Genesis 6:1-4 and Christian Marriage
The other day, I received a question regarding the opening verses of Genesis 6:
When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)
This passage is a perennially puzzling one because it immediately raises a host of questions. Who are the sons of God? Who are the daughters of men? Who are the Nephilim? To add to the perplexing nature of this passage, commentaries offer a whole array of conflicting interpretations, perhaps the most famous of which is that the “sons of God” are fallen angels who are perverting the daughters of men by intermarrying with them and allying themselves with an evil race of giants called the Nephilim.
I’m not sure that the interpretation of this passage needs to be nearly so esoteric. Indeed, the interpretation proffered above flatly contradicts what Jesus says about the nature of angels: “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Mark 12:25). Jesus here makes it clear that angels are not the marrying kind. Thus, when Moses writes about the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2, he seems to be referring simply those who follow God and believe in His promise of a Messiah. Most likely, the sons of God are from the line of Seth who replaced his late brother Abel as an heir of righteousness (cf. Genesis 4:25). Conversely, the “daughters of men” seem to be those who do not follow God, most likely from the line of Cain, and are prone to wickedness and violence (cf. Genesis 4:17-24). Thus, essentially what is going on here is that righteousness is intermingling with wickedness.
The sons of God intermarrying with daughters of men is paired with a reference to the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4. Most often, the Nephilim are portrayed as giants, thanks in large part to the description of them in Numbers 13, when Moses sends out a team of spies to scout out the land of Canaan before the Israelites are supposed to enter and settle there. The spies return with this report: “We saw the Nephilim there…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33). Interestingly, this is the only other reference to the Nephilim in the Old Testament. Because the spies compare themselves to “grasshoppers” in light the stature of the Nephilim, the Nephilim are often assumed to be giants. Indeed, in the Latin Vulgate, Jerome translates the word Nephilim as gigantes, or “giants.” But what Moses seems to be referring to in Genesis 6:4 is not so much the physical stature of the Nephilim, but their spiritual state. “Nephilim” is a Hebrew word meaning, “fallen ones.” That is, the Nephilim are wicked tyrants who care not for God and His Word. They have fallen into sin. In the scope of four short verses, then, we find the sons of God intermarrying with the daughters of men, an act which is portrayed as sinful, and we hear of the Nephilim, renowned as evil thugs. Sin is on the move in Genesis 6. And it is spreading like gangrene. This is why in the subsequent verses, Moses writes, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain” (Genesis 6:5-6). What follows is the story of Noah and God’s judgment on wickedness by means of a worldwide flood.
So why would I spend all this time trying to sort out the exegetical puzzle of Genesis 6:1-4? Is it out of mere theological curiosity? Though I am always theologically curious, the practical implications of a proper interpretation of this passage are enormous. For it gives us a down-to-earth look at what happens when righteousness intermingles with wickedness. For when righteousness intermingles with wickedness, wickedness all too often seems to prevail. This is why the apostle Paul later warns:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
Paul is crystal clear here: Our God does not want His sons and daughters to yoke themselves to the sons and daughters of this world. This has an especially poignant application to Christian marriage. Christians should not marry non-Christians…period. To do so is to try to yoke righteousness to wickedness. So to the Christian singles I say, “Marry inside the faith.” Follow Paul’s admonition: The person you marry “must belong to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).
Now, certainly it is good to share your faith with others. Certainly it is even fine to have friends who do not share your same faith commitment. But to yoke yourself to these people is a different matter entirely. For to yoke yourself to someone is to declare your solidarity and agreement with them. And solidarity and agreement with unfaith is something you cannot and should not declare.
Thus, this little passage from Genesis 6 has weighty practical implications for how we relate to others, especially in the context of marriage, and puts us on notice that the results of righteousness intermingling with wickedness are never good. Righteousness should never merely intermingle with wickedness. Rather, it should overcome it! As Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). May you overcome the evil you encounter with the goodness of Christ!
Sermon Extra – Lingering Lies
Last month, Scientific American published the results of a study conducted by psychologists at the University of Western Australia. In this study, researchers asked college students to read an account of a bus accident involving some elderly passengers. The students were subsequently told that, in reality, the passengers were not elderly but were part of a college hockey team. Later, the psychologists told some of the students to be vigilant about getting this story straight when they were asked questions about it and were warned about what is called “the continued influence of misinformation,” which describes our propensity to remember and be influenced by information we first hear in a story, even if that information is later updated or corrected. In spite of this warning, however, some students continued to stubbornly cling to the lie that the people in the bus accident were elderly. For example, when the students were asked whether or not the passengers had a difficult time exiting the bus because they were frail, many students responded that they did, citing their advanced age. Ullrich Ecker, one of the psychologists conducting the study, commented, “Even if you understand, remember, and believe the retractions, the misinformation will still affect your inferences.”[1]
Lies linger. That is the upshot of this story. This is why the words you use and the truth you tell is so important. One of Jesus’ favorite sayings is, very simply, “I tell you the truth…” (e.g., Matthew 5:18, Mark 3:28, Luke 9:27, John 3:5). Jesus wants no part in telling lingering lies.
This past weekend in worship, I spoke about the importance of choosing your words wisely. In Proverbs 17 and 18, Solomon gives us four tips for choosing our words wisely. First, we must choose our words slowly. Words quickly spoken, especially in anger, later lead to regret. Think before you speak! Second, we must choose our words with counsel. In other words, we need to be willing to receive guidance and even correction from others in our words so that we learn how to choose our words better with time. Third, we must choose our words charitably. Especially when a person is not around, we must be very careful how we speak about them so that we do not malign their character. Finally, we must choose our words truthfully, for dishonestly leads only to disaster.
In a world that stretches, fudges, and hedges the truth, we are called to be truth tellers. After all, we do not want our lies to linger in the lives and hearts of others. The good news, however, is that the lies of this world, though they may linger, will not ultimately last. Solomon says, “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Proverbs 12:19). Compared to the truth of God, lingering lies are only a flash in the pan. The truth will finally carry the day. And God’s truth will endure forever. So align yourself with that which lasts!
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[1] Valerie Ross, “Lingering Lies: The Persistent Influence of Misinformation,” Scientific American (July 18, 2011).
ABC Extra – Friend Me!
True friendship is not easy. Many people do not understand, or refuse to accept, this. Guys hang out at the bar after work. Ladies go on shopping sprees. But these times together, even if they’re fun, do not usually foster deep, meaningful relationships. When a friendship gets complicated – when a buddy runs into a problem in his marriage or when a lady struggles with her self-worth – these so-called “friends” have little to nothing to offer in the way of support or guidance. True friendship is not easy.
The Proverbs understand the burden true friendship brings. For true friendship involves many weighty things. True friendship involves sticking with someone through thick and thin: “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). True friendship involves loving someone even when they’re utterly unlovable: “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). True friendship involves pouring time, energy, and trust into a select few people, rather than being content merely to hang out with many “acquaintances” who know little about you: “A man of many companions may come to ruin” (Proverbs 18:24). True friendship involves faithfulness in saying things to a friend that may be hard for them to hear: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6). True friendship is not easy.
Sadly, the term “friendship” has been largely stripped of its biblical content in our day. For many people, “friendship” means nothing more than a person they happen to know. This is not to say that it is bad to know many people, but when you are “friends” with everyone, you become close companions with no one.
One of the things I enjoy doing is checking my Facebook page. It is fun for me to keep up with a whole bunch of people, some of whom I haven’t seen in years. I like to read about what’s going on in their lives – their joys and their challenges. Sometimes, when it seems appropriate, I’ll even drop someone a note on Facebook letting them know I’m praying for them.
Currently, I have 550 Facebook “friends.” Though I do care about every single person with whom I am “friends,” I also know that I am not a friend to every one of these people, at least not in the biblical sense. For I do not live up to what the Proverbs have to say about friendship. Nor could I. I simply do not have the time, strength, or smarts to be a perfect friend to everyone. The good news is, where I fall short when it comes to friendship, Jesus does not.
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Jesus says these words to His disciples shortly before He is betrayed by Judas to be crucified. He calls His disciples His “friends,” even Judas, who is no friend to Jesus. And Jesus is indeed a true friend – to each and every one of His disciples – even when His disciples are not faithful friends to Him. And He is a true friend not only to His original twelve disciples in the first century, but to the countless billions of disciples that have since followed. He is a friend to you! As the song says, “What a friend we have in Jesus!”
Are you a true, biblical friend to others? If not, you are called to be. Do you have true, biblical friends for yourself? If not, you need them. We all need friends to share in our joys and support us in our sorrows. Finally, is Jesus your friend? If not, He can be. By faith, you can be a friend of Christ, for Christ wants to be a friend to you. I can’t think of a better friend to have.
Want to learn more? Go to
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ABC Extra – Unbaptized Money
Though I’m almost sure it’s apocryphal, Martin Luther is credited with saying, “There are three conversions necessary – the conversion of the heart, of the mind, and of the purse.” Regardless of whether or not Luther actually spoke these words, this quote can serve to remind us of the importance our Lord places on faithful stewardship. What we do with money matters.
In his book The Money Map, Howard Dayton writes, “When the Crusades were fought during the twelfth century, the Crusaders purchased the services of mercenaries to fight for them. Because it was a religious war, the Crusaders insisted that the mercenaries be baptized before fighting. As they were being baptized, the soldiers would take their swords and hold them up out of the water to symbolize that Jesus Christ was not in control of their swords, that they retained the freedom to use their weapons in any way they wished.” Like Crusaders wielding swords in whatever unbaptized way they saw fit, many people wish to use money in whatever unsanctified way they see expedient. But God wants our money to be “baptized,” so to speak, in that He wants us to steward our money faithfully and well. And first and foremost, stewarding our money faithfully and well means being generous with others even s God has been generous to us.
In our text from this past weekend, Solomon writes, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25). God wants us to be generous and refreshing toward others. Notably, the Hebrew verb for “refreshes” in this verse is rawah, meaning, “to water.” In Hebrew, this word is in the Hiphil mood, which is an intensive form of the Hebrew verb. Thus, when Solomon encourages us to “refresh others,” he encourages us to do so intensively. That is, we are to be as generous as we possible can be. And as we do so, we ourselves will “be refreshed.” This phrase “be refreshed” is in the Hophal voice, another intensive Hebrew verbal form. Thus, as we intensively refresh others through our generosity, God will intensively refresh us through His generosity.
Money that is not baptized by the gospel only causes harm and grief. Judas, when he sells his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, despairs and commits suicide (Matthew 27:1-5). Hezekiah, when he shows off his temple treasury to envoys from Babylon, seals the demise of his nation (Isaiah 39). And Ananias and Sapphira, when they duplicitously hold back some money from the sale of a field, claiming that they had given all the proceeds to the Church, are struck down by God (Acts 5:1-11). Money used apart from the purposes of God ends in disaster. Conversely, money that is “baptized” by the gospel can be used to illustrate the gospel itself! The apostle Paul writes, “You were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). What is this price? It is the price of Christ’s blood. The monetary picture of a price is used to describe our redemption. Indeed, the very word “redeemed” is monetary, for it describes how Christ purchased us “from the empty way of life” (1 Peter 1:18), that is, from the empty ways of sin, death, and the devil.
Do you allow the money with which you have been entrusted to be used at God’s pleasure and for His purposes? Or, are your finances an area in which you remain functionally “unconverted,” holding your pocketbook out of the water while the rest of you is baptized into Christ, too afraid to heed Christ’s invitation to steward your finances in a way that is commiserate with His Kingdom values? True financial joy and freedom is found only when your money is brought under the authority of Christ. Jesus has been generous enough to give you all that you have. Do you trust Him to be wise enough to use the money you have for your good and His glory?
Want to learn more? Go to
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Sermon Extra – Glorious Work
Work is a blessing from God. Do you believe this? I have talked to far too many people who do not believe this – at least if the way they talk about their jobs is any indication of what they believe. Complaints about the incompetence of co-workers, the ineptitude of the boss, and the inequity of one’s paycheck are all commonplace. Granted, even Scripture admits that work involves frustration and difficulty. This is a result of the Fall into sin. God tells Adam after he has eaten from the fruit of the forbidden tree: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food” (Genesis 3:17-19). The Hebrew word for “painful toil” is isabon, which refers to both physical and emotional pain. And certainly this can be true of our work. There are days at the office, in the shop, or on the site that are not only physically exhausting, they’re emotionally exhausting as well. But it must be remembered that the isabon of work is a result of sin and not part of God’s original design and desire for work. Work was originally created to be a privilege and joy. Indeed, work was part of creation even before the Fall. Immediately after God creates Adam, God takes “the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). God has weaved and woven work into the fabric of His creation.
Such a high view of work is unique to Christianity. Ancient pagan literature takes a much grimmer view of labor. The ancient eighteenth century BC Akkadian Epic of Atra-Hasis has its own account of the origin of human work. The epic opens: “Great indeed was the drudgery of the gods, the forced labor was heavy, the misery too much.” The gods, according to this epic, were tired of having to work. They considered it “drudgery.” How do the gods solve their drudgery dilemma? They declare, “Let us create, then, a human, a man. Let him bear the yoke! Let him bear the yoke! Let man assume the drudgery of the god.” In Atra-Hasis, humans are created to do the work the gods do not care to do themselves. Work, in and of itself, is, in this epic, an awkward annoyance, to be pawned off and passed off by any means possible. This, however, is not Christianity’s view of work.
According to Christianity, work was not originally created to be a burden, but a high and holy privilege. It was part of the authority God graciously allowed human beings to exercise over His creation. God says in the creation account, “Let man rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26). The work of ruling the earth was meant to be an awesome honor, not a cumbersome curse.
The German sociologist Max Weber coined the phrase “Protestant work ethic” to refer to the premium on which Protestants, and the Puritans especially, put on work. Unfortunately, Weber understood this ethic moralistically, glorifying the “self-made man” and trumpeting the tangible rewards of hard work, rather than understanding one who works hard as carrying out his divinely ordained vocation before God for his neighbor, regardless of the earthly rewards. The true “Protestant work ethic” is wrapped up in the doctrine of vocation, which sees every job, be it stately or homely, as a gift from God as long as it is not immoral in its nature (e.g., prostitution, drug dealing, etc.). Thus, work – all work – is a gift from God to glorify Him and to help one’s neighbor. Work – all work – is meant to impart dignity, not drudgery, to human beings. In the words of John Milton:
Man hath his daily work of body and mind
Appointed, which declares his dignity,
And the regard of Heaven on all his ways.
Heaven regards your work well. So praise and thank God for your work and stand honored at eternity’s acclaim.
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ABC Extra – Wising Up with Christ
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we kicked off our summer message series called “Wise Up! Lessons from Proverbs.” The purpose of Proverbs is explicitly laid out for us in its prologue: “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight” (Proverbs 1:2). The book of Proverbs was written so that we may read them, apply them, and so be wise. Of course, we do not always apply the Proverbs as we should. Even Solomon, the author of the bulk of this book, did not always follow his own advice. Solomon sings: “Rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love” (Proverbs 5:18-19). Later in his kingship, however, we read about how “King Solomon loved many foreign women…from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love” (1 Kings 11:1-2). Solomon did not remain satisfied with the wife of his youth. And the result was apostasy: “When Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4). Thus, Proverbs ought to call Solomon – and all of us – to repentance. For none of us completely heeds its call to wise living.
Interestingly, at the same time Proverbs reveals to us our shortcomings, it also introduces us to one who is perfectly wise. Indeed, this person seems to be the very personification of wisdom. This person says:
I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion…The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth…When He established the heavens, I was there; when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He made the firm skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, like a master workman. (Proverbs 8:12, 22-23, 27-30)
This person named Wisdom is as ancient as God Himself. He was with God even as He laid the foundations of the earth. Who is this perfect personification of wisdom? The evangelist John gives us a clue: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-2). This incarnation of wisdom is none other than Jesus. He is wisdom personified and exemplified. The apostle Paul explains it this way: “Christ Jesus became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
A famous theologian of the Lutheran Church, Horace Hummel, offers one of my favorite definitions of wisdom. He describes wisdom as “the ability to cope.” I like this definition a lot, partly because there is a whole genre of biblical literature known as “wisdom literature.” This genre includes Proverbs, of course, but also books like Job and many of the Psalms. Especially in the case of Job, Hummel’s definition of wisdom proves to be spot on. For Job had to cope with tragedies and terrors on every side as his life fell apart around him. And yet, through it all, he coped and hoped in God. And at the end, He got to see God. I finally appreciate this definition of wisdom because Jesus is its supreme embodiment. For when we act in unwise ways – when we sin – Jesus, as wisdom personified – “copes” with our sin through His cross. He takes us foolish sinners and saves us. By His Spirit, He then gives us the capability to cope with the trials and tests we face with wisdom that comes from God and with wisdom that finally is God. For we cope with this broken world with Christ by our side. I thank God He is kind enough to share the wisdom who is His Son with a fool like me.
Want to learn more? Go to
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ABC Extra – Team Lifting
A few months back, I purchased a treadmill for my wife. The one we previously owned had worn out and it was time for a newer, more powerful, more advanced model. I was very happy with the deal I received on the treadmill. I got it for about 50 percent off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price! As I was paying for the treadmill, the customer service representative asked me, “Would you like to pay an additional $100 to have the treadmill delivered and set up?” I didn’t even have to think about it: “$100? No thank you, I’ll pass.”
A couple of days later, I returned to the store with my truck and a buddy to pick up the treadmill. It was going to be simple. We would load the treadmill in the bed of my truck, haul it home, set it up, and be done. The plan was perfect. That is, the plan was perfect until we tried to actually pick up the treadmill. It had to weigh 1,000 pounds! Thankfully, a couple of guys from the sporting goods store came out to help us. When we finally got it into the bed of my truck and drove it back to my house, we took it out of the box, piece by piece, to haul inside. After a whole lot of sweat and an aching back, I decided I should have paid the $100.
As I was trying, without success, to lug the huge and heavy box out of the sporting goods store to the bed of my truck, I noticed an icon the box’s side. It had two people picking up a hug box with these words: “TEAM LIFT for your safety.” When I saw the icon, I thought to myself, “Would anyone even think of trying to pick this box up by himself?”
In Luke 10:38-42, we meet two sisters: Martha and Mary. These sisters could not be any more different. Jesus and His twelve disciples are joining the sisters at their house for a supper, and Martha wants to make sure everything is just perfect for her guests. And so she goes about preparing a lavish feast. But with her recipe books strewn across the kitchen, pots and pans boiling over on the stove, and flour flung across the floor, Martha’s meal becomes more than she can bear. She need someone with whom she can “team lift” in preparing. But Mary, her sister, seems unable or, worse yet, unwilling to help. When Jesus and His disciples arrive, Mary simply sits at Jesus’ feet, listening intently to what He says. Finally, in exasperation, Martha complains to her Lord: “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40)! The Greek word for “help” is synantilambanomai. This one word is actually a compound word made up of the words: synanti, meaning “with,” or “corresponding to,” and lambanomai, meaning “to take up,” or “to lift.” Thus, when Martha asks for her sister’s help, she is asking her to do some “team lifting.”
Now surely, Jesus should empathize with Martha’s plight. After all, her hard work could break her back! But Jesus’ response to Martha is altogether surprising if not even offensive: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus will not send Mary to “team lift” with her sister. Because finally, Martha doesn’t need a team lifter, Martha needs Jesus. Martha needs to learn from Jesus, like Mary. Martha needs to follow Jesus, like Mary. And Martha needs to rest in Jesus, like Mary.
Be it in friendships between children or marriages between adults, I often hear people complain that a partner in a relationship is not “pulling their weight.” These people explain that they are left all by themselves to do the heavy lifting of a relationship. Though it is true that friends and spouses certainly ought to help each other, before you complain that another person is not pulling their weight, perhaps you should first go to Jesus. Perhaps you should ask Him to heal and reconcile your relationship. Perhaps you should ask Him to give you the strength needed to maneuver your way through what can sometimes be complex and weighty relationships. Because before you need someone to “team lift” with you, you need Jesus. Because Jesus doesn’t just help you with some of your burden takes your burden and nails it to His cross. So find your strength – and your rest – in Him.
Want to learn more? Go to
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ABC Extra – A Father’s Love
One of my favorite country songs is by Rodney Atkins. It describes a father whose son seeks to emulate him, sometimes for good, but also sometimes for ill. As the song opens, Rodney sings about a non-descript curse word that his son learns…from him! Rodney confesses how ashamed he is that he, no matter how inadvertently, taught his son such language. As the song continues, however, we also hear about how his son watched Rodney pray and so prayed like his father. I love the song’s refrain, sung in the guise of Rodney’s son:
I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
We like fixin’ things and holding momma’s hand
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?
I want to do everything you do; so I’ve been watching you.
With touching lyrics, this song expresses a simple truth about how a boy learns to be a man – he learns from his father.
Sadly, though a boy can learn good and magnanimous things from his father, he can also learn sinful and aberrant things. From his father, a son can learn how to cuss or how to pray. From his father, a son can learn how to abuse women or how to be faithful to one woman. From his father, a son can learn how to nurture his kids or how to neglect them. A father’s influence can hardly be overestimated.
With fathers carrying such a heavy responsibility to faithfully parent their children, to whom can fathers turn to learn how to be men, especially if they did not have good role models in their own fathers? The apostle Paul helps us answer this question when he writes:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:25-28)
Two things are especially notable about this passage. First, though this passage does not describe the relationship between a father and his son explicitly, if a father wants to raise his children well, he should always have these verses about his relationship with his wife in the forefront of his mind. As Theodore Hesburgh reminds us, “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” A father’s most powerful example to his children of what love is and looks like is how he loves his wife. If he claims to love his children, but does not show love for his wife, that father’s positive influence will be greatly diminished. Thus, a father must love his wife well. Second, we learn from this passage that a father learns how to love his wife – and by extension, his children – by how Christ loves him. Paul says, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her… In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives.” Husbands are supposed to love their wives and children “in the same way” as Christ loves them. How does Christ love His men? He loves them with compassion and mercy and patience and bravery. Husbands ought to love their wives likewise. This way, when a son watches his father, he will see not only how his dad loves his mother, he will see how Christ loves him.
And so, fathers, love your wives and your children! For your kids are not only watching you, they’re learning from you. May they learn Jesus from you!
Want to learn more? Go to
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and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
Sermon Extra – God’s Call On Men
In 1994, some Swiss researchers conducted a survey on how the worship habits of parents influence their children. The results were striking. These researchers found that if both a father and mother attend church regularly, 33% of their children will grow up to attend church regularly, while 41% will grow up to attend irregularly. Sadly, a quarter of their children will grow up not practicing their Christian faith at all. These researchers further found that if a father does not attend church while a mother regularly attends church, only 2% of their children will subsequently become regular attenders themselves, while 37% will become irregular attenders. Over 60% of these children will grow up and not attend church at all.
Now, here comes the shocking statistic. If a father is a regular churchgoer, but a mother does not attend church, 44% of these children will grow up to attend church regularly. That’s eleven percentage points higher than if a father and mother attend church regularly together! All told, between two-thirds and three-fourths of children with faithful fathers will attend church, be that regularly or irregularly.[1]
Clearly, a father’s role as a spiritual leader is vital to the spiritual health of his family. It is important to note that this does not in any way disparage or diminish the role ladies play in their families. I know many ladies who, in spite of their husbands’ lack of commitment to things spiritual, labor extensively and faithfully to teach their children about Jesus and His Gospel. I praise God for such women and trust that the Holy Spirit will use these ladies’ efforts to instill strong and lasting faith in the hearts of their children. These statistics do, however, reinforce the call and commission of Scripture that a father is called to be a strong, spiritual leader of his family (cf. Ephesians 5:22-6:4). Sadly, far too many men are derelict in this duty. And if these statistics are any indication, the results of such dereliction are disastrous. This blog, then, is meant to be a reminder to men of their God-given role!
As I discussed in my message on Sunday, there are many sirens of sin which entice men away from their role as the spiritual leader of their families. The apostle Paul discusses some of the temptations that men – and all people, for that matter – struggle against: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21). How many men have fallen and failed as leaders because they have given in to temptations like sexual immorality or drunkenness or selfish ambition? Far too many.
So how does Paul tell men to war against such sinful temptations so they can lead their families faithfully? Does he tell them to try harder? Or work longer? Or fight fiercer? No. Instead, fully aware that no man, no matter how macho, is strong enough to resist the allures of the sinful nature, Paul continues: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Ephesians 5:22-23). Paul calls upon God’s Spirit to produce the fruit of righteousness in and through men. For men cannot produce this fruit themselves. Instead, they will fall into sin every time. It is interesting to note that while Paul speaks of the “acts of the sinful nature” in verse 19, he speaks of the “fruit of the Spirit” in verse 22. Sinful is how we act. Righteousness is the fruit the Spirit produces in us and through us.
So to the gentlemen, I would say this: Remember the call God has given you to be the spiritual leaders of your household. But do not try to carry out God’s call on you through your own efforts and with your own strength. You will fall and fail every time. Instead, implore the Spirit to produce in you and through you His fruit of righteousness. For this fruit will be a blessing to you…and to your family. And why would you want anything less for those you love most?
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[1] Robbie Low, “The Truth About Men and Church,” Touchstone Magazine (June 2003).
A Pastoral Statement on Israel
On May 19, 2011, President Obama delivered a speech in which he called for Israel and Palestine to return to their 1967 borders with “mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” The reaction to the president’s proposal was swift and fierce. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, declared, “The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel’s existence.”[1]
Because of the long-standing and good relationship between the United States and Israel, many are wondering, “What is our obligation to Israel? Should we support a return to the greatly diminished Israeli borders of 1967 or should we demand the greatest amount of land possible for this democracy? What should our position and policy be?”
People are asking these questions not only out of political concern, but out of theological concern as well. Because God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever” (Exodus 32:13), the question naturally arises: Does this land still belong, by divine right, to the Jews? And if so, should we, as the United States, support Israel over the Palestinians in an effort to respect God’s promise to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Because this question is multifaceted, several things need to be addressed. First, it is important to note that there is a difference between an “Israelite” and a “Jew.” In Scripture, the term “Israelite” refers to an Old Testament believer who worships Yahweh, the God of Israel and the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and who trusts in His promise to send a Messiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, Micah 5:2, Zechariah 11:12-13). The term “Jew,” on the other hand, refers to a person of either a certain race or of a certain faith or both. There are Jews who are of the Jewish race, but are secular, while there are also Jews who are not of the Jewish race, but who practice the Jewish faith. There are even Jews who are the Jewish race and trust in Christ as their Savior! Thus, to equate ancient Israelites who had a specific and clear faith commitment to modern-day Jews who may or may not have a particular religious commitment perhaps misses the point from a Biblical view.
The distinction between Israelites and Jews becomes all the more important when one realizes that God makes His promise to Abraham and his descendants in light of Abraham’s faith and not of his race (cf. Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3). Faith, not race, appropriates the promises of God to the people of God. Consider the following verses:
- Abraham…is the father of all who believe. (Romans 4:11)
- Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:6)
- You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)
Again and again, the apostle Paul makes the same point: It is by faith in Christ that one becomes a child of Abraham. Just because one is a genetic descendant of Abraham does not mean he is an heir to God’s promises. Indeed, when Abraham’s descendants prove faithless in the Old Testament, they are exiled from the land of Israel (cf. Jeremiah 3:6-10, 2 Kings 17:3-23, 25:8-21). In the New Testament too, faithlessness is judged harshly. Consider these verses:
- John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” (Luke 3:7-8)
- Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. (Romans 9:6-8)
Abraham’s true children are those who trust in God’s promise of a Messiah, fulfilled in Christ. Thus, modern day biological Jews, if they do not trust in Christ, cannot be said to be heirs to God’s promises.
But what about the land which God promised to Abraham and his descendants? Is this the property of today’s Jewish people? It is important to keep two things in mind as we seek to answer this question. First, Israel, the modern-day democracy, is not the same as Israel, the ancient theocracy. Israel, the ancient theocracy, is portrayed by the Biblical authors as ruled by God Himself. This is why, for instance, King David is anointed by the prophet Samuel (cf. 1 Samuel 16:1-13) rather than elected by Israel’s general population. Conversely, in Israel, the modern-day democracy, officials are elected by the people and not anointed by the prophets or trumpeted as divinely appointed leaders. Thus, ancient Israel and modern-day Israel are not the same.
Second, it has already been noted that, apart from faith in Christ, the promises of God cannot be appropriated to human beings. Thus, for those who do not trust in Christ, the promises of God – including the land of Israel – are not theirs. But what about those Jews who do believe in Christ? Does this land of Israel still belong to them by divine right?
Ultimately, all land belongs not to people or to a people group, but to God: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). God, in turn, entrusts His world to His people to steward faithfully. Indeed, this theological truth is stated explicitly in the commission God gives to the Old Testament Israelites: “When the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12). From the outset, God warns His people not to forget that it is He who entrusts the land of Canaan to the Israelites. God expects His people to steward this land well and according to His commands. If the Israelites do not, God warns, “I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). Notice that if the Israelites fail to follow God, He will destroy them “like the nations the LORD destroyed before.” What sets Israel apart is its faith, not its land. Without faith, Israel is just like all other faithless nations.
Finally, we must remember that the land God promised to Abraham was only a foreshadowing of an even greater land to come. The preacher of Hebrews explains: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). Indeed, all of God’s Old Testament faithful “were longing for a better country – a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). Earthly Israel was only a shadow of a greater heavenly Israel. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus does not make promises concerning the land of Israel. Instead, He makes promises of a heavenly Kingdom (cf. Matthew 5:3, 10, 6:33, Luke 22:29). This is why, in Revelation, John sees “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The earthly land of Israel, then, cannot be said to belong, by divine right, to biological Jews, or even to those Jews who trust in Christ. For Christ did not come to bestow an earthly kingdom. Indeed, Christ never drove out the Romans from Israel, contrary to first century expectations (cf. John 18:36), and, when a Samaritan woman asks Jesus where people are to worship, whether that be on Mount Gerizim according to Samaritan expectations or on Mount Zion according to Jewish expectations, Jesus responds, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:21, 23). The earthly land of Israel was only a foreshadowing of a much greater heavenly inheritance, which is ours through faith in Christ.
So what does all this mean for the United States’ position on the nation of Israel? Theologically, we are under no specific divine mandate to support any particular borders for the nation of Israel. Politically, there may indeed be good reasons to support expanded borders for Israel such as the fact that this nation is one of our close allies and is a thriving, lively democracy in a part of the world which is largely devoid of such governments. The democratic freedom Israel enjoys and promotes is a foundational value of our American union. And as such, our citizens generally desire to see the cause of freedom spread far and wide. For these reasons, many Christians and Americans can and do support Israel.
[1] Matt Spetalnick, “Obama and Netanyahu face tense meeting on Mideast,” Yahoo! News (May 20, 2011).
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