Books

Divine Design for the Family

Seeking Biblical Wisdom Instead of Human Speculation

Description

In 1988 Jay E. Adams wrote a foreword to the original edition, stating that among all the books on the Christian family, “there are still relatively few that are biblically-based rather than psychologically or experience-oriented. This book not only sets forth basic biblical truth about marriage and the family but also introduces some new insights as well. Every Christian’s home shelf should have a copy.” The Expanded Edition is greatly improved by interactions with many people, insight and wisdom gained in additional study, and the inclusion of perspectives from our adult children.

The uniqueness of this book is its thoroughly biblical basis. In eighteen chapters (296 page paperback), Bible verses are quoted or referenced over 1200 times. The title emphasizes this point: The subtitle was chosen to clarify this emphasis. The authors have been married 49 years, and have raised 9 children.

Instead of cherry picking isolated verses to validate our own views, we must discover God’s design for the family by detailed study of entire passages of Scripture. Success on God’s terms requires a deep understanding of God and His purposes.

The fourth section (new) shows how to have victory over common temptations in family life, and turn those situations into spiritual triumph. It teaches how to have godly husband and wife communication (ch 14), how to resolve husband and wife conflict (ch 15), how important it is for parents to continually pursue God’s ways (ch 16), how the temptations of motherhood can be shaped into joy instead of sadness (ch 17), and how parents can choose the spiritual legacy to provide for their family (ch 18).

Divine Design for the Family is not a list of cute definitions or clever outlines. It is not intended to be a collection of fancy formulas for instant results. The goal is to clarify God’s principles for raising a vibrant family and to open vistas in God’s Word that will inspire parents to use the Bible as the source of wisdom for training a family to make an impact for God. Then when questions arise, the parent can go to the Bible itself for answers. God’s principles give confidence to parents. By obeying God, parents can learn how to creatively apply His principles to fit their particular situation. God’s Word is the textbook. We are the students.

Some people believe that the Bible is irrelevant and out of date, but have never in fairness studied the Bible deeply to investigate if their assumption is true. We invite you to make this investigation with us before passing judgment. Only by tasting, can we see that the Lord is good. He respectfully withdraws from those who refuse to taste.