It is natural for us to have the greatest concern for the welfare of those who are closest to us. Even the apostle Paul, whom God had appointed to be an apostle to the Gentiles, had very deep longings in his heart for the salvation of his own people, the Jews. In Romans 9:2,3 Paul said, "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart For I could wish myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

Here Paul expresses his great concern for those who belonged to his own race, who were related to him because they were fellow descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And because he longed so much to see them saved, there was great sorrow in his soul when he saw them rejecting Christ. He even wished himself to be accursed from Christ, if this could in some way help to bring about the salvation of the Jews.

The sentiments expressed here may be similar to our sentiments for our own family. The natural bond that we have with them evokes feelings of concern for them in our hearts. We may have many friends, but in this world each of us only have one father and one mother who raised us up from the time we were born and provided us with shelter, food, clothing and an education. They looked after us and were anxious when we were ill or in trouble. We owe them a great debt. We are likewise concerned about our siblings with whom we shared our home and childhood for so many years. Those who are married have one who is closer to them than a brother or sister, for marriage is the closest bond of all family relationships. And those who are parents love their children and desire the best for them.

Each family member means a lot to us. The Lord has given us our parents, our siblings, our spouse and our children. What does He want us to do about them? How should we be faithful in our family life? There are two scriptural instructions to follow.

Even though we owe much to them there is One to whom we owe much more. Since God has given us our lives and our loved ones He must always come first before our family. One passage that brings this out is Matthew 10:35-37 – "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

Please be careful not to misunderstand this. It does not mean that we are to be against our loved ones. In fact, the Word of God plainly teaches that those who neglect the needs of their family are worse than infidels (1 Timothy 5:4,8). It is sad that some who put their aged parents in retirement homes forget about them entirely. Once when I visited a retirement home, an old man asked me to contact his son. No one had visited him for many weeks, not even his children. He felt abandoned. God’s Word plainly teaches that such neglect of family members is ungodly. The Lord wants us to love them, care for them and be willing to provide whatever we can for them.

In 1 Samuel 22:1-3 we see the example of David, the man after God’s own heart. David cared for his parents. They came to him when he was running away from King Saul who was out to kill him. He knew that his father and mother would be in danger if they were with him, and so he put them under the protection of the king of Moab until it was safe for them to live with him.

How then should we understand what Jesus said in Matthew 10:35-37? The circumstances here are extraordinary. It involves a conflict of loyalties – loyalty to our loved ones versus our loyalty to God. In ordinary circumstances we ought to please our loved ones. But if they want us to do something that would displease God, we should not do it.

Note what the Scriptures instruct regarding family members: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." (Ephesians 6:1) "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord." (Colossians 3:18) The words "in the Lord" in them mean that we can do anything for them as long as it does not go against the Lord. If a father instructs his son to steal that would not be in the Lord. If your spouse says to you, "Honey, if you really love me, stop going to church" that would not be in the Lord. If your son or brother has got into trouble and he says, "If anyone calls for me, please tell them that I am not at home" that would not be in the Lord.

Oftentimes the hardest temptations to resist are requests from loved ones to do something which is sinful. Would Adam have eaten the forbidden fruit if the temptation had come to him directly through the Serpent rather than through his wife (Genesis 3:6)? Probably not. There was a conflict of loyalties.

Situations of conflicting loyalties can be distressing and unpleasant, but we need to settle in our hearts beforehand what we will do when we face them, even if it will produce hurt feelings and painful disharmony for a time.

But it does not always have to be this way. If our loved ones come to share our loyalty and love for God then there would be no more conflict of loyalties. Instead of confrontation, there would be sweet agreement. Instead of hurt feelings, there would be joyful acknowledgement. And instead of painful division, there would be sublime peace and harmony. This brings us to the second instruction for faithfulness in our family life.

This means first of all that we seek to bring each of them into a right relationship with God. While we ought to have a burden for the salvation of all sinners, our burden for the salvation of our loved ones should be greater. When Jesus delivered the Gadarene demoniac from the misery of being tormented by a legion of demons, the grateful man who experienced deliverance besought Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away saying, "Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee." (Luke 8:39)

Let us be encouraged by two biblical examples of people who found salvation through their family members. The first is Simon Peter, who later became one of the pillars of the early church. He was led to Christ by his brother, Andrew (John 1:40,41). The other example is the family of Rahab the harlot. It was her love for her father’s household that saved them from perishing when the Israelites destroyed the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:25).

As today is Fathers’ Day, may all fathers be reminded of what the Word of God says in Ephesians 6:4 – "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

One father who was most concerned about the spiritual welfare of his children was Job. "And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually." (Job 1:4-5)

Today we do not offer burnt offerings because Christ has made one final offering of Himself, but the equivalent is to offer our heart-felt prayers for the salvation of our family members. That is what Paul’s burden for his own people made him do: "Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." (Romans 10:1) How often do you pray for the salvation of your unsaved loved ones? Some Lifers prayed for many years for their unsaved parents before seeing the Lord working in marvelous ways to bring them to salvation. Are you still persevering in praying for your loved ones?

And you should not stop at praying. Do your best to bring them the message of salvation while you still have the opportunity to do so. One passage that illustrates the importance of this is Luke 16:19-31. A rich man did not realize how important it is to listen to the Word of God and live by it until it was too late. He died and found to his horror that he was suffering in hell fire. When he realised how terrible it was to be there, and how nothing could lessen his suffering, the first thing he thought of was his 5 brothers who were still alive. He earnestly wanted them to be warned about hell because he knew that they were living in the same sinful way he had been living before. But it was too late now for him to be concerned for them since he could never return to warn them. How utterly helpless he was.

We who have been saved from eternal death in hell by the Lord Jesus ought to be thankful, that we will not end up where this rich man was. But shouldn’t we be just as concerned for our loved ones as he was for his 5 brothers? While they are still living let us do everything we can to prevent them from spending eternity in hell. As long as they have not turned to Christ, they are still in their sins and they are in danger of dying in their sins.

If you have a family member who is trapped in a burning house, would you just stand by and do nothing? No! I am sure you would do everything possible to rescue him before he is overcome by the smoke and flames. How much more then should you do everything you can to bring your loved ones to Christ! If you love them, speak to them lovingly about their souls. Give them Gospel tracts to read and take time to share God’s plan of salvation with them. Invite them to come to church, especially when there is a Gospel Sunday service (There will be one next Lord’s Day). Do not give up if they do not respond. Your persistence will be rewarded. Some will only respond after they have heard the Gospel many times.

Doing these things may involve much effort on your part. But it is worthwhile because having a home where every family member has Christ as Lord and Saviour is a blessed house, like having a bit of heaven on earth. There will be a new dimension of unity not known before, a different atmosphere of love and understanding, an ambience of godliness in the home which makes it a wonderful haven and refuge from this sinful world.

Can your own home be transformed like this? Can you imagine how blessed it is to have a family that is united in spiritual matters, worshipping and serving the Lord together? Wouldn’t this be worth striving for? May the Lord bless our families like this, and may we be faithful to Him in our family life. —Pastor

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by Rev Charles Seet

commencing 2 July 08 (for 9 weeks)

7.30 - 9.30 pm, Chinese Service Hall　

THIS 4-PART survey course is designed to help participants acquire a thorough grasp of each book of the Old Testament. The sessions in Part 1 will develop familiarity with the theme and contents of the first 10 books (Genesis to 2 Samuel) with an understanding of the events in Old Testament history and their significance.

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4)

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1) A DVD Screening. Beyond the Next Mountain, this Saturday, 7-9pm. Sanctuary. In conjunction with the Missionary Fellowship’s 18th Thanksgiving Anniversary. Please invite your friends to come.

2) Gospel Sunday: Invite your friends and loved ones to the Gospel Sunday next Sunday (8 am and 10:45 am). Please pray for Prof William Harding (English) and Rev Tang Wai Kay (Mandarin with Cantonese interpretation) who will speak on "Heaven, Our Eternal Home."

3) ASM Module. Personal Care Ministry on Encouragement, Exhortation and Transformation. Mon-Tue, Jun 30-Jul 1 at Life BP Church, 9A, Gilstead Road, 9.30am to 5pm. All welcome, please register with Rev. Goh Seng Fong at gohsengfong@hotmail.com. (Cost: $20 per person for material and lunch).

Preaching appointment: Rev Seet in Batam.

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A. Spiritual Formation - Dynamics, foundations, principles and stages of Spiritual growth. 14 Monday nights beginning July 7. Teacher-facilitator: Rev Goh Seng Fong. Registration fees: $20.

B. Growing through the Study of the Epistle to the Philippians - Joy in trials. 14 Thursday nights beginning July 10. Teacher-facilitator: Rev Yap Beng Shin. Registration fees: $20.

All welcome at Life BP Church, 9A, Gilstead Road (7.30pm to 9.30pm). Register at johnching.asm@gmail.com.