A pastor said that honoring our parents is a commandment with a promise in a Beijing church’s Sunday service, citing Exodus 20:12.
On June 20, Rev. Du Fengying preached a sermon titled A Commandment With a Promise in the service held in Beijing Gangwashi Church.
This commandment, honoring your father and mother as the fifth of the Ten Commandments is the link between the preceding and the following, as the first four ones are about the relationship between man and God and the last six between man and man, added the pastor.
She first illustrated the relationship between our attitudes towards parents and God, as 1 John 4:20 says, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God.” Then, she explained the meaning of honoring one’s parents and why it is a commandment with a promise.
Honor your parents
She shared that we should honor our parents so that the grace of God could be preserved and continued, not just regarding it as an ethical issue. With a certain status, parents were respected by Jewish youth. So this is a commandment God gave to Israel at that time.
Rev. Du continued that the filial piety taught in the Bible is not only a basic moral issue but also the foundation of God's commandments. In addition to supporting and serving parents, honoring parents also reflects a responsibility to make parents happy.
She added that the commandment does not change even if our parents behave illegally, have a bad temper, or do not obey God’s will. The respect for our parents is not a request, but an order from God, so it is unconditional. What we have to do first is to obey God and His law, and then to talk to our parents and express our thoughts on the premise of respecting them.
The commandment with a promise
She said the literal meaning of a promise is something promised, which is given freely by God's grace, and honoring one's parents does not directly lead to longevity. But, as it could make ourselves and our parents happy, it is the foundation of long life. What is most important is to share our faith in the Savior Jesus Christ with our parents, enjoy the eternal inheritance in heaven together with them, and enter the beautiful land of Canaan.
The pastor asked what the real meaning of honoring our parents is. It not only belongs to the category of ethics but also introduces us to the source of life. From us to our parents, and then to our grandparents, we trace back to God, the source of our lives, as the Bible first said, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth". In real life, we need to establish our relationship and attitude towards God according to the Bible, as Jesus said (when the Pharisees asked Him what was the greatest commandment in the law) we should first love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and then love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving God, the source of the world and human beings, and then loving others, is the requirement of God. We should extend the love of parents to God, the source of life, to love Him. So the fifth is the first commandment for human relations.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
6月20日，北京基督教会缸瓦市堂举行了主日礼拜，杜凤英牧师以出埃及记20章12节为依据进行题为《一条带应许的诫命》的证道分享。
在十条诫命中，前四条讲述的是人与神之间的关系，第五条讲的是人与人之间的关系，起着承上启下的作用。首先，杜凤英牧师以约翰一书4章20节经文表明了对待父母的态度和对待神的态度二者之间的关系。然后讲述了对孝敬父母的理解以及为何这是一条带应许的诫命。
一、孝敬父母
杜牧师分享到：我们应当孝敬父母，使神的恩典得以保存和延续，而不仅仅将孝敬父母看做伦理道德问题。这条诫命是神当时给以色列人定的诫命，在犹太人中表现为尊崇自己的父母，父母有一定的位置。
圣经中教导的孝敬父母，不仅仅是基本的道德问题，而是神诫命的根本。生活中孝敬父母不仅表现为供养和服侍父母，还有使父母快乐的责任。
如果父母脾气暴躁，行为上违反法律，不顺服神的旨意，那我们对父母的尊敬是无附加条件的，不是请求，而是神给我们的命令。我们要做的是首先选择顺服神，遵从律法，在尊重父母的前提下，与父母对话，并且表明自己的想法和态度。
二、一条带应许的诫命
应许的字面意思为答应的事，而神的应许是出于神的恩典，白白赐给人的。孝敬父母等同于长寿，这是不完全正确的。当然，孝敬父母，使自己和父母的身心愉悦，这是长寿的一个基础。并且最重要的是与父母共同信仰救主耶稣基督，共同享受天上永远的基业和迦南美地。
孝敬父母的真正意义是什么？不单单是伦理的范畴，而是将我们引进生命的源头。从我们到父母，再到祖父母，继续追溯到“起初，神创造天地”（我们生命的源头）。而我们需要在实际生活中确定对神的关系和态度。在新约中法利赛人问耶稣律法上的诫命哪条最大，耶稣没有正面回答，而是回答“你要尽心、尽性、尽意，爱主你的神。这是诫命中的第一，且是最大的。其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。”爱这世界和人类的源头——神，也爱神给我们提出的要求——爱人。将父母连接到源头，带到爱神的地步，这也是人与人关系的首条诫命。
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/56785
北京缸瓦市堂主日礼拜分享：一条带应许的诫命
A pastor said that honoring our parents is a commandment with a promise in a Beijing church’s Sunday service, citing Exodus 20:12.
On June 20, Rev. Du Fengying preached a sermon titled A Commandment With a Promise in the service held in Beijing Gangwashi Church.
This commandment, honoring your father and mother as the fifth of the Ten Commandments is the link between the preceding and the following, as the first four ones are about the relationship between man and God and the last six between man and man, added the pastor.
She first illustrated the relationship between our attitudes towards parents and God, as 1 John 4:20 says, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God.” Then, she explained the meaning of honoring one’s parents and why it is a commandment with a promise.
Honor your parents
She shared that we should honor our parents so that the grace of God could be preserved and continued, not just regarding it as an ethical issue. With a certain status, parents were respected by Jewish youth. So this is a commandment God gave to Israel at that time.
Rev. Du continued that the filial piety taught in the Bible is not only a basic moral issue but also the foundation of God's commandments. In addition to supporting and serving parents, honoring parents also reflects a responsibility to make parents happy.
She added that the commandment does not change even if our parents behave illegally, have a bad temper, or do not obey God’s will. The respect for our parents is not a request, but an order from God, so it is unconditional. What we have to do first is to obey God and His law, and then to talk to our parents and express our thoughts on the premise of respecting them.
The commandment with a promise
She said the literal meaning of a promise is something promised, which is given freely by God's grace, and honoring one's parents does not directly lead to longevity. But, as it could make ourselves and our parents happy, it is the foundation of long life. What is most important is to share our faith in the Savior Jesus Christ with our parents, enjoy the eternal inheritance in heaven together with them, and enter the beautiful land of Canaan.
The pastor asked what the real meaning of honoring our parents is. It not only belongs to the category of ethics but also introduces us to the source of life. From us to our parents, and then to our grandparents, we trace back to God, the source of our lives, as the Bible first said, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth". In real life, we need to establish our relationship and attitude towards God according to the Bible, as Jesus said (when the Pharisees asked Him what was the greatest commandment in the law) we should first love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and then love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving God, the source of the world and human beings, and then loving others, is the requirement of God. We should extend the love of parents to God, the source of life, to love Him. So the fifth is the first commandment for human relations.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Beijing Church Says Honoring Parents is Commandment With Promise
