"MORAL ISSUES CONFRONTING CHRISTIANS"
Domestic Violence
INTRODUCTION
- A serious problem in our society is domestic violence...
- Spouse abuse between husband and wife
- Child abuse between parent and child
- Domestic abuse has many forms...
- Physical violence, sexual abuse
- Psychological (emotional) abuse, both aggressive and passive
aggressive behavior
- Sadly, Christians are not immune to domestic violence...
- Husbands have been known to abuse their wives, and vice versa
- Parents have abused their children, and vice versa
[Yet problems related to domestic violence could be eliminated if
Biblical admonitions concerning family relations were followed. For
example, consider what is taught concerning...]
- RELATIONS BETWEEN HUSBANDS AND WIVES
- THE HUSBAND'S DUTY TO HIS WIFE...
- The husband is to love his wife - Ep 5:25-29
- As Christ loves the church
- As a man loves his own body
- The husband is to honor his wife - 1Pe 3:7
- Treating them with understanding
- Respecting her as a fellow heir of the grace of life (a
sister in Christ!)
- Otherwise, your prayers will be hindered
- The husband is not to be bitter toward his wife - Col 3:19
- "do not be harsh" (ESV)
- "never treat them harshly" (NLT)
-- How can a faithful Christian husband physically or verbally
abuse his wife?
- THE WIFE'S DUTY TO HER HUSBAND...
- The wife is to love her husband - Tit 2:4
- The wife is to submit to her husband - Ep 5:22-24; Col 3:18; 1Pe
3:1-6
- As to the Lord
- As the church is subject to Christ
- As is fitting in the Lord
- Even if the husband is not a Christian
- The wife is to respect her husband - Ep 5:33
-- How can a faithful Christian wife physically or verbally abuse
her husband?
[Christians who respect and apply such admonitions do not have problems
with domestic violence involving marital relations. The same is true
for those who follow Biblical admonitions concerning...]
- RELATIONS BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN
- THE PARENTS' DUTY TOWARD THEIR CHILDREN...
- The mother is to love her children - Tit 2:4
- The father is not to provoke his children to wrath (anger) - Ep
6:4
- "do not exasperate your children" (TNIV)
- "by the way you treat them" (NLT)
- "lest they become discouraged" - Col 3:21
- The father is to bring them up in the training and admonition
of the Lord - Ep 6:4
- "in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (ESV)
- Exemplified by Paul with his conduct among his spiritual
children - 1Th 2:11
- Such discipline also includes chastening when necessary - He
12:7-9
- In the absence of a father, a mother can provide such training
- 2Ti 1:5; 3:15
-- How can Christian parents provide children anything less than
true love?
- THE CHILDREN'S DUTY TOWARD THEIR PARENTS...
- Children are to obey their parents - Ep 6:1; Col 3:20
- "in the Lord" - as far as their commandments agree with
those of God - Barnes
- "for this right" - three reasons given by Barnes:
- It is so appointed by God as a duty
- Children owe a debt of gratitude to their parents for
what they have done for them
- It will be for the good of the children themselves, and
for the welfare of society
- "this is well pleasing to the Lord" - who Himself submitted
to His parents - Lk 2:51
- Children are to honor their parents - Ep 6:2-3
- Which means to love and respect them
- Which comes with a promise of a good and long life (that is
generally true)
- Children are to support their parents - 1Ti 5:4,8,16
- Especially a mother or grandmother who is a widow
- Failure to do so is a denial of the faith and to be worse
than an unbeliever
- A personal duty, not one to be passed on to the church
-- How can Christian children show parents anything less than
loving behavior?
CONCLUSION
- Through such admonitions, the Bible addresses the problems of
domestic violence...
- Producing loving and lasting marriages
- Creating peaceful and harmonious families
- Indeed, domestic violence disappears overnight if we simply treat one
another as Christians...
- "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you." - Ep 4:32; cf. Ep 5:1-2; 1Co
13:4-8
- "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in
honor giving preference to one another;" - Ro 12:10; cf. Php 2:3-4
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one
another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not
returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the
contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that
you may inherit a blessing."
- 1Pe 3:8-9