Play

“The Attack on the Nuclear Family”

Ian Boike
05/18/25 - Sun PM

The following transcription is computer-generated and may not accurately reflect the contents of the audio. Please verify the content before quoting.

(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

I know that realizing problems in our society is not something that we as Christians love to do.

But there are several problems that I have found that are plaguing our society in this world.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in the year 2022, 49,476 American citizens committed suicide.

In that very same year, 1.6 million American citizens attempted suicide.

On top of that, the media has an influence, it seems over all of our age groups.

Television has taught us that being drunk is associated with pleasure and having fun with your friends.

Television has also taught us that it's acceptable to be disrespectful to your parents.

And magazines have shown our young people that society believes, whoever dresses modestly is out of touch.

They have no common sense.

But why do so many people in our society have these problems and misconceptions?

These problems exist, I believe, because there is a major breakdown in the structure of the family.

Seems that husbands have lost their way.

Oftentimes, they are spineless, and they have no say or control over what goes on in their own roof, under their own roof.

And unfortunately, many women have been told that they are not using, that they are not able to reach their full potential, and they're wasting their time.

unless they are climbing the corporate ladder.

And in many households, children have become administrators and controllers of the family unit rather than being submissive and learning to respect authority from their parents.

And that's why I believe it's important this evening to discuss the attacks on the nuclear family and its structure that is described in the scriptures.

In this evening, I have 3 purposes or objectives that I want to cover this evening.

And the first is that I want to express the importance of gender roles for each family member in the structure of the family.

And secondly, I want us to understand just some of the groups that are attacking the family unit today.

And then finally, I want to list some ways that we as Christians can defend our families from these attacks.

But I think it pertinent to first talk about, well, what is a nuclear family?

Maybe not everyone's heard this term, but typically a nuclear family consists of a man and a woman who are married and their children forming the basic unit of a family.

Now, while this mold is, is not 100% necessary for success, as many single parents have led have led very successful families, this is not God's desired plan for the family.

And I want to discuss the roles of this that are listed in the scriptures for the husbands, wives, and children.

But homes need to be structured according to the teachings of Christ.

And the scriptures teach that the foundation of the home is what will keep its members grounded.

And if it's not Christ, it will fail.

In the 63th Psalmon verse 1, we're told, unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

And in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 11, we're told, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now, of course, to put 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 11 into context, he's referring to the structure and the foundation of the church.

But if it works for the church, it will work for the home as well.

And our children need to feel Christ in their homes.

And of course, I'm not just saying hang Bible verses on the wall or purchase pillows with scripture.

I'm talking about making sure that our children understand that the foundation of our home is built on Christ, the way we treat our spouses.

And the reason that we teach them right from wrong is because of Christ.

Now, there's nothing wrong with purchasing these items as me and Kaylee have many of them in our home.

But this cannot be the extent of our children's understanding of what our home is built on.

And now that we understand the basic role and the foundation of the family, let's move on to the role of husbands.

Husbands are called to be the heads of their households.

In Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 23 through 43, Paul tells us for the for the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church.

His body and is himself its savior.

Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also the wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

Now, of course, many worldly men have taken these two these two verses to say, well, as a woman, you have no say.

We're gonna do what I want to do and you get no say in what our choices are in this marriage.

Of course, this is not what Paul taught.

If you read one verse further in verse 25 in Ephesians 5, Paul tells, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Husbands not only have the responsibility of being the head of the home, but they also have the tremendous and massive responsibility of loving their wives to the same degree that Christ loved the church.

Now husbands' love for their wives should be sacrificial, should involve communication.

And above all, seeking their wives' best interests just as Christ did for the church.

And this may sound like an altruism, but when husbands fall short, it can mean the family's undoing.

And moving on to the role of wives.

Wives are called to be keepers of the home.

And in Titus chapter 2 and verses 4 and 5, we see where we're told and so train the young women.

To love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, and that the word of God may not be reviled.

But again, people love to twist scripture.

Many will take this verse to mean that women need to stay at home.

They don't, they cannot have a job outside of the home.

They can't have a career.

Again, this is not what Paul is teaching.

Paul is expressing in this passage that the home should come first.

It is the priority.

It is not your your home should not be a hobby, and then you have an outside career.

And if the home is failing because not enough time is being invested into working and training and loving the children.

This is not what God had in mind, and our and the priorities must be fixed.

And finally moving on to the role of children.

Children are called to respect and obey their parents.

In in Ephesians chapter 6 and verses 1 through 3, Paul kind of runs the gambit of all the roles found in the family, says, children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Honor your father and mother.

This was the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

But unfortunately, society over time has let go of the notion that children need to learn to respect authority.

I know we have some teachers in the audience, and sometimes it may feel like this when you're in a classroom, whenever the children res refuse to respect authority.

Of course, in today's society, parents aren't allowed to punish their children publicly.

You, nowadays, you run the risk of having CPS or Child Protective Services, come and take your children away because somebody saw you spank your child in public, in public discipline.

And of course, when a child is in school and they fall behind on their grades or they're disrespectful to their teachers and their administrators, It seems like I'm gonna call your parents.

That's not a threat anymore.

Because that kid knows the parent's gonna come up there and blame the teacher.

They're not gonna punish the, they're not gonna punish the student.

And when society doesn't make children respect respect authority and does not teach authority, it will hurt them later on in life.

Of course, we see evidence of this is when these children grow up to become adults.

They argue and they fight with law enforcement.

Because they don't like being told what to do, and maybe they've never been told what to do.

Our children are the future.

And if, and if we don't do what is necessary to teach them right from wrong, teach them respect of authority.

We can unintentionally hurt these children for the rest of their lives.

But now that we've, now that we understand the three roles of the husbands, wives, and children, I now want to discuss just a few of the many groups who are attacking the nuclear family.

And of course, there is a literal movement today called men going their own way.

With its own website and ideology.

The MGMGTOW teaches men, especially young men.

That marriage is a bad idea.

Don't get married.

And it also teaches them, don't get involved in romantic relationships with women because all women are bad news, they're out to get you.

It's marriage is not a good idea.

And as we read earlier, the scriptures don't teach this.

They even teach that women are not worthy of protection, love or respect.

As husbands are commanded to love their wives as we just read.

And the scriptures even tell us in the book of Genesis in chapter 2 and verses 23 to 23, that men and women are made for each other.

In Genesis chapter 2 and verses 20 to 217, we're told, the man gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field.

But for Adam, it was not found a helper fit for him.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man.

And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

In the rib that that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.

And of course, this movement is dangerous because it's teaching our young men that our society has been 21% overrun by feminism and that all women are bad news.

From a very early age, us as fathers and mothers, we need to be teaching our children, and especially our sons, that marriage is a beautiful thing.

Not something to be feared.

And that women are to be cherished and protected.

The second movement this evening is the Women's liberation movement.

Also known as the feminist movement has gained a huge following in the past 22 years.

And while this movement may be started out as a way for women to be seen as equal to men in social status, in land ownership, voting, sports recognition, I think it's very now plain to see.

This is a movement of man hating ideology.

In other words, this movement has become radical.

Under the umbrella of the feminist movement, some women have started what they call the 21980B movement, which states women should abstain from dating, marriage, relations with men, and having children with men.

There are even videos online of women who are shaving their heads so that they may become unattractive to men.

And while this may seem silly to most of us, there are impressionable young women in this world who are being roped into thinking that this is OK, that it's OK to have a mindset of all men are evil, or all men are out to get you when this is not the case.

And of course, finally, the LGBTQ plus movement.

And of course, this movement has been changing its acronym almost every month, it seems like, because they can never make it inclusive enough for everyone.

But this movement has been attacking the nuclear family ever since its start around the 26s.

And their views on what marriage, on what a marriage relationship should be vastly differs from what God has said in the scriptures.

Men should be able to marry men and women should be able to marry other women.

Well, God says the exact opposite in Genesis chapter 24 in verse 33.

Where we're told, therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

But of course, homosexuality has been condemned throughout the scriptures.

And we're told this in Leviticus 23:22.

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.

It is an abomination.

In Romans chapter 25 and verse 26 in the New Testament, we're told, for this reason, God gave them up to a debased, gave them up to a dishonorable passion, for their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.

And the men, likewise, gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit, see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Now, after hearing about these three groups, Especially with me as a new parent, kind of terrifying to think that these people would love to see my family unit destroyed.

Well, you know, you may be asking yourselves, well, how can we defend our families?

How can we defend the nuclear family structure that's found in the scriptures?

Well, first, I would suggest That husbands and wives need to stay together.

And the scriptures affirm the intended permanence of each marriage.

In Matthew chapter 19, verses 4 through 6, we're told, he answered, Have you not read that that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

So that they are no longer two, but one flesh.

What therefore God has joined together.

Let not man separate.

And of course, in addition to the teachings of the scriptures, We can see the possible physical and psychological consequences of divorce on children.

Oftentimes, children of divorced households often experience varying levels of depression, anxiety, feelings of guilt like it's their fault.

And difficulty maintaining their own future relationships and or marriages.

And of course, the list goes on and on.

Now, I do want to say that the age of the child, the reason for the divorce, and of course the level of parental conflict can often determine how it will affect the child.

But regardless of the reason for the divorce.

Divorce is a very sad and confusing thing for many children to understand or even to try and understand.

But we must defend our children from this world of sin.

Our children are a blessing from the Lord, and we're told this in the 127th Psalm and verses 3 through 23, that our children need to be protected and cherished.

Says it starting in verse 3 of the 127th Psalm.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.

The fruit of the womb.

Of reward like arrows in the hand of a warrior, the children of one's youth, blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.

He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate, and our children are the future of Christian households.

I know I've already said that this evening, but if they're not protected, we're gonna be in serious trouble two or three generations down the road.

And as I stated earlier, there are so many groups who would love to corrupt our children and young people.

Groups like the LGBTQ plus feminists, and of course, the MGTOW are just some of the many that would love to have an influence on our children's education and moral compass.

Now, some of you might be thinking, well, Ian, it's just a difference of ideology, you know.

And none of these people are actively saying, we're coming for your children, we want influence over them.

I beg to differ.

In 2023, there was a video released in New York City of a transgender pride parade.

And of course, many of you might know where I'm going with this, where the men and women gathered there began chanting to the beat of a cadence saying, We're here, we're queer, and we're coming for your children.

They said this over and over again proudly.

Brothers and sisters, we have got to protect our children, because these people have made it very clear that they want our children's moral compass.

They want our children.

And of course, just becoming a father myself, that That saying takes a whole new meaning.

As a parent.

But thankfully, Jesus spoke about protecting children from these people and and he, and he's made it very clear about what their consequences will be.

In Luke chapter 17 and verses 1 and 2.

We are told, and he said to his disciples, temptations to sin are sure to come.

But woe to the one who they come through.

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck.

And he were cast into the sea, then that he should cause one of these little ones.

To sin Our children are vulnerable and innocent, and they need our protection.

And of course, I couldn't find the name of the serial killer.

But a news outlet did an interview in the 1980s of a serial killer, trying to understand why he did the things that he did.

He kidnapped, raped and killed children.

And the interviewer begins by saying, how do you choose which child to abduct?

And the serial killer looks up slowly and grins and says, I look at the Father.

And if the father doesn't look like a threat, I'll go after their child.

I want that to sink in for a minute.

I know the last statement was terrifying, but that's even more terrifying.

Whenever I heard that a chill went down my spine.

But after hearing these accounts of these people, I think it's perfect that we understand and we, and we talk about the ways that we can defend our children from these people.

In the first practical way that I thought of was we need to teach our children the truth so that they are not confused and led astray by these false teachers, these wolves in sheep's clothing.

In Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 4, we're told, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but to but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

If we're following that command as fathers, our children will not be led astray as easily as some who have not been taught this way.

And of course, we need to monitor their online activity.

There are so many people out there.

Like this serial killer and the people who are actively saying they're coming for our children.

I, I can't even think of a number of the people online that we can't see that are actively pursuing our children, if they're not if they're not censored, and they're not watched after online.

And finally, we need to be aware of who our children are hanging around.

We need to be aware of who their company is, who their friends are.

I see it all the time in the shows that I watch.

Or something terrible will happen to a child.

And the parents will say, well, my my my kids have such good friends until they don't even realize that there's a child that has been in their child's life, leading them astray, and they never even knew it.

Until their child turned up, turned up dead or hurt.

They never realized This whole sermon has sound, it sounds a whole lot like the description that we hear that we heard from Peter, that Brother Davis read for us in our scripture reading.

2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 2 through 5, just some of the ones that I pulled out, just lovers of self, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, slanderous, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

That sounds a lot like our society today.

And as Christians who have children and those who don't, we all have a responsibility to take a stand and protect this nuclear family structure and above all, to protect our children.

It doesn't matter if you have kids or not, or whether you're married or not.

We all have a responsibility to to protect the innocent.

And we need to be aware of the groups that oppose the scriptures and those who actively seek to corrupt our young people.

And we need to know what the Creator of the universe had in mind for his Christian homes, and only by listening to his word, matching his examples.

In adhering to his commands, can we truly understand what God expects from us in our homes as parents?

And if you're not a Christian, you're not a part of his family.

But thankfully, Christ died on the cross for everyone on this earth, so that in this very moment, you would have the opportunity to come to him and not perish.

And Christ has promised us an eternal home with him if we dedicate our lives to Him and we choose to live our lives according to His word.

And Christ's free gift of grace and of mercy is available to all, but in order to access this free gift of mercy, there are steps that must be followed.

And of course, if you're a Christian, maybe there's a sin in your life that has separated you from the Father.

Thankfully, Jesus' sacrifice covers your sin as well.

So that only, so that if you will seek his forgiveness, he is able and he is willing to forgive you, so that you may be reunited with him once again.

And if you are subject to the invitation this evening, please come to the front as we stand and as we sing.