THE PLAN OF SALVATION FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY

THE PLAN OF SALVATION FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY
(God's original plan)

INTRODUCTION 

Acts 16:31. ''And they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

This statement reveals the original plan of God for the salvation of the entire family and consequently, the entire human race. From the very moment a man fell into the Garden of Eden, God revealed a plan to save mankind. His plan is beyond just saving an individual or the family, his plan covers the salvation of the entire human race.

NOAH AND HIS FAMILY: Gen. 6:5-8. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repented me that I have made them.
8. But Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the LORD."
From the above passage, God made his intention to destroy the whole earth known, verse 7. Verse 8 says "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." That is, the grace that brings salvation appeared unto Noah and he took it.
Eph 2:8-9 says "For by GRACE are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Only Noah found this grace, but God extended it to his entire family, but not without some personal responsibilities on the part of Noah. 

NOAH'S RESPONSIBILITIES: Gen 6:12-18.
1. "Make thee an ark..." i.e. Create an atmosphere or room conducive for all members of your family and those who care to partake of the grace and mercy. Make it foolproof without any loopholes. Verse 14.
2. Bring all the members of your family into the ark you've created. Verse 18, 7:1.
3. Obedience: "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." see chapters 6:22 and 7:5. See also Heb 11:7.

NOAH'S CHALLENGES: Gen 6:14-17.
1. Difficulty in building the ark to specification. Verse 14.
2. Size of the ark: 450ft long, 75ft wide and 45ft high. What a colossal edifice. See verse 15. It took Noah more than 100 years to accomplish this project.
3. Responsibility for persuading and bringing his entire house into the ark.
At the time God told Noah to build the ark to sustain himself and his family from the destruction of the rain and flood, there had never been rain on the earth. Only mist/dew watered the ground (Gen 2:5-6), but God said "I bring a flood."
In Heb 11:7, the word of God says "By faith Noah, being warned of God of THINGS NOT SEEN AS YET, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; ..." Things not seen as yet? The rain and the flood. Noah overcame this because he feared God. He knew that God would bring his word to pass. 1 Peter 3:20 and 2 Peter 2:5. Noah reverently feared God, thus he became obedient to God and this led to the salvation of himself and his entire house. See Heb 5:7-8.
Do you, like Noah, believe that all who don't believe in Jesus will eventually be destroyed? Do you think that the members of your family are spared? What are you doing to ensure that they are saved? You don't have to be the head of the family like Noah before you can do something to get them to receive Jesus. The moment you are saved, you become the spiritual head of your family irrespective of your physical, natural, or biological position in the family. We shall consider next the life of Rahab the harlot. Before then, let's look at Abraham and Lot.

ABRAHAM AND FAMILY.

Genesis 18:16-33 (KJV)  And the men rose from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which is but dust and ashes:

Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.

And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.

And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Above is the personate intercession of Abraham for Sodom and Gomorrah because of his Nephew Lot and his family.

When God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,  he remembered this intercession.

Genesis 19:27-29 (KJV)  And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt

RAHAB AND HER FAMILY: Josh 2:1.21. Please read the entire passage.
God was about to destroy the city of Jericho and all the inhabitants, but Rahab found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Rahab, unlike Noah, was not the head of her family, but she was saved from the destruction because she received the spies with peace. Heb 11.31 ''By faith the HARLOT RAHAB perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.''
Reading through the study text, Josh 2:1-21, we see Rahab's involvement in her salvation and the salvation of her entire family.

RAHAB'S RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Rahab received the spies with peace and saved them from the enemies: verses 1-7.
2. Rahab accepted the God of Israel, verses 8-11, last part of verse 11 says '' ...for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath.'' This is equal to accepting and confessing Jesus as Lord and Saviour today!
3. Rahab interceded for her family.
Let us take a good look at her intercession.

RAHAB'S INTERCESSION: Josh 2:12-13. ''Now I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness that you will also show kindness unto my FATHER'S HOUSE, and give me a true token; And that ye will save alive MY FATHER, AND MY MOTHER AND MY BRETHREN AND MY SISTER; AND ALL THAT THEY HAVE, AND DELIVER OUR LIVES FROM DEATH.''
What a prayer! What a selfless woman! What a harlot who had the love of the entire family at heart: who would do all to ensure that the grace of salvation covered her entire family. What about you?
Rahab understood the secret of bringing her entire family home to God. She was the only one who received mercy when she received the spies and delivered them from death. She confessed Jehovah as her God and this brought her into the commonwealth of Israel and the covenant with God. She knew that her entire family would be doomed for destruction if she did not intercede. Thank God for a woman like this. Do we still have them in our days? If yes, are you one? Are you as passionate about the salvation of your family as Rahab? Indeed, the scripture in Acts 16:31 was fulfilled in Rahab.

RAHAB'S CHALLENGES:
1. She was a harlot, and she was not the head of her family.
2. She did not live in the same house as her family members for sure. She was an outcast, you can say. She was not a family favorite. I don't know any family who would like to respect a prostitute member. Therefore she had to face the difficulty of persuading and bringing all the family into HER HOUSE. How did she persuade them to believe that destruction was imminent? How did she persuade them to accept that only her harlot's house was where salvation could be found? See verses 17-20. Verse 18, second part says "... And thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
Her role in saving her family brought her into the chronicles of men of exploits of faith in Hebrew 11, though she was a harlot. She also eventually became one of the great-grandmothers of our Lord Jesus. Matt 1:5.
We all, like Rahab, need to do all we can to ensure the salvation of our entire family.

CORNELIUS AND FAMILY: let us draw close to the conclusion of this work as we consider shortly two other families in the New Testament.
CORNELIUS AND FAMILY: Acts 10. Please read the entire chapter.
Cornelius was a devout religious man. A centurion, a just man, and one who feared God, and had a good report among all the nation of Israel, but was not saved or born again.
He was a very important personality: a high-ranking officer in the Roman army of the band called 'the Italian band' see verse 1.
The grace of God appeared to him in verses 1-6. He was told what to do to save him and his entire household.

CORNELIUS' RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. He had to send men to a distant place to bring down the preacher, Apostle Peter. We can learn a lesson from this. God ordained Peter for this exploit and no other. This should be one of the key prayer points for the unsaved members of our family. Pray that God will send the right preacher on their way for their salvation. See verse 5.
2. Gather in place all family members. See verse 2. We also need to prayerfully and persuasively bring our family by invitation to where they will hear the gospel preached to them. You never know it may be a moment of their salvation decision. The first responsibility we owe God is ensuring that our families are saved.

THE JAILER AND FAMILY: ACTS 16:16-32
The leading story was that Paul and Silas were imprisoned for casting out of a young lady the spirit of divination.
''And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises to God and the prisoners heard them'' Acts 16:25.
God came to their rescue through an earthquake that broke open the prison's gates and the bands on their hands. The Jailer seeing this, thought that the prisoners had escaped and was about to kill himself. Paul restrained him, and this scene led to a very crucial question from the Jailer. ''Sirs what must I do to be saved?'' Acts 16:30
The Jailer was only interested in his salvation alone. This is reflected in his question in verse 30 ''... what must I do to be saved?''
Thank God for the reply of Paul and Silas to this crucial question. The reply revealed the very total counsel of God for the salvation of the entire family. And they said, ''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, AND THY HOUSE.'' Acts 16:31. This verse is a covenant verse guaranteeing the salvation of all the unsaved members of our family. The covenant word is B E L I E V E !
Do you believe in the saving of the members of your house? You are number one of all those responsible for the salvation of your family. You are equally responsible for ensuring the salvation of the entire human race. The Jailer, after hearing the reply of Paul and Silas, took them to his house, and they all believed, and were all saved. Glory be to God. See verse 34.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
1. Make the salvation of your family your top priority of all you intend to achieve as a believer.
2. Pray continually and consistently for them until they are all saved.
3. Our consistent life of obedience to God makes the covenant of salvation work for us and our family.
4. we must prayerfully and lovingly invite them to churches and meetings where they can hear the gospel preached so that they can make a decision.
5. Preach to them in love and make them realize the danger of missing salvation. When you preach, preach Jesus Christ to them. See Acts 1:8; 4:12; 8:5,35.
6. If all believers could hold on to the word of God in Acts 16:31, and pray that this statement be fulfilled, we would see God's divine visitation to save our family. The fear of God should motivate us to love and without relenting seek God for the salvation of our family.
As you obey, may you experience the mighty hand of God to save your family. May you have tangible testimonies to show for it.

CONCLUSION
When the Lord stirred up my heart, years back, to look into his plan for the salvation of families and the entire human race, little did I know that it would develop into a big project among the plans of God for my life.
I have seen a great move of God in this area and have heard many testimonies as this message is being taught from place to place. I have prayerfully put this work together not just for knowledge's sake, but that there should be great results for the glory of God and the expansion of his kingdom.
Therefore, I beseech you that as you read through this work, put it to work in your life for results and teach others to do so. Let this truth expand to the length and breadth of every nation. Publish it in your newsletters and magazines. Share it with all believers, especially those with unsaved family members. ''The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that publish it.'' Psalm 68:11. The word has been given, please be one of the great company of those to publish it.
Whatever you do to save your family members, don't forget to employ the power of THANKSGIVING. God bless you.
END!