Recovering God’s Plan for Marriage and Family

I. Structure–All through the readings for today’s mass we are instructed on the basic form, the basic
structure of the family. For example:

God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. (Sirach 3:2).

May your wife be like a fruitful vine, in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants, around
your table (Psalm 128:3).

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid
any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they may not become discouraged. (Colossians 3:20–21).

Each year, Jesus parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover… Your father and I have been
looking for you with great anxiety… (Luke 2:45, 51,).

And he was obedient to them;… And Jesus advanced in age and wisdom and favor before God and man
(Luke 2:51–52).

And thus we see the basic structure of family:

A father in honor over his children

A wife and mother, supportive of her husband and his authority.

A mother, having authority over her children, supported loved and encouraged by her husband, and
obeyed by her children.

Children who both honor and obey their parents.

Fathers, and by extension mothers, who instruct and admonish their children, but not in the way that
badgers and discourages them, but in a way that encourages and builds them up.

A family structure that helps children to advance in wisdom, and age, and favor before God and man.

Here then, is God’s basic teaching on family and marriage. Here is the basic structure for the family, as
God sets it forth: a man who loves his wife, a woman, who loves her husband. And in this stable, lasting,
and faithful union of mutual support and love, they conceive and raise their children in the holy fear of
the Lord.
Add to this, the principal description of the book of Genesis, which describes how God says forth
marriage: “A man shall leave his father and mother, cling to his wife, and the two of them shall become
one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). And to this first couple, God gives the mandate, “Be fruitful and multiply.”
(Genesis 1:22).

And thus we have set forth biblically the basic structure for the family: a father, a mother, and children,
all reverential, and supportive of one another, in their various roles and duties.

Note how the structure of the family, take its basic form in terms of its essential fruit: the procreation
and rearing of children. Why should marriage be a stable and lasting union? Why is Adam told to cling to
his wife, to form a stable and lasting union with her? Why?

Because, this is what is best for, and just for children! Children both need and deserve a stable and
lasting union, of a father and a mother, of a complementary influence of the different sexes. Here is what
is best for children to be raised and formed. Hence, the family structure of a father and a mother, a male
and female parent, flows from what is best, and just for children. The structure of the family, as set forth
by God, is rooted in what is best, and just for children. Here is what is sensible and best, sociologically,
and psychologically, in terms of the proper development of Children.

Even before we open the Bible, it makes sense that a child should have a father and a mother, a male
and female influence, and teaching. There are things that a male, and a father, can teach a child, that a
mother, and a female, cannot best teach. Further, the mother, and a female, can teach, and model for
children what only a mother, and a female best teaches.

This much is clear before we even open the Bible. Male and female influence are essential for the proper
psychological and sociological development of the child. Clearly then, God’s biblical mandates that
marriage should include a father and a mother, is not without basis in simple human reason, and
common sense.

To intentionally deprive a child of this context is both unjust to the child, and unwise. Hence, we see that
the basic structure for marriage takes its shape from what is best, and what is just for children. Both
God, and nature, provide for a father and a mother, a male and a female, to conceive and raise a child.
It also makes sense based on simple human reasoning that that relationship should be stable, something
the child can depend on from day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to-year, through all the formative
years.

Here then is the proper structure for marriage. It is set forth both by God, and by human reason.

II. Struggles–And yet, what should be obvious to us as a culture seems to be strangely absent in the
minds of many. Let us be clear, sin clouds our judgment, and makes many think that what is sinful and
improper is in fact okay and good. It is not. In our current modern culture we gravely sin against God and
against our children by consistent misconduct, and by the refusal to accept what is obviously true. The
words of St. Paul are fulfilled in our modern times: their senseless minds were darkened, and they
became vain and foolish in their reasoning. (Rom 1:21).

It is clear today that the family is in grave crisis. And it is also clear, that it is the children who suffer the
most. Our modern age, in the Western world shows forth the mentality that is both deeply flawed, and
gravely harmful to children.

Marriage and family are in great crisis do the willful and sinful habits of the vast majority of adults in our
culture regarding sexuality, marriage, and family life. The rebellion of adults against the plan and order of
God have caused endless grief and hardship, and set forth a culture that is poisonous to the proper
raising and blessing of children.

A Great Family

Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-26

It takes more than great programs to build a great church…we have a great program going on here, but
it’s not enough.
It takes more than hard workers and sacrificial servants to build a great church…we have that and last
week it saved the church over $20k on the new roof!

It takes more than big offerings…we have been blessed for our size to do as well as we do in tithes-for
the local ministry, in missions-for around the world, and in special offerings we receive.

It takes more than a super staff working with the pastor, more than talented teachers, and more than
dedicated deacons to build a great church.

It takes more than a great looking Pastor to build a great church…but you could always pray that
someday you’ll have one! J

It takes great people, great families, and great homes, to really make a great church. We ARE building a
church here, but hopefully we are building it by building people, building families, and building our
homes…if we do that, then together we will be building a great church as a by-product, and all to the
glory of God!

We have a great example of this here in our text in the form of this couple, Aquila and Priscilla. I believe
that God intended for the Christian life to be a family affair. The Bible teaches that it’s ideal for entire
families to love and serve God together.

Examples:
Philippian Jailer in Acts 16:31

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

[next few verses say that indeed happened!]

Family of John the Baptist

Luke 1:15

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord…and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his
mother's womb.

Luke 1:41

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

Luke 1:67

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied…
There you have it: father, mother, and son. Now it doesn’t happen automatically…God has no
“grandchildren” as it were, only children…but the Bible is clear on the fact that God intends for it to be a
family affair.

Paul’s protégé Timothy came from a Godly mother, who was raised by a Godly mother herself. My wife
and I were both raised in a Godly heritage, and we want to pass it along to our children. It’s our job to
train up children in “the way they SHOULD go.”

And in our text we see a married couple, worshipping and serving God together.

3 ingredients of a great family:

1. It must be a saved family

Allow me to reconstruct this story for you…this couple was living in Rome, Italy. The name Priscilla is a
Roman name, and secular history tells us she was from a prominent family of nobility living in Rome.
Aquila is a Jewish name. So we can see that a young Roman girl has married a young Jewish boy, and
that was not acceptable in those days…a huge wave of anti-Semitism had swept that land in those days,
and the Romans hated the Jews. The Emperor Claudius had just issued an edict expelling all Jews from
Rome.
vv. 1-2 Aquila and Priscilla were a family under pressure. It’s always hard to have to pick up and move,
especially when it’s moving away from the place where you have grown up. But this couple wasn’t
choosing to move, they were being forced to leave!

And they are an illustration for the 21st C. family of today…also under incredible pressure from without,
and from within. Stress and tension are a huge part of the home today with the pressures of work, time,
and finances we choose to live under.

And children enter the picture and the stress goes up, and more and more the older they get.

Ill.—here’s an eye-opener for all of us today: if you have a child or grandchild that is 14 today and
beginning as a freshman in high school, here’s some things to expect by the time they graduate—

· 2/3rd’s of their class will have used drugs

· 1 in 5 will be an alcoholic

· 2 in 5 will have consumed 5 or more drinks at 1 sitting

· 20% will use tobacco daily

· 46% of babies born out of wedlock will be to kids their age

· 1/3rd of all abortions will be performed on girls their age

· ½ will be sexually active

· 2nd leading cause of death of kids their age at graduation will be suicide

We need a revival in the home…we need a revival of families that starts w/ moms and dads getting
serious about serving God—families with a healthy fear of Satan having his way and thus a hearty
fervency for drawing close to God and to one another.

I don’t know how anyone can raise a family today without the Lord and without the help of a good
church family.

Aquila and Priscilla were a family under pressure, but they were also a family under providence. God
was working out their problems behind the scenes…for their good and for His glory! God is in the
process of bringing something quite wonderful into their lives.

You see, as they were being kicked out of Rome, and were traveling east toward Corinth, the Apostle
Paul was leaving Athens and traveling west to the same place, and when they met face to face, it was the
beginning of something wonderful that would last the rest of their lives.
Remember what Paul’s trade was? A tentmaker.

v. 3 I imagine they were working together…and what do people do when they are sitting down
working? They talk! And what would Paul have talked about? It wasn’t the St. Louis Cardinals…he
would have talked about Jesus Christ. He would have shared the wonderful story of the gospel…of Jesus’
birth, His life and ministry, His death and resurrection, and this couple would have been mesmerized at
hearing the sweetest story they had ever heard…sounds for sore ears they were, and I believe they were
gloriously saved because of it!

That’s how our God is…if we get right with him and follow His will He will cross our paths with others
who need Him…at just the right time…in the just the right way.

Ill.—one night a preacher stopped to help man on motorcycle broken down/rejected/drove off/started
to rain/went back again/helped him put it in his truck and get it to a shop, put him up for the night,
witnessed to him, fed him, led him to the Lord!/his family got saved.

Aquila and Priscilla had a similar experience…not and accident, not coincidence, but providence!
They became a great family against all odds.

And to be a great family it must be a saved family…

2. It must be a serving family

Everything else we read about this couple from then on is about them serving God together. Years later
Paul writes back to the church at Rome…

Romans 16:3-4

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: [4] Who have for my life laid down their own
necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

Back to Acts 18…

v. 18 Do you know what’s happening to this couple? The same thing that ought to happen to each
and every one of us after we get saved…regardless of our occupation, our main business ought to be
God’s business! Worshipping and serving Him, teaching and helping others, winning souls and seeing
people get saved!

We have many here who own or run businesses…but their main business is God’s business. We have
several in some area of service or customer service…but their main business is serving God!

Ill.—1858, Edward Kimball was a businessman in Boston [volunteer come to stage], he was also a s.s.
teacher of older teen boys…and in his class was a kid named Dwight/one Saturday he decided to visit
each boy in the class to see if they were saved/he visited Dwight at the store where he was working and
Dwight got saved/by 1879 Dwight was an evangelist who was going out doing crusades/one of the men
at one crusade was named Frederick [Brotherton Meyer] who was pastoring a small church…not doing
too much, but hearing Dwight the Evangelist list a fire under him and he became a world-renown
preacher. His travels brought him to America, and preaching on a college campus a student walked the
aisle and got saved one day…his name was Wilbur, and he got saved and went into the ministry. He
hired a guy named Billy to help him. Billy preached a crusade in Charlotte, NC that was so successful that
the local businessman’s assoc. decided to have another big crusade. Billy couldn’t do it, so they hired a
preacher named Hamm. At the crusade a young man came forward and got saved…another Billy…know
his last name? Graham! Millions have been saved under his ministry, and millions more thru ones like
Mordecai Hamm, and the other Billy [who liked baseball] before him [Billy Sunday], and J. Wilbur
Chapman, and F. B. Meyer, and Dwight L. Moody…and all because of a businessman named Ed who said,
my main business is God’s business! [volunteers be seated]

A heritage is passed down from each of these to their families, and to all those they reach…and just think
of how many have been saved at Billy Graham’s rallies, and they are now witnessing and preaching and
reaching many others.

Great names like Oliver B. Greene have followed, under which my father in law was saved, and he
passed on a Godly heritage to my wife and to others who can tell others…and even “no-names” who
aren’t famous, like the preacher who stopped to help the motorcyclist broken down on the highway…by
the way, that biker was my dad, & I was in my mother’s womb at the time, and shortly before I was born
my dad was born again, and most of my family has followed and gotten saved, and my destiny was
changed, as are the destinies of all those dad has won, and I have won, and all those that they go on to
win!

I’m so thankful that Aquila and Priscilla understood that tho’ they were tentmakers by trade, their main
business was serving God!
A great family is a saved family...a serving family…

3. It must be a sanctified family

That means “set apart”…separated from the world.

Romans 16:5

Likewise greet the church that is in their house.

Did you know it was the 3rd C. AD before the church ever had such a thing as it’s own building? The
church is a body of believers, and for more than 200 years the church met in homes of people like this
couple.

This reminds me of the simplicity of what is “the church.” They didn’t have any of the things that we
today think we HAVE to have in order to have church. They didn’t have a building or padded chairs, no
PA system or projector and screen, no AC, no advertising, literature, website, etc. They did so much with
so little…and we seem to do so little w/ so much! You can feel the spirit move if you’re knee deep in
carpet or sitting in sawdust!

This couple had a great home, and it led to a great church…so how about the church that is YOUR
home?! Our highest calling is our own children, our own marriage, our own home.

I hope everyone here can have a saved family, a serving family, a sanctified family…set apart for the
Master’s used

"Seeds of Faith"
Sunday Sermon: ‘Why Do Families Fall Apart?’

Pastor Terry

7 years ago

audio

A study was conducted several years ago comparing the decline of a society vs. the decline of the
families within that society. In this study eight specific areas were noted:

Marriage loses its sacredness…is frequently broken by divorce.

Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.

Feminist movements abound.

Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.

Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.

Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities.

Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery.

Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes. **

As many of you know, the traditional definition of a family is under great attack these days. NBC came
out with a new TV show this year they are calling ‘The New Normal’ which consists of two gay men living
together and seeking to produce a child through a surrogate mother. Though many in our modern
culture would like to make this the new normal, according to God’s Word it is anything but normal. What
does the Bible teach us about the family?

I. The Family’s Design

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an
help meet for him.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made
he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they
were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

A. God’s Plan for the Family

From this passage of scripture we can learn some very basic, but important, truths about the family:

1. That one man would be joined in a covenant relationship with one woman for a lifetime.

Jesus reiterated this truth –

Matthew 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife:
and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. [‘asunder’ – to divide, separate. i.e. – to divorce]

Jesus said that God ‘joins’ or literally ‘yokes’ a man and a woman together in the relationship we call
marriage. Jesus also tells us that this relationship is to be for a lifetime. ‘Let no man put asunder’ means
– “Let no man divide or separate. Let no man divorce.”

2. Together they would produce and raise-up a godly heritage unto the Lord.

We learn also from the book of Malachi that it is God’s will that the husband and wife produce and raise
up children who will know and serve the Lord. Though there are many advantages from being married,
God’s primary purpose is that they be fruitful and multiply and raise up a godly heritage.
Malachi 2:15 God made husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit for his purpose — so
they would have children who are true to God. So be careful, and do not break your promise to the wife
you married when you were young. NCV

3. Physical intimacy is to be only between the husband and wife.

The Bible is also very clear that sexual intimacy is to be only between the husband and wife. We read
from the book of Genesis –

Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

We read also from the book of Hebrews-

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers
God will judge.

According to the Bible, any sexual relationship (either heterosexual or homosexual) that is outside of the
covenant relationship between a husband and his wife is sinful and will be judged by God.

B. Many today mock and resist the Biblical definition of marriage and the family

Modern society does not accept the Bible’s definition of marriage and family. They mock at the
traditional idea of one man being married to one woman for a lifetime. Yet regardless of how our culture
and society may change, God’s Word will always be the same.

Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Romans 3:4 … let God be true, but every man a liar…

II. The Family’s Downfall

The question we find ourselves asking is – ‘What has happened to the family? How did we get so far off
track?’ As we continue to study in the book of Genesis, we see that in the very beginning the family fell
under attack from the Devil.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the
woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.

We do not have time to study everything that is here, but there are some important truths that I need to
point out:

1. Satan caused Eve to question the wisdom, authority, and goodness of God

Satan was suggesting that maybe God was wrong. Maybe it would be better to disobey Him. Maybe
God’s rules don’t always apply in every situation. He also wanted Eve to think: “Who is God to tell me
what to do?” “ I can be my own god.”

Satan is still trying to do the same thing today. Satan is telling people today that the traditional definition
of marriage is outdated and wrong and that we need something new and more modern. Yet as children
of God, we need to understand that what we are seeing in society today is the work of Satan.

2. There were consequences for their disobedience to God

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in
the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD
God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where
art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself.

a) It affected their relationship with God

Originally there was an openness and honesty in their relationship with God. Adam and Eve enjoyed free
and unbroken fellowship with God. But after they sinned, rather than running to God, they began to run
from God. They covered themselves with fig leaves for aprons and they hid themselves amongst the
trees.

b) It affected their relationship with each other as husband and wife

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded
thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me,
she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Rather than loving Eve and protecting her, Adam attacked her character and blamed her for all of his
problems. We read in the New Testament-

Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

‘Bitterness’ speaks of anger and resentment. Sin causes hostility in husbands against their wives.

Sin also affected the wife’s attitude toward her husband.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt
bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Kay Author, who is a leading Bible teacher for women, believes that Genesis 3:16 means that from this
point on, Eve was in a power-struggle with her husband. Rather than lovingly supporting him and
following his leadership, she desired to rule over him. We might say that here is the beginning of the
feminist movement.

c) It affected the relationships within their family

Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that
Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Sometimes parents will ask me why their children always seem to be fighting with each other. ‘They just
don’t seem to love each other’, parents will tell me. Then they will ask me why this is happening. I can
tell you why. It’s because sin makes us selfish. Sin makes us focus on self more than others.

It has always been Satan’s desire to weaken and to destroy the home. From the very beginning of time,
Satan has been attacking the family. He has been attacking the relationship between husbands and
wives. He has been attacking the relationships between parents and children. He has been telling
mankind that they can have a home without God. Today we see that he is telling many that we can make
the family anything we want it to be. We don’t moms or dads. We don’t need the lifelong covenant
relationship of marriage. We don’t need God. Yet since the very beginning of time, we can see that
Satan’s lies have been damaging the home. No home is perfect. That is why every home needs to be built
upon a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

III. The Family’s Deliverance

The family is in great turmoil today. Satan is doing everything he can to destroy it. Yet there is hope for
home. Heaven can help the home.

A. Problem with the home is the human heart

First we need to understand that the problem with the home is the human heart. The Bible says this of
the human heart –

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Sin has made the human heart depraved and wicked. Jesus said this about the human heart –

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies:

When sin entered the hearts of Adam and Eve, it entered their home. Sin immediately affected the
relationship between them and God. It also affected their relationship as husband and wife. It even
caused one son to murder his own brother.

Sin has affected every home since then. Millions of homes have been destroyed because of the sin in the
human heart. No doubt many of you here today can testify to how sin at one time or another has
affected your home. Sin has produced millions of divorces and broken homes. Sin had destroyed millions
of sons and daughters.

B. God can heal the home by healing the heart

The home is in a great battle for survival these days. Yet there is hope for the home. Heaven can heal the
home by healing the heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of
stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My
statutes and carefully observe My ordinances. CSB

There was a time when the nation of Israel tried to become righteous through human effort. They tried
to obey the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law of Moses, yet one has only to read through the
Old Testament to see how they failed. The Law itself was good. The problem was the weakness of the
human heart. The Bible says that the human heart is desperately wicked.

That is why God established the New Covenant or what we call the New Testament. The Bible says that
during the Last Supper, Jesus raised a cup and said –

Luke 22:20 …This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

The word ‘testament’ means covenant. The old covenant was written in stone and required each
individual to be able to fulfill it through their own effort. The new covenant is written in the heart and is
fulfilled as the believer walks in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

APPLYING THE TRUTH

A few weeks ago, Loren and Amanda wanted to talk with me about their salvation. I took them to my
office and we sat down and opened a Bible.

I showed them that the Bible says that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I asked them both if they had ever sinned and both admitted that they had. The Bible says that every one
of us has.

Then I showed them the consequences of their sinfulness. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death…

Because of sin, someday every one of us will die. But this death refers to another kind of death as well.
The moment Adam and Eve sinned against God, they died spiritually. No longer did they enjoy an open
relationship with God. They were afraid of God and ran from Him. They were afraid because they knew
they were sinful and that God was holy. This death also means something else. The Bible says that in the
end, all those who have never received Jesus Christ as their Savior will have be cast into hell and this
eternal damnation is called the second death.

But then I showed them the rest of Romans 6:23.

Romans 6:23 … but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The bad news is that we’re all sinful and deserve to be punished. The good news is that Jesus Christ died
on the cross for our sins and that His forgiveness is a gift.

I showed them that Titus 3:5 says that salvation is not by any works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to God’s mercy He saves us.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Salvation and the forgiveness of sin is a gift from God that is offered to us, not because we are good, but
because God is gracious. The Bible says –

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Though it is the will of God that we be pure and holy people, no one is going to earn their way to heaven
by doing good works. The Bible clearly says that it is not of works. If salvation could be produced by our
good works, then the glory would go to us and not to God.
I then asked them if they believed this and both said that they did. I led them in prayer and both Loren
and Amanda made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Today they would like to be baptized in His name in order to to testify to you that they have placed their
faith and trust in Him.

This thrills me, not only because it means that Loren and Amanda are now the children of God, but also
because they are a young couple who are just beginning their lives together as husband and wife. Loren
and Amanda are doing what every family needs to do. They are building their home upon the foundation
that will stand.