The sin we are about to discuss this day has been one of the most common reasons we’ve had members willfully remove themselves from grace, turning against the church Christ established.
This sin is very difficult to repent from because it entails deep emotional investment, loyalty, priority, and sacrifice. We are speaking of our physical family ties, our blood kin. The familiar faces we’ve been born and raised to love. Deep special unique bonds of fellowship and friendship, security, and nourishment. All sorts of provision and instruction given through many years together.
It is most understandable from a worldly perspective that we’d die with our families before ever turning our back to them for any given reason, sadly not even for Jesus. Hence counting the cost of one’s choice to become a faithful Christian. If we start to build the house, will we finish it? Most don’t and fall on the wayside and become infertile soil.
What are we ready to deny in order to become disciples of Christ? Most always deny a certain percentage of things they might not hold dear to their hearts, but never family.
The rich young ruler would have certainly been allowed into heaven according to the subjective standards of men. Yet from the objective absolute standard of God’s measurement he was lacking one thing. His love for something else more so than Christ.
I could literally write down all the names of Christians who have since withdrawn themselves from this local assembly area, designated for the saved to gather, due to this very topic we unfold. To love wife, husband, parents, grandparents, children, aunts and uncles, cousins, more than Jesus Christ who died for our sins? Has become common where the hearts of men are out of season, holding fast to the traditions of their forefathers.
Joshua 24:14-15.
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Many since long ago have chosen family ties over God. These here would serve other gods because of their loyalty to family and ancestral traditions.
We hear this today all the time; “I’m a pagan, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Wesleyan, Methodist, Gospel hall, 7th day adventist, mormon, JW, Anabaptist, Amish, Salvation Army,” and every other form of religious ritual and tradition. WHY? Because it is the religion and ritual of my forefathers given to us by our parents and grandparents bound loyal to our blood given beliefs. And if I brake away from said worldview? I am breaking my allegiance to the family.
The Jews had many such ties to their families regarding the traditions of Judaism. And when Christ would rebuke them and call them into repentance they took great offence. “How dare He try to cause division between us and our family loyalties!”
Matthew 10:34-36.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Righteous spiritual division between us and our families is an absolute fact of our conversion to Christ. You can’t enter eternal life without this understood reality, though certainly difficult to face and conquer.
To conclude if I may share a short article from our brother Dave Miller over at ApologeticsPress.org called: “The Spiritual Family of God”
“If you have been blessed with a good family, you understand that family relationships can, indeed, be precious and beautiful. In fact, God invented the family (Genesis 2:24). He wants people to experience the warm, tender ties of a physical family and its blessings.
But far more important than even our physical family—is God’s spiritual family. When a person becomes a Christian, he or she has a greater, deeper relationship with the family of God—the church. In fact, the Bible teaches that Christians should not hesitate for a moment to give up fleshly family ties if it becomes necessary to do so in order to put God first (Luke 14:20,24).
Commenting on His relationship with His own blood relatives, Jesus declared: “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50). He realized that His teachings would sometimes disrupt family relationships, and so He stated
“a man’s foes will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:36).
That explains why, during the Mosaic period of Bible history, Aaron was not permitted to mourn the deaths of his two sons (Leviticus 10:6). And it also explains why the people were to show no pity for their relatives who promoted false teaching, but instead were to lead the way in their execution (Deuteronomy 13:6-11).
Yes, the family ties of blood kin can be extremely wonderful. They can provide unending security and acceptance. When working properly, a physical family fulfills an important job that God intended. But these same blood ties can be the very thing that keeps a Christian from following the strait and narrow, discouraging one from standing strongly and firmly for truth and right. Each person must put God’s church first—even above physical family (Matthew 6:33).” - D.M.
Must we hate our family? No. Yet that comes with the understanding that Christ is where our loyalty must be found above any blood tie. We would be wise to count the cost of our discipleship, it will eternally matter once the sky opens and the highest court begins its procedural session.
Stephane H. Maillet
