I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Proverbs 24:3-4 says, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

                                                             1.      The book of Proverbs extols the values of wisdom and understanding as being greater than any earthly treasure (Prov. 4:5-9).

                                                             2.      This passage in Proverbs 24 shows the value of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in building our homes, which is the interest of our study.

B.      As we continue this series, we shall seek to apply wisdom and understanding from the word of God to the subject of “Building a God-Centered Home.”  In this lesson, we shall seek God’s wisdom to understand His purpose and function for the home so that we may build our homes to satisfy His will.

II.      THE PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF THE HOME

A.      To understand the purpose of the home, one must first understand the purpose of man.

                                                             1.      Paul gave the reason for man’s creation in Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

                                                             2.      In all of his wisdom, Solomon discovered that the rightful pursuit of every person’s life could be summarized in one simple statement – “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (Eccl. 12:13).

                                                             3.      In other words, God made us so that we would willfully choose to do His will.  This is the reason for our existence, and failing to do God’s will is to be of no use to God and to have no legitimate purpose in life.

B.      Furthermore, one must understand the function of the people who live in a home to understand the home’s overall function.

                                                             1.      God’s commandments tell each individual what to do in order to serve his or her purpose.  This is our function or work that God has designed for us.

                                                             2.      Some of the commandments of the Bible are general, and some are specifically given for particular classes of people such as men, women, fathers, mothers, children, etc.  Each person must understand what his or her function is in order to serve the Lord.

C.      Therefore, because the home is the dwelling place of people, the home’s purpose and function are to promote the purpose and function of all the people who live in the home.

                                                             1.      To state it plainly, the home should be an environment that helps those who live there to become and remain the people that God wants them to be.

                                                             2.      Everything about the home should be designed to achieve this goal.  Nothing in the home should be opposed to it.

D.      Consider some of the specific functions of the God-centered home.

                                                             1.      The God-centered home is a place of worship.

a.       In the home, worship should be offered to God through prayers, songs, Bible study, meditations, or other means by which we may praise God.

b.       By making the home a place of worship, all other functions of the home are given spiritual meaning, for it is evident that all is done in the service of God.

c.        A home that engages in worship is bound to be a strong home.  As the saying goes, “The family that prays together stays together.”

d.       Consider the example of Cornelius (Acts 10:1-2), who “feared God with all his household.”  All the members of his home had worshipped God together, and all obeyed when they heard the gospel (Acts 10:44-48).

                                                             2.      The God-centered home is a place of learning and instruction.

a.       Consider Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  The responsibility of teaching the word of God to the children of Israel was given to the fathers, and the place for most of the teaching was to be the home.

b.       A similar direction is given to fathers in Ephesians 6:4, and again we can assume the place for most of the instruction is naturally the home.

c.        Consider the example of Timothy (Acts 16:1; 2Tim. 1:5; 3:14-15), who was taught the faith of Christ by his mother and grandmother (his father was an unbeliever) presumably in their home.

                                                             3.      The God-centered home is a place of love.

a.       Husbands are to love their wives (Eph. 5:25), wives are to love their husbands (Tit. 2:4), children are to love (honor) their parents (Eph. 6:2), and all are to love God (Matt. 22:37).  Within this environment of love, God has placed the institution of marriage and the function of procreation.

b.       The love that we should have in our homes should be affectionate, but it should also be active.

i.         Love should manifest itself through service toward others in the home.

ii.        True love gives to others that which is most needed.  It gives affection, encouragement, support, instruction, correction, and help.  Consider 1John 4:18.

c.        With love, the home is a place of peace, harmony, comfort, joy, and rest.

d.       By practicing love in the home, we learn how to love others who are outside of the home.  This is especially valuable in the church, where brothers and sisters in Christ are to love one another.

III.   WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE HOME?

A.      Unfortunately, many homes in our nation do not fit the purpose or the functions that God intended for the home.  Instead, the home has become little more than a pit stop and a place to display our material wealth.

                                                             1.      The home is no longer a place of worship.

a.       In most homes, worship is reserved for Sundays in the church if any worship is to be offered at all.  Throughout the week, there is little thought of praising God.

b.       Such a home leads to relationships with God that are very shallow.  A person cannot honestly say, “Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20), if Christ is not a part of his home-life.

                                                             2.      The home is no longer a place of learning and instruction.

a.       Instead, we have decided that churches and schools should be responsible for all teaching.  We simply do not have time or we are too tired to make the effort to teach or learn in our homes, so we turn the responsibility over to others.

b.       The result is that we have a nation that is mostly ignorant of God’s word and mostly ignorant in general.

i.         One or two hours per week spent in Bible study in the church are simply not enough to feed our souls and stimulate spiritual growth.

ii.        Rather than renewing our minds in the word of God (Rom. 12:2), by default we allow our minds to be conformed by the ways of the world.

                                                             3.      The home is no longer a place of love.

a.       Most people are very concerned about having the nicest houses, the finest furnishings, and the latest technology, but the vital element of love is missing in many homes.

b.       The success of a home is errantly measured in terms of material possessions and status symbols rather than in terms of true love.  Consider Proverbs 15:17 – “Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred.”  See also Proverbs 17:1.

c.        The results of exchanging love for affluence are devastating.

i.         We have raised a generation of selfish and spoiled people who have not known love as God would have them know it.  They are undisciplined and untrained because they are unloved.  Consider Hebrews 12:5-11.

ii.        Without knowing love, they do not practice love toward others, and they do not love God.  They seek their own good without concern for anyone else.

B.      Because homes are failing to serve their purpose and function, people are failing as well.

                                                             1.      As homes turn out irreligious, ignorant, and unloved individuals, the problems in this world continue to multiply.

                                                             2.      A host of statistics could be cited to show how many problems have arisen from the failure of the home, some of which we will consider later in this series.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Sadly, the trend of purposeless and dysfunctional homes will likely continue, for failing homes breed failing homes.

B.      However, Christians need not to fall prey to this trend, but rather we should make an even greater effort to make certain that our homes are serving their God-given purpose and functions.