“The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.” – John 4:53
There are a few other times in scripture that it sounds as if entire “households” come to faith automatically simply because of the faith of one person (see also, Luke 19:10 and Acts 16:31). However, we know that faith isn’t automatic, it’s a decision each person must make. Those of us who are parents wish that our faith would be enough for our kids. It would be so nice if we didn’t have to worry about their own personal faith decisions. We know that most of the “you’s” in the Bible are plural, but this is one of the very clear single “you’s”: “If YOU confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the personal responsibility of each individual person. I tell my kids all the time that they can’t inherit my faith… they need their own.
To make matters a bit more confusing, the word “house” or “household” in all of these passages is not just referring to one’s “nuclear family.” The Greek word, “Oikos,” which is behind all of these words, is much more. One’s “oikos,” especially of an influential “official” like the man in John 4, would have involved a wife, kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even servants and co-workers who lived on the same property. Households could be 20-30 people. It was basically all the people that you would interact with on a daily basis. Did all of them get saved because this man believed?
No! It just doesn’t work that way. Instead, the only rational explanation for this is that when this man realized what had happened, he told everyone in his household about what Jesus had done. He not only became a believer, but he also became a disciple who makes disciples by testifying to what Jesus had done.
This is what it looks like to follow Jesus as his disciple. The message of salvation has been given to us and because of that, God has miraculously changed our lives. Now what a disciple does is testify to what Jesus has done. Nowadays, we may not live in “households” that are quite as large, but we all interact with “oikos.” We have people in our lives that we interact with on a regular basis who need to hear about the One who has changed our life. Today, would you take some time to think about who those people are in your life? Pray for them, and then look for an opportunity to give Jesus credit for what he has done in your life.
Josh Rose
Discipleship Pastor