The Christian Home in a Godly Marriage is a practical handbook written by Isaac Olayinka Soetan, and published by Sekribo Nigeria Enterprise, Lagos, Nigeria, 2015. It is written with the aim of helping couples understand the margin between worldly and Godly marriage.
In six chapters, the book offers insight into models ideal to achieving the perfect Christian home, and how to explore and teach some practical ways of a Christian home in a Godly marriage.
It provides practical examples from the Bible that gives man authority over the household, as he is the head of the house. But it also stresses that God gave a clear mandate to the man — to love his wife, like Christ does the church (Eph 5:25), be sensitive to the wife’s weakness as a woman (1Peter3: 7), provide for the family (1 Titus 5:8), give to his wife her conjugal rights (1Cor.7: 3; Eph 5:31), nourish and cherish his wife as his own body (Eph5: 28-29), provide headship for his wife (Gen 2:22; 1Cor11: 33), praise her (Proverb 31:28), please her (Prov 5:18; Eccles 9:9; Deut. 24:5; 1 Cor 7:33) and speak tenderly to her (Hos 2:14).
The book points out that any treatment outside the above statement quenches prayer and impact spiritual life negatively. It equally says that the wife is the heart of the home and her primary assignment is to her husband: “She holds in her hands the destiny and the earthly usefulness of her husband.”
From the opening pages to the end, the book explains all that needs to be known about a Godly home. It says children are the fruit of the home. In fact, in Psalm 127:3, the book copiously records that children are heritage from the Lord, as the author puts it, nothing is more thrilling than to look after God’s heritage. He encourages parents to guide and teach children to honour their parents, which is a necessary lesson of obedience, and the only command in the Bible with a promise, as recorded in Ephesians 6:1-3. The author also says children are to care for their parents, “children need to care for their parents in their old age, just as the parents took care of them when they were young.”
According to the author, marriage institution is the harbinger of the concept of Christian Home, which is most appealing to those interested in a godly marriage.
“The Christian Home is not just a building, it is an atmosphere; a place you are always eager to live in.”
To the author, a Christian home must necessarily be a welcoming abode, peaceful, beautiful and nurtured to taste. “The comfortability of the home is not defined by wealth or riches, rather by the determination, ability and nobleness of marital partners.”
Chapter four is a practical workbook to gauge marriages against collapse, using 10 Marital Health Index: Money, Joblessness, Childlessness, Sex, Non-praying Family, Inability to Resolve Conflicts, Infidelity, Addictions, Communication, and Lack of Appreciation.
The author offers practical examples to ascertain the extent of the abuse in marriage, and provides a step-by-step solution on how to resolve and eradicate such abuse(s).
He mentions the marriages not approved by God to be polygamy, homosexuality, marrying an unbeliever, and other forbidden sexual relations.
It reminds that in Leviticus, God forbid these incestuous behaviours, as having sexual relations with father, mother, and father’s wife, sister and daughter, marriage/sex with two sisters, sister-in-law, granddaughter, biological aunt, uncle’s wife, daughter-in-law, marriage/sex with three generations of woman, and wife or her mother.
In spite of the pressure and daunting challenges in today’s world, the author urges parents to constantly strife to bring their children up in ways of the Lord. The author did a classic work with the last chapter quoting scriptures and providing explanation for better understanding as pertaining to becoming better parents.
