Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

evangelism"afraid."alone."paired our church's witness for truth. Thefact that our membership rolls and statistical reports are compiled in terms ofindividual believers rather than familiesindicates that we do not take seriously thedoctrine of the covenant-family. Emphasis on "childand the socalled"mission Sabbath School" is oftencoupled with a lack of concern for family religion. True evangelism is ideallyfamily evangelism. And family evangelism is based on the Covenant of Grace.This is basic to anyconsideration offamily religion and of the Christian family itself.Because of the extremely high divorcerate in our society (nearly 400,000 divorces onethirdof all marriages ending in divorce)annually, approximatelythere has been a growing interest in family relations in rscent years. Family relations in recent years. Family RelationsClinics have been set upcities,in the largerand several of the popular magazines regularly publish articles writtenby marriage counselors, dealing with the"incompatibility,"problems offamilybankruptcy, unmanageable children andother difficulties characterized of non-Christian homes. The advice given bysuch counselors is generally good as faras it goes, but seldom is there any reference to family religion, except as it maycontribute to the welfare of the home.It is commonly taken for granted that ahome may be successful without being aChristian home. All such advice is basically wrong because it leaves God out andis not based on Scripture. A home without God may be "successful," but it doesnot fulfil the place in society which Godintended it should fulfil. The non-Christian home may be harmonious, but itdoes not glorify God. True religion isbasic to good family relations; hence theScriptures are basic to true family guidance.Human wisdom goes only so far; weneed God's' guidance for family life. Unless home life is really a living out ofScriptural principles, home will tend tobecome only the place where the teen-agergets the keys to the family car. Ideally,home is the place where the Holy Spiritdwells, where Christ is Lord and whereGod is Father.The divine guidance for family livinggiven in the Book of Proverbs may beclassified under three heads:1. Instruction in the home (Proverbs4:1-4; 6:20-23; 7:1-4). Even in manynominally Christian homes there is littleor no teaching by parents. Children growup in a state of ignorance. Some youngpeople do not know the simplest Biblestories, because their parents have nottaught them to them. The parents leavesuch instruction to the Sabbath School220teacher, who sees the boy or girl for fortyminutes a week.Parents should lead their children indaily Bible study, and should give themsystematic instruction in the doctrines ofthe Faith. The old practice of learningand studying The Shorter Catechismought to be revived by the families ofthe Covenanted Church, and Covenanterpastors should resume the duty of FamilyVisitation, as defined by the R. P-Testimony, XXXII, 2, 4.2. Guidance of Youth (Proverbs 4:5-27; 6:24-35; 7:5-27). The first .passagehere contains the remarks of a father tohis son, encouraging him to seek wisdom.Parents should realize that they are responsible for the education of their children. Not specifically "religious education"merely, but common dayschooleducation is one of the covenant obligations of parents toward their children.This is the principle upon which Christian education and the Christian Schoolare established.The other two passages are a frankdiscussion of the perils of sexual sins andthe necessity of purity and fidelity inhome relationships. Many a Christianfather has failed his son at this crucialpoint, and many an otherwise good mother has lost forever a God-given opportunity to lead a lovelydaughter in the waysof purity and impart to her a wholesomeview of marriage and home life. Let usnot entertain a false pietya sinful modesty concerning a vital matter whichthe Bible discusses so discretely butfrankly!3. The ideal home (Proverbs 17:1; 19:13-14;31:10-31). I have often wonderedwhether Solomon would not have exchanged his household of feasting andclamoring women for a home in which avirtuous, loving wife provided his familywith a simple but wholesome living.Compare the New Testament ideal forhome life: Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians3:18-21.PRAYER MEETING TOPICOctober 27, 1954GREAT PROMISES IN ISAIAH:The Blessing of PeaceIsaiah. 26:3Comments byPsalms:34:1-6, page 7955:1, 4, 5,125:1-5,page 32085:5-8,page 138page 207James D. CarsonReferences: Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1;Philippians 4:6, 7; Romans 8:6; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Zechariah 9:9-10; Galatians 5:22,23; Psalm29:11; 85:8; 125:5.How is it possible to reconcile thewords of our text with such verses asMatthew 5:11, "Blessed are ye,when menshall revile you, and persecute you andshall say all manner of evil against youfalsely, for my sake"; or Philippians1:29, "For unto you it is given in thebehalf of Christ, not only to believe onhim, but also to suffer for his sake"?These verses, along with others, presentto us the idea of sufferingand persecution in the Christian life. How, then, canthere be peace?The accepted meaning of peace todayis "to let alone, and be let TheChristian definition of peace is something much different, for we might welldefine Christian peace as doing the will ofGod, for in doing the will of God, theChristian finds peace. It may also bedefined as fellowship with God, for whenGod and man are at one through JesusChrist, there is peace.Isaiah wrote for us the words as revealed by the HolySpirit: "Thou wiltkeep him in perfect peace, whose mind isstayed on thee, because he trusteth inthee."The American Standard Version,in the margin, gives variant readings torender the following: "A stedfast mindthou keepest in perfect peace (peace,peace), whose mind (or imagination.) isstayed on thee." And here we begin tounderstand what peace is. Peace comeswith having one's mind in key or in tunewith that of God. The Psalmist said: "OGod, my heart is fixed." Fixed upon God.And being fixed on God, with thethoughts of God permeating his soul, hewould be at peace with God.In the words of Jesus, we find theanswer to the problem: "Peace I leavewith you, my peace I give unto you: notas the world giveth, give I unto you. Letnot your heart be troubled, neither let itbe(John 14:27) Christ does notgive peace in the sense of which theworld considers it, but peace in theChristian sense,that of following thewill and the plan of God. And again weread: "These things have I spoken untoyou, that in me ye might have peace. Inthe world, ye shall have tribulation, butbe of good cheer, I have overcome theworld."(John 16 :33) The person who isat peace with the world might well consider his relationship to Jesus Christ.For the world and Christ are at continual war, and if we are at peace with theworld, we cannot be at peace with God.Do you have peace with God? Areyou sure you do, or are you taking itfor granted? Are you doing that whichis necessary to bring peace into yourheart? Isaiah said: "Thou wilt keep himin perfect peace, whose mind is stayed onthee."Is your mind fixed or stayed uponGod? The promise of this passage canbe fulfilled only when the conditions aremet, and if we turn our eyes away fromGod, then we shall not have the peaceCOVENANTER WITNESS