You can build your home for the glory of Christ. I am talking now to you men and women who are believers. I am talking to you who recognize the authority of the Word of God, to you who know the saving grace of God in Christ, to you who submit yourselves to Jesus Christ as your Lord, to you who seek His glory and endeavor to live for His honor. You can build your home for the glory of Christ. I can speak with some measure of understanding and experience in this matter. I have been preaching the gospel of the grace of God in Christ for many years. And I have been blessed with a happy marriage and pleasant home for many years. I do not speak as a novice, or an idealistic boy when I say that you can build your home for the glory of Christ. If you would do so, it will require deliberate effort on your part. Three things must be done, if you would build your home for the glory of Christ.

The Authority of the Word of God

First, YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HOME. You must not allow social philosophy, human opinion, or the customs of the day to govern your home. We must not allow the latest opinion poll in Ladies Home Journal to dictate our families’ principles. The Word of God gives us plain, clear, unmistakable instruction in all areas of family life. Finances, sexual behavior, child rearing, and moral conduct are all plainly explained for God’s people in the Bible. God tells us what is right and what is wrong. If we are interested in building our homes for the glory of Christ, we ust recognize and subject ourselves to the authority of the Word of God.

Seeking, Following and Worshipping God is the Priority

Second, YOU MUST GET YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER. There are some things more important than a big brick home in the most elite section of town, the social class to which you belong, designer clothes, money, and recognition. It is positively wrong for believers to live for and seek after those things. Concerning ourselves and our families, our primary concern should be about our souls. 

• SEEK THE GLORY OF GOD IN ALL THINGS. Make that your first priority, and you will not greatly err. 

• SEE TO IT THAT YOUR FAMILY WORSHIPS GOD IN CHRIST. Do not allow anything to keep you or your children from worshipping the Lord God.

• SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. My own family is not my primary concern, but rather God’s family. 

• ENDEAVOR TO PROMOTE THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD. I do not suggest that you should rob your family of food and shelter; but I do say that it is more important for me to give myself, my time, my labor, and my money for the furtherance of the gospel than it is for me to live in the lap of luxury.

If you would build your home for the glory of Christ, and have any real spiritual influence over your families, you must get your priorities in order.

Live As Believers

Third, YOU MUST LIVE AS BELIEVERS IN YOUR HOMES. If we are truly the children of God, we are strangers and pilgrims in this world. We should be content with God’s good providence, desiring neither more nor less than that which He has given us. If we are true believers, we should demonstrate love, patience, tenderness, and self-denial in our homes. There is no place in a believer’s home life for anger, wrath, malice, and selfishness.

Would you build your home for the glory of Christ? If you would, you must recognize the authority of the Word of God to get your priorities in order, and live as a believer in your home. May the LORD graciously enable you to do so.

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 D. Fortner