MARKS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, YOU and YOUR HOUSEHOLD” – Acts 4:31b

Surveying the scriptures, we can identify some MARKS of the CHRISTIAN FAMILY: “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, YOU and YOUR HOUSEHOLD” (Acts 16:31). Although the Bible doesn’t explicitly define a Christian Family, it delineates what a family is and conveys its importance. With a biblical understanding of the Family, we can apply the adjective ‘Christian’ which means “related to Christ”! The biblical ideal of the Family is a man and a woman united by marriage to become “one flesh” for a lifetime (Gen.2:24) and to produce and raise children to adulthood. Ideally, then, a “Christian Family” would be a believing man and woman united by marriage and raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph.6:4).

However, we live in a broken world in which ideals are rarely realized; one in which all have sinned and “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). Humanity’s Fall affected Marriage, Family, and all human institutions; hence what we see most often, even in the church, are flawed families, striving to respond in a Christian manner to the brokenness around them. Because families are made up of imperfect people, there will be times when our families feel far from perfect, yet, not any less purposeful. The Christian Family is not an abode of sinlessly perfect persons, but a place where sinners saved by Grace encounter the everyday problems of a sinful world, in partnership with God – the sinless Saviour – and His resources, which are all centred in Christ (Col.2:3).

Here are Eight Marks of the Christian Family:

A family that embraces and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). They believe according to Romans 10: 9-10, and progressively grow in submission to Christ as Lord, doing all that He says and instructs (Lk.6:46).

A family that submits to the Bible as the final authority for all they believe and how they live: “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim.3:15). The Bible is their daily bread and the sincere milk of the new-born babes in Christ (Mt.4:4; 1Pet.2:2).

A family that loves God above all else: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Mt.22:37-38). John 14:15 also says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

A family that loves its neighbours as itself: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt.22:39b). Philippians 2:3 explains this: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

A family that lives out the Gospel of Grace – displaying God’s Love: Through forgiveness – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as god in Christ forgave you” (Eph.4:32); Reconciliation (Mt.5: 23-24); and identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (1Cor.15: 3-4; Gal.2:20). They also learn to dispense grace to one another (Eph.4:29; Col.4:6).

A family that’s filled with and lives by the Spirit, creating an atmosphere of Love and Holiness: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit...giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Eph.5:18-21). These verses precede the marriage and family instructions!

A family that prioritizes Christian Fellowship and Service in a local church: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb.10:25). The priority of care, fellowship, and hospitality (Acts 4: 34-35), is coupled with the priority of service (Mk.10:45; Rom.12;13; Gal.5:13).

A family that fears the Lord and is therefore blessed by Him (Psa.128: 1-4).