PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

GOD'S PROMISE OF SALVATION BEING TO THE HOUSEHOLD

"For to you is the promise and to your children…"

God's promise to give the Holy Spirit to His people Israel was to them and to their children (Acts 2:39). One of the most encouraging facts to a Christian parent is the fact that the unit of God's salvation is not the individual but the family. For a believing father, this fact is the solid basis for his presenting his family members before the Lord with the assurance that they are for the Lord.

In this issue of Parenthood, we bring the fellowship of Brother Watchman Nee concerning the Biblical truth that God's salvation is for the household. Brother Nee urges the head of each family to take a strong stand for his family to be a family that believes in the Lord and serves Him: "The head of a family has the special responsibility before God for bringing his whole household to the Lord and to His service. You need to take your stand as the head of your family to declare that your household will believe in the Lord….The head of the household can decide for his entire household. Even if the little children do not believe, you can still say that your household will believe in the Lord, because this household is yours and not your children's. You are responsible for your household, not your children….Always lay hold of this fact: I am the head of my family, and my family will believe in God. My household will not believe in the devil. I have decided that this family will be a family that worships God. I have decided that this family will be a family that believes in the Lord. If you declare this with faith, and if you exercise your authority to take the lead, your children will go along."

The saving of the entire household depends on the exercise of faith on the part of the believing father and husband. The father's standing is not a matter of imposing his own will upon that of his wife and family. Rather, it is the issue of a believing heart that takes the promises of God as a firm foundation for his beliefs and actions. He stands by faith. We should not try to be promise keepers to do something for God. We rather are the promise believers relying on His faithfulness to keep His own Word.

HOUSEHOLD SALVATION

God's promise of salvation takes the household as a unit, not the individual as a unit. If a newly saved person sees this from the very beginning, he will be spared many headaches, and he will gain much benefit for himself. When God saves man, He takes the whole family, rather than an individual, as a unit.

Concerning eternal life, the Bible takes an individual, not a household, as the unit. However, concerning salvation, it shows that men are saved household by household. The unit of salvation is the household. We want to spend a little time to consider several portions of the Word. This will show us clearly that salvation is for the whole household. We can inquire of God according to these words. We can deal with Him not only for ourselves individually but also for our whole family.

We hope that all the children who are born among us will not need our extra effort in the future to bring them to salvation and to rescue them out of the world. Some have already been born into our fleshly family. We should make sure that they are born into our spiritual family also. We cannot afford to lose them year by year and then fight to rescue them back year by year. We cannot just beget them into the world; we still must bring them to the Lord.

If all the brothers and sisters agree that this is the way we should take, we will have at least as many saved ones as the number of children in our midst. The Lord has placed them in our hands. We should not let them go; we must make sure that they are saved. Otherwise, it will take considerable effort to bring them back from the world. All the little fishes born of our big fishes should be on our side; we should not let them go back into the sea and then struggle to catch them again. Whether or not the church will continue with its second generation depends on whether our children belong to the Lord.

I hope that the brothers and sisters will see the importance of this matter. Whether or not the church will go on in the next generation, whether or not those after us will go on, depends on whether we can bring our own children to the Lord. If we lose as many as are born to us, our second generation will be gone. If generation after generation all those who are born into our midst stand fast and if we also have some increase from the outside, the church will be strong and its number will increase. We must never give birth to a child only to lose it later. Instead, those who are born to us must be regenerated….

The Household of the Jailer

Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." This is one of the most outstanding verses in Christianity. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household. God's Word does not say that if you believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your household shall receive eternal life. It says that if you believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your household will be saved.

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