Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to serve as your Bible teacher every day on this great radio station.
On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. The Bible often describes God as a Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally.
So it's really no surprise that our Heavenly Father would also care deeply about our relationship with our earthly parents. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares some practical ways we can all honor our father and mother, whatever their age. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress? Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Alaska is one of America's greatest treasures, and yet very few Americans have experienced it. Well, you're invited to join us on the upcoming Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska so that you can experience this American treasure. The dates are June 15th through 22nd. For seven carefree days, you'll be aboard a world-class cruise ship, basking in the beauty of the great frontier.
Few places put you in touch with the natural world like Alaska, with its amazing wildlife, waterfalls, temperate rainforests, and more. So take a look at the exciting itinerary planned for you and your family, and make plans to join us by going to ptv.org. I'm happy to announce that Christian artists Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien will be on board to provide music for us, comedian Dennis Swanberg will share his humor, and I'll be opening God's Word to us.
Again, for more information, go to ptv.org. Remember those days as a young student when you could look up at the wall of your classroom to find the Ten Commandments? Well, I believe the moral chaos in our country correlates with the Commandments' disappearance. We've lost our foundation, and it's one of the many reasons I wrote a brand new book for you and your family.
It's called The Ten. How to live and love in a world that has lost its way. When God gave us His Ten Commandments, He provided moral guardrails that have blessed all those who followed them. And in my new book, you'll discover practical ways to obey the Ten Commandments and experience God's blessing in your life. A copy of my new book, The Ten, is yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. Well, like the Ten Commandments, your family is one of the solid foundations upon which a healthy nation is established. When families thrive, the entire country wins. So today, I'm going to describe the most basic requirement for a God-honoring family. It's the Fifth Commandment.
I titled today's message, Honor Your Parents. You're probably familiar with fairy tales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White. But I imagine there is one old German fairy tale you've never heard before. It's a real one. It's called The Old Grandfather's Corner.
It's a story about an old man who is living with his son and daughter-in-law and their children. He's getting more and more feeble. His hands shake badly. In fact, they shake so much that when he eats soup, he gets more soup on himself and on the tablecloth than in his mouth. And so the daughter-in-law is disgusted, and she said, you're not going to be able to eat with us any longer.
Instead, we're going to put you in a corner over there, and you have to eat in the corner behind a screen so we don't get sick looking at you eat. And so he's over there in the corner eating his soup one day when his feeble hands drop the bowl. And the clay bowl shatters into a thousand pieces.
And now the daughter-in-law has really had it, and she said, we'll build you a wooden bowl, and you'll have to eat your soup out of the wooden bowl. One day the father in the family saw his young son playing with two pieces of wood. He said, son, what are you doing?
He said, I'm building a bowl for you and mama to eat your soup out of when I grow old. One thing I've learned as a father and grandfather is that our children and grandchildren are watching us very closely. And if we want our children to honor us in our old age, they better see us honoring our parents in their old age. And that is the focus of the fifth commandment.
If you have your Bibles, turn to Exodus chapter 20, beginning with verse 12, as we discover why we should honor our parents. Now, we're in a series called the 10. It's a new look at the 10 commandments, how to live and love in a world that's lost its way. And it's time right now to do a reset of this series, because last time we looked at the fourth commandment, you remember the first four commandments deal with our relationship with God.
The final six deal with our relationship with one another. The order is crucial. Remember in Matthew 22, somebody asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment? He said, well, the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and might. But the second is likened to it, love your neighbor as yourself.
The order there is crucial. You can't love other people properly unless you love God properly. It's out of our love for God that we love one another. But now that we've come to this fifth commandment, we're doing the first commandment that deals with our relationships with one another, and it begins with how we love our parents. As a pastor for more than 40 years, I've discovered time and time again, our attitude toward our parents shapes every other relationship we have in life. And I believe that's why it's no accident that God begins with that parent-child relationship.
Now today, in the few minutes we have, we're going to answer four crucial questions about this commandment, because as we'll see in a moment, this is the first commandment that has a specific promise linked to those who obey it. First of all, what's so important about families? Why would God start talking about the family relationships? You know, Ron Perry saying about signs of the times. What are going to be some of the signs that the end of the world is coming? Well, one is going to be family relationships.
In 2 Timothy 3, verses one and two, Paul writes, For in the last days difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy. Isn't that interesting, that failing to obey our parents is one of the signs of the end times. Why is that so important? Why is the family so crucial? In the little book, Laws that Liberate, the writer gives five reasons the family's important.
I want to expand on those for just a moment. First of all, the family is the basic building block of society. The family is the basic building block of society. That was true in the days of Israel.
It's true today as well. Martin Luther once asked the question, What is a city but a collection of houses, where if father and mother rule badly and let children have their own way, then neither city nor town nor village, district or kingdom or empire can be well and perfectly governed. Let me summarize what old Martin was saying. I can say it in one sentence. As the family goes, so goes the nation. That's why the family is important. The family is the basic building block of society. Secondly, the parent-child relationship is our only lifelong relationship. Think about that.
I had to think about it a little bit this week. The only lifelong relationship we ever have is with our parents. It's a relationship that begins the moment we are born, really begins before we're born. We're in our mother's womb, and that relationship goes until the day we die. Even if our parents predecease us, the fact is we have a relationship with them even in death. And that's why it's so important.
It is the only lifelong relationship we have. Thirdly, the parent-child relationship shapes a child's self-image. The parent-child relationship shapes a child's self-image. How we think of ourself is largely influenced by how our parents think about us. What do they say about us? Do they offer compliments or condemnation?
Do they offer acceptance or rejection? How they treat us shapes how we tend to think about ourselves. And not only that, this relationship is important because it shapes our values as well. The parent-child relationship shapes a child's values. But let me mention a fourth one first before I say that, and that is the family is the incubator for shaping a child's attitude toward authority. One crucial reason the family is important is it shapes a child's attitude toward authority. Listen, children who learn early on that there are boundaries in their behavior within the home don't have as much trouble accepting that there are boundaries outside the home, in school, in society, at work.
But if a child learns there are no boundaries in home, if he will not obey the authority of those people closest to him, his parents, how in the world is he going to obey the authority of some unknown teacher or law enforcement officer or boss? I want to be careful how I say this, but our nation has been talking a lot lately about instances of police brutality. And police brutality is a reality. My brother was a policeman for 30 years here in the city of Dallas, and he'd be the first to tell you there are some bad apples out there.
But most of what is called police brutality today is the result of people resisting arrest, resisting the authority. Where in the world do people get the idea? They can say no to a police officer. They get that idea in the home. They say no to their parents.
They're not taught to respect authority. And if they don't learn obedience to authority in the home, they'll struggle with it in every other area of their life. And finally, as I said, the family establishes a child's values. You know, the Hebrew word for parent is harem.
It's the root word that we get teacher from. Our parents are our most important teachers, and what they teach us that is most important is what to value in life. If a parent values physical appearance, money, possessions, that's what the child will value as well. But if we value or we model to our children that the most important thing in life is serving and obeying Jesus Christ, they will pick up on that value as well. There's an old saying, some things are better caught than taught. Or as the Scottish say, some things are better felt than tellt.
But it's true. Yes, our words are important. But even more important than our words is our behavior and what we value in life. You know, it's interesting, in Deuteronomy 6, what's called the great Shema, hero Israel, God said through Moses, you are to diligently teach your children to love God. But before that, Moses said, you are to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And then you're to diligently teach your children. You can't give away something you don't possess.
You can't model something that is not a part of your life as well. But that leads to a second question. What does it mean to honor your parents, to honor your father and mother? That word honor is the Hebrew word kabod. It literally means weighty, substantive.
It's the same word we get glory from. When we say that our duty is to glorify God, literally it means to make God heavy, weighty, substantive. You say, well, how can we make God heavy?
He already is heavy. He's substantive. But most people don't know that. And so we ascribe heaviness, substantive to him, substance to him by how we treat him in the eyes of other people. Is he first in our life? Do we speak of him with reverence?
It's the same thing. To honor our parents means to ascribe worth to them, substance to them. Leviticus chapter 19, 3 says, every one of you shall reverence his father and his mother. Why should we honor our father and mother?
That's the third question. Now, the easy answer would be because God says so. But that answer probably goes over about as well with you as it does with your children when they say, why should I do this?
Well, because I said so. Fortunately, God gives us some reasons that we ought to honor our father and mother. First of all, there's a theological answer to that question. And that is our attitude toward our parents both reflects and shapes our attitude toward God. Remember in Luke 2 the story about when Jesus was 12 years of age?
This is the only story from his childhood we have. When Jesus was 12, he went down with Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. And remember, Jesus got lost in the throng of people that were traveling to Jerusalem.
If you've ever been a parent and have lost a child at a ball game or at a mall, you know the panic you feel. Well, Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days, the Bible says, and they couldn't find him. And finally, they found him talking to the elders outside the temple. And Mary said in Luke 2 48, and you can identify with this, she said, son, why have you treated us this way?
Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you. Now, the first part of Jesus' answer sounds a little smart, Alec. Verse 49, he says, why is it that you're looking for me?
But he didn't really have that attitude. He went on to say, did you not know that I had to be in my father's house? Mary and Joseph didn't understand. They said, we want you to come home with us and come home now.
Can't you just hear them saying that? Now, how did Jesus respond to that? Did he pronounce a curse on them?
He could have if he wanted to. No, the Bible says in Luke 2 51 that he went down with them and came back to Nazareth and he continued in subjection to them. Think about it. Jesus, the 12-year-old boy, who in effect had created the entire world. Colossians 1 says all things in creation were created by Jesus and for Jesus. He had created Mary and Joseph and yet he willingly placed himself in subjection to them.
Luke 2 52 said that was the key to Jesus' continued growth and Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. That's the theological reason we're to obey our parents. But there's a sociological reason as well. Anarchy in the home leads to anarchy in the nation.
I mean, that's just the fact. You see that in the heart of this commandment. Let's look for a moment, first of all, at the promise of the commandment. Exodus 20 12 says, honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Now, this is not specifically a promise of long life.
That's how we take it. It means that, well, in the words of Deuteronomy 5 16, honor your father and mother that your days may be prolonged and that it will go well with you in the land. God was talking to Israel and he said if you want to survive well in the nation, if you want your nation to do well, then the key to order in your society is order in the home. Interestingly, when Paul repeated this command in Ephesians 6 2 and 3, he talks about an additional promise and that is it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Does obeying your parents means you're going to live a long time?
Not all the time, but sometimes it does. Following their laws, their rules, may keep you away from dangerous substantives, addictions, behavior that would shorten your life. But there is a principle behind this fifth commandment that I want you to see and that is simply this, God honors a society that honors the family. You know, it's no coincidence that these totalitarian nations that seek control of the world, one of their strategies is to separate children from their parents. When they invade a country, they want to separate parents from their children. We see that right now going on in Ukraine.
Shannon has reported on this faithfully. Putin is being charged with war crimes for separating children from their parents. That's a way for the state to gain control. And by the way, we're seeing the beginnings of that in our own country as well. A few years ago, a professor of a prominent university did a promo spot for the MSNBC network and she said this, quote, we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their family and recognize that kids belong to the whole communities.
What? It's a wrong idea that kids belong to their parents? They belong to the community instead?
That is an ideology straight out of the depths of hell. God gives children to parents. And listen, I do believe government has a legitimate role to protect children from abuse. If children are being physically abused in the home, government has the right to remove them from that home.
But government has absolutely no right to aid and abet the abuse of children. As they are doing right now in this godless transgender agenda, they have no right to medically and chemically abuse children through this surgery that seek to change what God has ordained. And we're standing against that as a church.
We're pushing back. We're doing a symposium with the Christian Post about the psychological harm that is done to children when you try to change their gender, something that's impossible to do. It is God who makes us male and female.
We don't do it. Now, the Bible says there is an anthropological answer to why we should obey our parents as well. And that is appreciating our elders maintains their dignity in an undignified world. You know, this idea of obeying your elders applies to children and parents. But the Bible extrapolates that idea to say that we ought to have respect for elders in our society.
1 Timothy 5, 1-2, we don't have time to look at it. 1 Peter 5, verse 5 says that we are to honor elders. And how we treat our elders is a reflection of how we treat God. You say, where do you get that in the Bible? Well, Leviticus 19, verse 32, you shall rise up before the gray-headed and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God, I am the Lord.
Do you see the connection? Revering the gray-headed, those with gray hair, those with no hair, regardless. We're to revere them. Do I hear an amen on that? Because how we treat them is a reflection of how we're going to treat God. Proverbs 20, verse 29 says the glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair.
There are a lot of you with a lot of honor out there and up here as well. You know, I tell men and women, go into the seminary. If you're going to choose a professor, choose the ones that have gray hair. Because not only have they had time to develop their expertise in their subject matter, but they've had time to gather, hopefully, wisdom in balancing their theology with everyday life. The late Warren Wiersbe had a great quote.
He said, the elderly are the only outcast group that everybody expects to join because nobody wants the alternative. But how we treat them today will determine how we're treated tomorrow because we reap what we sow. There's much more I want to share with you about the importance of the fifth commandment, so please make plans to join me again next time for part two of my message. And if you're hoping to share this series with your friends and family, I'm pleased to say that Pathway to Victory has produced an unedited collection of these messages on audio CD and video DVD.
David will explain how you can receive the complete set in just a moment. By the way, this series would be a great new study for your small group Bible study or your Sunday school class. Also, I've written a brand new book for you. It's the one I wrote while preparing this teaching series. And the title of the book is The Ten. How to live and love in a world that has lost its way. If you're like most Americans, you would be hard pressed to quote all Ten Commandments from memory.
Don't be embarrassed. In my book, I'll remind you of all ten. More importantly, I'll bring a fresh perspective on the relevance of these ten guardrails from God. When you follow them, they'll not only protect you from going off track, but they will deliver God's blessing in return.
While there's still time, reach out to Pathway to Victory and request your hardcover copy of The Ten. It comes with my profound thanks for your generous gift. It's your faithful giving that allows us to continue providing bold Bible teaching on Pathway to Victory. Together, we are pushing back the forces of darkness by shining the bright light of God's truth. I think you would agree that our nation and our world desperately need the life-giving wisdom from God's Word.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you contact the Ministry of Pathway to Victory with a generous gift, you're invited to request a copy of the brand new book by Dr. Robert Jeffress called The Ten.
How to live and love in a world that has lost its way. Call us toll free at 866-999-2965 or visit our website that's at ptv.org. Now, when you give $100 or more, we'll also send you the complete collection of audio and video discs for The Ten teaching series, along with a helpful study guide. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could send your donation by mail if you'd like. Write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you back next time for part two of the message on the fifth commandment called, Honor Your Parents. That's Tuesday, here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.
