The Law Was Not Abolished

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B UILDING S TRONG F AMILIES

a mother, it was clear he was not being presumptuous. He was being the kind of kingly husband his wife ultimately wants and needs him to be. Gentlemen, it’s up to us. Have we prayerfully sought to map out a plan for the next five years of our marriage? It’s time to look ahead and make some plans. Know your enemy. The attacks on your marriage and on your lead ership will come from all directions. They will come from a culture that is increasingly drifting away from God’s standards and may be pulling your marriage along in its undertow. They will come from friends and coworkers who, thinking themselves to be wise, have become as fools (Rom. 1:22). The attacks will come from some surprising places. Today, there are many evangelical churches that have lost their confessional moor ings and their confidence in the absolute standards of God’s Word. It shouldn’t surprise you to hear popular “Christian” ideas about a hus band’s role in marriage—coming from books, radio, television, and even from church pulpits—that are not rooted in biblical truth. A wise husband will test everything he reads or hears—even this book— against the absolute standard of the Bible. There will also be attacks from your closest ally, your wife. While her spirit will welcome the leadership, protection, and provision of a wise king, her flesh will war against her spirit and will seek to thwart your authority. Over time, there will be showdowns as you wrestle with whether to compromise and gain her approval or to stand fast and face her wrath. There will be times when you’ll have to decide whether to serve her or to serve God. Perhaps the greatest source of attack, as you seek to be faithful to God’s calling as a husband, will come from your own flesh. You will slip into patterns and habits that come from years of living in rebel lion against the things of God. You’ll lack the confidence to lead. You’ll lack the desire to serve. You’ll look around and think, I’m doing better than most husbands, and you’ll settle for less than God’s best. The apostle Paul knew that the issue of authority and submission was a spiritual minefield. In that specific context he warns all