pray as private individuals in our dosets; we are required to honor God in our families as well. At least twice each day—in the morning and in the evening—the whole household should be gathered together to bow before the Lord—parents and children, master and servant — to confess their sins, to give thanks for God's mercies, to seek His help and blessing. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with this duty: all other domestic arrangements are to bend to it. The head of the house is the one to lead the devotions. but if he be absent, or seriously ill, or an unbeliever, then the wife should take his place. Under no circumstances should family worship be omitted. If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family then let its members gather together daily for praise and prayer. "Them that honour Me I will honour" is His promise.

The sermon is available in 2 parts here:
Family Worship