3 New Year Resolutions Gospel Families will Make
As most American families are setting goals to lose weight and get out of debt, here are three New Year Resolutions Gospel Families will make this year:
(1) Incorporate tangible ways to revere the Lord in our home (Joshua 24:14). Throughout the book of Joshua, God takes his chosen people and leads them to the land he had promised them centuries before. In the final chapter of the book, God renews his covenant with them. First, he reminds them of his history with them, chronologically storying through their relationship together from the time he called Abraham in Genesis12, through Moses & the Exodus, all the way to Joshua & the Promise Land.
Joshua then leads the people to respond to God’s faithfulness. Joshua says, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth.” This is a natural response to God’s history w/ his people. It’s like saying, since God is always faithful, always good, always sovereign, since he always keeps his word, since he always protects & provides, it seems fitting that we should serve this faithful God faithfully.
God’s people, throughout all of Scripture & all of history, all always called to fear Him. To fear God is to revere Him—it’s an expression that carries the idea of complete, true devotion.
Fear of God Defined:
Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10—The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
Proverbs 8:13—The fear of the Lord is to hate evil
Fear of God Commanded:
Deuteronomy 4:10—God’s people are to learn to fear Him all of their days on earth
Proverbs 3:7—We are commanded to fear the Lord and turn away from evil
Proverbs 14:2—He who walks in uprightness fears the Lord
2 Corinthians 7:1—The church is to perfect holiness in the fear of God
Fruit of the Fear of God:
Exodus 1:17—Because the midwives feared God, they did not kill the Israelite baby boys
Proverbs 10:27—The fear of the Lord prolongs life
Proverbs 14:26—In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence
Proverbs 16:6—By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil
Proverbs 19:23—The fear of the Lord leads to life
Proverbs 31:30—A woman who fears the Lord will be praised
John 9:31—If anyone is God-fearing and does His will, the Lord hears him.
GOSPEL FAMILIES FEAR THE LORD. Let us resolve, this year, to fear God and teach our families to fear him.
(2) Sacrificially remove idols from your home (Joshua 24:14-15). Joshua continues his exhortation, saying, “and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.”
Joshua leaves the people with two options: Either serve God, or serve false gods; either worship the God who has revealed himself as personal, powerful and faithful, or serve dead idols made by man.
This is an appropriate and necessary admonition for 3 reasons:
At the beginning of this chapter, as God is storying through their relationship together, He reminds them that Abram’s family, his father, Terah, served other gods…the false gods of Mesopotamia…idols (24:2).
The location of this covenant renewal is Shechem, which was previously a center of pagan worship. Some theologians believe that as Joshua was addressing the people, he was standing in the excavated Fortress Temple, the very spot pagan worship from other nations had previously occurred.
Every family, then and now, needs this admonition to “put away” idols from their home, for every family, then and now, is tempted with and often struggles with giving time, devotion, and attention to idols.
What receives more attention, conversation, time, devotion from your family than God? TV? Sports? Facebook? Twitter? Video Games? Yard work? Eating? Will you commit to be a Gospel Family? Will you come together as a family and have an early Spring Cleaning where instead of cleaning out the garage you clean out the idols of your home?
(3) Intentionally choose to serve and worship Christ together (Joshua 24:15). Joshua concludes his challenge with the famous words, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The word here for “serve” in the Hebrew means to serve or worship and is the main focus of this final chapter and covenant renewal. In fact, in this chapter alone, this word is used 16 times.
Joshua sets the example. As the leaders, he’s the first one to commit to be a Gospel Family…to fear the Lord, put away any idols, and serve the Lord alone. He commits himself and his family to a life of worshipping the one, true, living God.
Spiritual leaders of the home, have you done this for your family yet? Have you prayerfully and boldly made the commitment to lead your family to worship God? Are you leading your family to revere God, put away idols, and serve Jesus Christ?
Gospel Families will never emerge accidentally. Gospel Families don’t happen by chance. It takes boldness. It requires commitment. It calls for intentionality. Some families are very intentional in how they will save for college or spend their retirement or where they’ll go on vacation, but they leave the most important thing to chance. The spiritual well being of your family should not be left to chance. We need Joshua’s. We need leaders. We need those who would stand up and intentionally chose to be and lead Gospel Families.
If we are going to see Gospel Families, we are going to have to see Joshua’s stand up with the support of the entire home as they intentionally and boldly claim their family for Jesus Christ and His worship.
Jonathan Williams is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries and the Senior Pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church, a multi-ethnic church of 44 nations located in Houston, TX.
