A note to fathers from Ken HAM

A FATHER’S ROLE What is one of the primary importance’s of marriage? God created marriage when he made the first man from dust, and first woman from the man’s side (rib). “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Now in Malachi chapter 2, there was a situation where Israelite men were divorcing their wives and marry pagans or taking on multiple wives. They were perverting marriage as God ordained it to be. The prophet Malachi (under the inspiration of God) spoke to these people and stated: “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15). Let’s analyze this verse: “Did he not make them [a reference to the first two humans, Adam and Eve] one [one flesh, a reference to Genesis 2:24 that God made the woman from the man and so in marriage they become one as they were one flesh], with a portion of the Spirit in their union [what was the purpose of this union, of two who become one]? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring.” Note, a primary purpose of this union was not just to produce offspring, but to produce “godly offspring.” How does one go about producing “godly offspring”? As a Christian, as I emphasize over and over, we need to ensure we build all our thinking on God’s Word to ensure we have a truly biblical worldview in every area. So in regard to marriage and producing godly offspring, we need to make sure we understand what God has instructed for the roles of the man and woman in marriage, and the methods and priorities for raising children. The family is the first and most fundamental of all human institutions God ordained in Scripture. The family is actually the educational unit God uses to transfer a spiritual legacy to the next generation and to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. So let’s summarize one of the basic principles God gives us for raising a family. “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head” (1 Corinthians 11:3–4). The father (husband) is to be the spiritual head of the home. Remember, God made Adam first, and gave him the instruction not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That’s why Adam gets the blame for sin, not Eve. There are many Scriptures that make it plain that the father is to be the spiritual head: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). “the father makes known to the children your faithfulness” (Isaiah 38:19). “which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Psalm 78:5–8). Not only does Psalm 78 remind fathers to teach their children, it tells us that Israelite fathers were rebellious and didn’t do what God had commanded them. We see the result of this in the generation produced by the generation that saw God’s miraculous hand in taking them across the Jordan river—they served pagan gods. In one generation, the spiritual legacy was lost because father’s didn’t train their children as they should have. We have a similar situation in the church today. Sadly, most fathers do not carry out their God-given role to be the spiritual head of their family and ensure they are leading the family spiritually. Most have abdicated their spiritual headship role and leave it up to the church or others. And most kids from church homes attend public schools where mostly (there are exceptions, of course) pagan teachers have the greatest impact on shaping the kids’ thinking. There has also been a great lack of teaching from the pulpits to train fathers concerning their God-given role in the family. And there is a devastating situation today in that there are a massive percentage of single parent homes, homes with major marriage issues, or homes where a Christian married a non-Christian resulting in all sorts of problems. The devil knows the family is the backbone of the culture and has used many different means to attack and destroy the family. I challenge Christian fathers to kneel humbly before the Lord and commit to be the godly husband and godly fathers they should be, and be obedient to the Lord and his clear instruction in Scripture to take charge of the spiritual upbringing of his family. I challenge fathers to teach their children that a Christian should never knowingly look to a non-Christian regarding marriage. I also challenge church leaders to teach men how to be godly husbands and fathers, and to help those families where there are issues undermining the family. And I challenge godly wives to encourage their husbands towards the godly leadership of their family that God requires of them. I challenge fathers to carefully consider who really is shaping their children’s thinking and make the right decisions for the children’s education understanding the most important part of their education is the spiritual input as that impacts them for eternity. There’s nothing more important than your children know Christ. Take to heart what God through the apostle Paul states: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8).

Written/posted June 8th 2023 12:13 am on twitter @aigkenham