Abstract:
This paper elucidates the concept of family and its importance in society, understanding that the family is the oldest social institution and base of all and any society. In light of the social sciences, the family is the foundation of society, where the citizen first develops his or her ethical and moral values. In biblical times, the structure of the family and the distribution of the roles of each member both in the family as well as in society were different from current times. This affirmation is confirmed through research carried out by the IBGE, where the results show that the nuclear, patriarchal family, although still a hegemonic family structure, has lost its position in these last years giving way ever more to other family structures. It is observed that Israel was the people chosen by God and the covenant is emphasized; the laws and the ordinances which should be obeyed as a condition for the divine promises to be fulfilled. Thus, the people of God should not have the same behaviors as the other peoples, but, instead be a sanctified people. Then, in the New Testament the church takes the place of the family of God. Differently from what it was with Israel, where God had chosen a single nation, the access to the church is open to all who believe in Jesus. However the contemporary church and family have been through some challenges such as the bad influence of television, which dictates standards and isolates the individual, the lack of time and dialog within the family coming from globalization, which increasingly consumes society and consequently the index of divorces increases. Divorce, in the light of the Bible, was permitted because of the hardness of heart of man, it was not a divine ideal for matrimony. Faced with the exposed, the great challenge of the Christian church is to work with new family models without putting aside the following of the divine parameters, since, notwithstanding the various structures, the families should walk according to the principles and ordinances of the Lord if they wish to experience the blessings conditioned to the obedience to God.
