Readers often challenge me with questions/comments that I need to ponder seriously. They are questions that matter, I am thankful for them and they need to be answered.
“Kelly, you seem to elevate this topic over the others…”
“Kelly, why do you interfere in personal matters?”
“Kelly, why don’t you just live and not talk about these things, and let the Holy Spirit work as he wishes?”
The Lord providentially brought this message by Dr. Voddie Baucham into my hearing (without my looking for answers), and I could barely contain the outpouring of my soul about “why” indeed, I am compelled to talk about the things I do. In his profound message lies the answer.
Just personal matters?
It’s interesting that all throughout Scripture, instruction was given to the people of God as a group–a body. Suffice it to say, our personal choices profoundly affect the “body”. We are not separate entities, no more than your arm is separate from the rest of your body. And while it is true, each man will stand or fall before the Judge, as Christians, it would be naive to assume that the body will not suffer if its members have a skewed, biblical world-view. This, I believe, is the reason that Paul so carefully instructed Titus to “teach sound doctrine”; specifically as it relates to personal, daily living. It’s the reason God repeatedly sent messengers to instruct His people. (We are all messengers now. And I believe our lack of understanding of that has caused the church to indulge in error without check. We no longer “admonish one another” or check each other–which is why I said I’m thankful for the above questions and challenges some readers are willing to make.)
Why do I seem to elevate some topics?
The topic of children has mainly been the brunt of this comment. It is important to understand a few things…one, I don’t discuss matters of salvation much here–admittedly the most important topic–because my blog is directed toward believers. Hopefully, we’re beyond the fundamentals.
Secondly, I think few people realize how profoundly important our view of children is to the Kingdom work of Christ. I truly believe a wrong view of children is one of the foundational errors in the church and has had enormous implications for our evangelism and spreading of the gospel. We like to think it’s an isolated issue of privacy, irrelevant to anything spiritual. And as Dr. Baucham so passionately articulates in his message, nothing could be farther from the truth. God has written in our very bodies His will for us concerning children. He didn’t even have to mention it in Scripture, yet He continued to reinforce the importance of a right view of children. Forget the details! They are so often what create the controversy during these debates. The details can, indeed, be left for individuals to make choices regarding their family’s circumstances. But let’s get our over-arching view of children right, consistent with God’s view of children! After that, the details are going to work themselves out. I’ll let Dr. Baucham “bring it home” 😉
His message–if we could just get this one thing– would radically change the face of our culture. It’s big, ladies, it’s big!!! Perhaps the family could gather around and listen during family time, but whatever you do, make time for you and your husband to listen to this 20 minute message. Then pass it on! It is so passionate, so encouraging and it’ll make ya wanna shout!
Dr. Voddie Baucham’s message:
The Centrality of the Home in the Evangelism and Discipleship of the Next Generation