Sermons
Will My Children and Grandchildren Be Christians? Part 3
3Will My Children and Grandchildren Be Christians?
Deut. 7:1-6
Introduction:
1. “Will my children and grandchildren be Christians?” is a question that concerns us.
2. In this series we have been looking at the instruction God gave Israel about communicating His instructions intergenerationally.
3. We have observed that God portrays Himself as the Father of the Israelites. Looking to Him as a model will benefit us in effectively communicating to our children.
a. God has stressed the necessity of teaching. His word must be first in our hearts
and then taught diligently.
b. But challenges are recognized . . .
1) Economic pursuits challenge us. We can become forgetful that it is the Lord
who has blessed us.
2) Doubts challenge us. We may want to put the Lord to the test because we
prefer to walk by sight rather than by faith.
3) Children challenge us with questions like, “What do the statutes mean which
the Lord gave to you?”
4. There is another powerful challenge that faces us. Deut. 7 warns Israel against intermarriage with foreign nations.
5. Reading of 7:1-6.
Discussion:
I. God’s instruction here is not about racism, but about the influence of the nations to turn Israel away from the Lord.
A. The Israelites are NOT racially superior to the Canaanites.
1. Racial superiority and inferiority is foreign to Scripture.
2. All mankind descended from Adam and Eve.
3. Acts 17:26 says, “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on
the face of the earth.”
4. In Gen. 1:27 man is created in the image of God and Gen. 9:6 makes all
valuable because they are created in the image of God.
B. The Israelites are not more numerous than other peoples (Deut. 7:7ff; 9:1). They
are not greater, nor mightier than other nations. So, this instruction is not about
them being bigger and better than others.
C. It is not because Israel is particularly righteous that God is giving this instruction
(Deut. 9:4, 6). God will use them as His instruments of justice against the
wickedness of the nations.
D. They are not to act in covetousness (Deut. 7:25-26). They are not to greedily
destroy others to confiscate their property for their own personal advantage. Cf.
Josh. 7:16ff. This is the significance of things being “under the ban.”
II. The text of the O.T. is replete with emphasis on avoiding the influence of foreign cultures in marriage.
A. Interrelationship with foreigners was the sin of Baal Peor (Num. 25:1-9).
B. Instructions were given to the king to avoid intermarriage with foreign wives
(Deut. 17:14-20).
C. But Solomon is an example of one who allows these influences control (1 Kings
11:1-8). He did this despite his father’s warnings (1 Kings 2:1ff; 3:3). And
despite all the wisdom given to him by God (1 Kings 3:6ff).
D. It was out of this context that division of the kingdom occurred. Jeroboam’s
idolatry resulted in this context. Ahab, took Jezebel, the Sidonian Baal
worshiper, as a wife and went to serve Baal and erected an altar to Baal (1
Kings 16:31-33).
E. Ezra and Nehemiah contended with those of their day who had intermarried with
foreign people (Ezra 9:1-4; Neh. 13:23ff).
III. The N.T. evidence is not favorable toward intermarriage with unbelievers.
A. While 1 Cor. 6:14ff is not about marriage per se it does call believers to come out
from the midst of foreign influences and be separate.
B. It is evident that some Christians were married to unbelievers, but it was always
a problem (1 Cor. 7:12ff; 1 Pet. 3:1ff).
C. Believers who are widowed are to marry “only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39).
D. “But I married an unbeliever and he/she became a Christian.” Excellent! This is
not always the case. “And sometimes Christians become unfaithful.” You are
exactly right! So, an especially high level of caution needs to be exercised. Not
just any so-called Christian is appropriate.
E. If you are looking for your children and grandchildren to be faithful to the Lord,
teach your children the value of marrying someone committed to the Lord. If you
are not married and plan to be and want your children and grandchildren to be
Christians marry someone committed to the Lord.
1. As Christian Smith and colleagues put it, “the single most important
measurable factor determining the religious and spiritual lives of teenagers
and young adults is the religious faith, commitments, and practices of their
parents” (Smith, Longest, Hill, Christofferson, Young Catholic America, p. 27.)
2. Sociologist, Stephen Bullivant, observed “Marriage between two members of
the same faith is a good bet for (a) keeping both of them in, and (b) raising a
next generation to do likewise. This is likely for several reasons. One’s life
partner is, naturally, a huge influence over one’s own views and values,
religious or otherwise: marrying ‘within the fold’ means mutual reinforcement.
Both spouses will typically also be knitted into each other’s family and social
circles. If they are all on the same page, religiously speaking, this will in turn
reinforce the faith’s taken-for-grantedness. Their children don’t receive mixed
messages as to which religious path, if any, to go ‘all in’ on. Their two main
doses of religious example are complementary rather than competing”
(nonverts, pp. 30-31).
Conclusion:
1. One of the challenges that Christians face in communicating faith to the next generations is the influence of unbelievers.
2. Intermarriage with unbelievers creates a difficult dynamic in attempting to influence children and grandchildren.
3. Intermarriage was prohibited for the Israelites.
4. It is equally problematic for Christians today. Statistically speaking, it less likely that children and grandchildren will be Christians when a believer is married to an unbeliever. (There are exceptions. Timothy is one. See 2 Tim. 1:5; Acts 16:3.)
5. If you are seeking godly offspring marry someone that is deeply committed to the Lord!
