Thoughts on Christian Living Book #2 by Dr. W. A. Dillard - HTML preview

THE FAMILY OF GOD

Mark 3:31-35

Modern evangelistic movements are indeed just that: modern. They do not reconcile with the consistent pattern in the New Testament. There the fullness of the Great Commission was always in play. Folks who professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior were baptized and continued with the disciples in worship and learning. The bible has not changed, but people have. With the explosion of different types of churches in the last 400 years, pressure is created to acknowledge their Christian standing, even if one sees the other as heretical. So the common denominator of acknowledgement of one another is reduced from biblical teachings to the “Born from above” experience of one acknowledging Jesus as the Christ and a personal Savior; hence, the tenets of modern evangelism.

The identity of the common denominator of acknowledgement has been given a name; it is called “The Family of God.” This name is evoked from the reasoning of man as he seeks to make spiritual and physical relationships parallel. One postulates that if the initial spiritual experience with God is called a new birth, then it must follow that one is born into a family – the family of God. Inasmuch as spiritual salvation is universally offered to all who repent of sin and trust the Lord Jesus, then it must follow that there is a family that is different to the Lord’s church which is not universal, but must be attained through scriptural baptism, and ensuing fellowship. Certainly, the invention of the category sounds good. It provides a modicum of acceptance to what is going on, even if foreign to the scriptures, and eases the need for New Testament church members to know who they are and why they are that.

But what is the case of this subject in the strictest biblical sense? A survey of the scriptures does not find such a category. However, there is one mention of the family of God, by definition. Moreover it falls from the lips of Jesus, Himself. Note Mark 3:31-35; “ There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” Those Jesus identified as family were doing

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