Paul's “Domestic Exhortation”

The Pastor's Letter (June 1973)

Dear Friends,

In the course of our present normal ministry here in Inverness (June 1973) we have been dealing with Paul's epistle to the Colossians, and, in recent weeks, have been considering together those “domestic exhortations” that the apostle Paul sets before the church at Colosse in the course of the third chapter of his letter: – “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husband, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” Now, every aspect of those relationships set before us is of paramount importance to us in the conduct and the running of our homes in the sight of the Lord, and we have endeavoured to deal with these things from week to week.

In this letter, I want to share one particular aspect of one particular relationship with you, in the course of this one letter, and the relationship that we have in mind is that which is to exist between the believing parent and his child within the context of the Christian home.

Throughout the pages of the Word of God this relationship that the parent is to have towards the child or children is immediately seen to be a very precious one, and yet, at the same time, a very demanding one. The believing parent in Christ is under a Divine obligation to teach, and instruct, and nurture, and admonish, and discipline, and chastise his children in the light of the Word of God and under that God-ordained parental authority vested in him – or her, as the case might be. However, we believe that the obligation has, to a very great extent, been set aside with a great many professing evangelical Christians today, and we believe that one of the evidences that it has been largely set aside is contained in this: the great shift of emphasis from the home to the church in the realms of our children's spiritual well-being. Just let John or Mary go off the rails and begin manifesting their old natural rebellion towards the things of God and immediately the church comes under fire from the irate parents who demand that the church “does something” for the young folk to keep their interests up. And, of course, nine times out of ten, the church does just that, and all kinds of “baubles, bangles, and beads” are introduced into the service of the sanctuary to cater for the carnal hearts of the unregenerated children, and calm the conscience of the unrepentant parents who have abdicated their divinely-appointed task of rearing up their children in the fear and nurture of the Lord.

It is this very aspect of the parent / child relationship that we begin to see the devil at his very busiest today, and employing a “two-edged sword” of his own devising that has managed to slice away at one stroke the Bible's God-ordained institutions, and has also hacked great pieces out of the other. For, every blow against the right place and calling of the home has proved to be a double blow that has also struck at the place and the calling of the Church itself.

What do we mean by that? We mean simply this: the Church of God is the place where the glory of God is to be sought in the spiritual worship and praise of His name. It is the place in which “the true worshippers” are to gather to worship the Father “in spirit and in truth.” The one great object of the gathering of the saints together is to have that spiritual experience of having met with their God, and the only way in which this can be accomplished is through endeavouring to fulfil the conditions of worship laid down by the Saviour Himself; that is, worshipping spiritually and in accordance with His Holy truth.

Now then, on the very admittance of much of modern-day evangelicalism, it is impossible to fulfil those terms. Why? Because of the “extras” that are introduced into the services, very often to appeal to “the young people,” or, the unconverted, in general. And here is the crux of the matter: what will “appeal” to the unconverted will, of necessity, be carnal in its essence. And so, the very purpose of the church – the worship of God and Christ in a spiritual manner – has been hewn asunder by the devil's two-edged sword. And remember where the other side of that weapon first hits in so many cases: it is in that other God-ordained institution – the home – that has failed in its own God-appointed task. And so, in pressing the responsibility from the home on to the church, the church is undermined as the place where the Lord is to be worshipped and changed into a spiritual children's playground, or a teenage talent contest. Woe to that place that has made itself palatable to the unregenerate heart by providing a Sunday evening menu suitable to the carnal taste! That has changed the glory of the church of the incorruptible God into an image like unto a four-stringed beast and squirming thing!

Parent! Lay hold on that God-given and glorious task that is yours. Your children will be hard to teach and admonish, for they are by nature carnal through and through. But, when their old natures begin to carnally rise more and more to the surface, as it will, whatever you do, don't corrupt that God-given purpose of the Church, but apply yourself more and more diligently to that God-ordained purpose of your home, and by prayer, and patience, and perseverance, rear up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, until, in the grace of the Lord, they may one day take their place to the full in that Church in telling forth the praises of their parents' God Who has become their God and their Saviour:

May we know that exhortation of God, given so long ago through His servant Moses: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Our children, says David, are “an heritage of the Lord;" “Care most for that part of your child,” says Bishop Ryle, “that shall never die. Only the Lord can turn the water into wine but it is up to us to fill the water-jars.” May we know the privilege and be given the grace and strength to do so.

Yours Sincerely,
   W.J. Seaton