Four Principles of Stewardship

1. God owns everything, you own nothing.

2. God entrusts you with everything you have.

3. You can either increase or diminish what God has given; He wants you to increase it.

4. God can call you into account at any time, and it may be today.

4 ways that Christ Cares for Our Families

I. By Inventing the Family As a Safe Place To Productively Fulfill the Lord’s Commands (Genesis 2:18-25)

Genesis 2:18-25 - Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

A. He solved loneliness with companionship

Genesis 2:18 - Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

B. He provided marriage for procreation

Genesis 2:24 - For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

C. He provided marriage as a safe place

Genesis 2:25 - And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

“The sexual arena stands to the fore … yet there is a symbol-laden depth to the pronouncement. It is a way of saying that there was no guilt; there was nothing to be ashamed of. This happy innocence meant openness, utter candor. There was nothing to hide, whether from God or each other.” (D.A. Carson)

II. By Instructing Each Member of the Family Regarding Their Responsibilities (Colossians 3:18-21)

Colossians 3:18-21 - Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

A. Wives: submit appropriate to the Lord

Colossians 3:18 - Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

B. Husbands: love and avoid actions empowered by resentment

Colossians 3:19 - Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

C. Children: obey your parents

Colossians 3:20 - Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

D. Fathers: build up your children, preparing them to live for Jesus

Colossians 3:21 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

III. By Reminding Us That Marriage Is For Now (Mark 12:18-27)

Mark 12:18-27 - Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

A. Heaven is not primarily about reunited earthly relationships

Mark 12:25 - For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

B. Marriage is for now; so make the most of it

IV. By Warning Us Against Ending Marriage Relationships (Matthew 19:1-10)

Matthew 19:1-10 - When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”

A. Some look to justify their choices

Matthew 19:3 - Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

B. What God puts together, man should not break apart

Matthew 19:6 - So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.