Equipping Pastors International, Inc. Dr. Jack L. Arnold
Lesson 3
The Spiritual
Training of Children
Never before in all history has there been such a
concerted, worldwide, all out assault upon the home. The family is one of the
oldest institutions known to man.
It is coexistent with the human race, and predates by considerable time
the other great institutions of humanity, such as human government, the school
and the church. The godless
philosophy of communism is openly and blatantly carrying out a campaign to
destroy the family unit. They are
attempting to break down the discipline and unity of the home and replace
it with the communal system. There
are destructive forces at work sapping the life out of many homes. Sex parties, drinking parties and drugs
are a threat to homes. Often a
spirit of anarchy and rebellion enters the home and there is fighting and
shouting and physical attack. The
atmosphere is often one of nervous tension, or at best, an armed truce. All of this is part of a Satanic strategy, a deliberately planned attack, to destroy
what has been one of the bulwarks of moralism, religion, and faith—the
atmosphere of the home.
Satan has brought a more subtle attack against our
Christian homes. There are some
that say, ŇMy wife and I have agreed that we do not want to force our religion
on the children. We want them to
be free to make up their own minds about matters as important as that. They should be allowed to choose for
themselves.Ó That may sound
sophisticated, but it is sheer nonsense.
If neutrality is the attitude of the parents, it will become the
religion of their children. Neutrality about Christianity would be an injustice
to the children. Parents
have a God-given responsibility to bring their children to Christ. Children are a gift from God and they
would not be in a Christian family unless God wanted them to hear about the
good news of Christ.
Most people have never stopped to ask themselves in
this busy madness of life and the highly organized church just where God intends
children to get Christian training.
Most people think of Sunday school and church as the primary places, but
this is utterly ridiculous. Out of
168 hours in every week, only about 30 minutes is spent in teaching the
children in Sunday school. Approximately
56 hours is spent sleeping, 35 are spent at school and the remaining (77) are spent at borne.
If parents want to give their children a godly heritage, then they
must do it at home.
The answer to this modern-day dilemma for Christians is not found in
worldly wisdom but in a return to the wisdom of God and an understanding of His
principles for the home. If we come back to these, we shall discover
weapons of mighty power that can counteract the strong forces that are at work
to undermine and destroy our homes.
ŇFor though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every though to make it obedient to
Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
Introduction: Someone may object to using a verse written
directly to the nation of Israel as a basis to teach Christian truths on the
home. But the great principles of
GodŐs workings among men never change.
Christians Must Have a Proper Concept of God (6:4): Each Christian must
have a doctrinal understanding about the existence and nature of God. All of life and all theology must start
with God and not with man. This is
the great secret behind all things.
Back of every exploration that man can make in the realm of science,
psychology, or sociology lies the ultimate reality of
the one true God. Every road leads
to Him; every exploration must start with Him He is the explanation of human
history. This is why the scripture declares, ŇThe fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom.Ó
Christians Must Have a Personal Relationship With
God (6:5):
It is not enough to know that God exists but one must be personally related to
God and love Him with all oneŐs heart, soul and mind. God is asking for a relationship with Him and if we love
Him, all else in life will fall into place.
Christians Must Have a Desire to Obey God (6:6): God has made
hundreds of commands for Christians to keep, and he expects Christian parents
to obey before they teach their children these commands. The issue here is
not perfect performance but genuine desire to keep GodŐs holy commands. Every Christian is conscious of failure
in his life but God wants us to desire more and more to serve Him. Parents are to set the example for the
children. If parents do not desire
to please God, then they are destroying the family unit.
Christians Must Teach GodŐs Commands to Their
Children
(6:7a): Christian parents are to give personal instruction to their children
about the Word of God. Children
can never learn to love God if they have no information about God. It is impossible to love God until you
know something about Him. The
emphasis in this verse is upon Ňyou,Ó not Ňthem.Ó This is a responsibility of the parents, not the Sunday
school and the church; these things are never a substitute for the home, and,
at best, they are a supplement.
Christian Parents Should Teach by Unforced
Application
(6:7b): These words, Ňtalk about them when you sit, when you lie down, when you
rise up,Ó do not mean that parents are to moralize or preach at
their children. There is nothing
more deadly than continual parental moralizing. This verse means that God is to be related to everything in
life, and the challenge to parents is to find what that relationship is, and
use it when the occasion demands.
Use every little thing that may come up to teach the children about God
and then relate it to the Word of God.
Parents should not make a club out of a scripture verse and beat the
child over the head with it until he gives in or rebels. No, there must be an
unforced, natural application of truth to life and life to truth.
Christian ParentŐs Lives Should Command Authority (6:8-9): The Jews took this
verse literally and put verses on their heads, other parts of the body and
doorposts. From this verse, it may
be that we Christians can put up verses in our homes to help us remember God,
but the more likely meaning is spiritual.
This says these shall be Ňfor a sign.Ó A sign is something that compels belief; it is that
which establishes authority. Thus,
the children know that the parents are in subjection to GodŐs authority and
they have the authority of God in their own lives. Christian parents have spiritual authority in their lives
that command the respect of their children. When we fail in spiritual authority with our children, we
often turn to rigid controls and threats.
Introduction: The Psalmist is attempting to arouse the sluggish
souls of those around him to share with their children what God has done for
them. In this Psalm, he encourages
the parents to teach their children about GodŐs works for His people and the
peopleŐs disobedience. This Psalm
shows how easily men and women can forget about God.
Children are to be Instructed by Christian Parents (78: 5): This is a clear
command to Christian parents to instruct their children in the ways of God.
Children are to Know GodŐs Word (78:6a): Simply stated this
means that parents are to share GodŐs Word with their youngsters. We are raising
a generation of Biblical illiterates.
Children growing up in a scientific age know more about getting to the
moon than they do about getting to heaven. We are stunned when our children cannot withstand the
temptations of the world, but many have been given nothing substantial to stand
on. God has preserved for us at
least 4000 years of spiritual history and we are failing to pass it on to this
generation. We work and save
to send our children to a decent school, and yet we spend little time teaching
them the Bible. We are to share
GodŐs Word with our children. We
cannot make them become Christians.
God must work in their hearts and they must trust the Savior for
themselves.
Children are to Grow Up and Instruct Their Children (78:6b): Parents are to
train their children not only that they may know GodŐs truth, but that they, in
turn, pass it on to their Ňchildren yet to be born.Ó There is a very real sense in which every parent is
responsible for his grandchildren.
Parents have a spiritual heritage to pass on to their children and to
their childrenŐs children. If
parents rebel against God, this has an effect upon future generations. ŇAnd he passed in front of Moses,
proclaiming, ŇThe LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and
forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children
and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generationŐÓ (Exo. 34:6-7). If they obey God, this will have a positive effect upon
future generations. Think of it,
parents today will influence grandchildren not yet born!
Children are to Establish Their Hope in God (78:7a): Children are to be taught about God so
Ňthat they might set their hope in
God, and not forget the works of
God.Ó God can stabilize
children in this fast moving, highly technological society and waning
economy. Much of our childrenŐs
fears and tears come from a lack of hope.
If you forget that God is at work in history, and feel that He has left
the wheel of history, you canŐt help but be disturbed. Every time you open a newspaper or flip
on a news program, you have enough to shake you war, famine, disease,
corruption, etc. Whenever you
think of the uncertainties of tomorrow, if you donŐt have a trust in a God of
might and power, you have no hope.
If you donŐt know His works, you have little to hope for and nothing to
hope in.
Children are to Obey GodŐs Commandments (78:7b): Children can only
obey God if they know what God wants them to do. When a child has learned to think GodŐs thoughts after Him,
it solves many of lifeŐs choices when he is faced with problems of right and
wrong. Children will be spared
many heartaches and heartbreaks in life if they learn early to obey God.
Children are Not to Follow the Example of their
Rebellious Fathers (78:8): The history of the Bible tells us of two types of professing
believers. One group—a small
minority—do GodŐs will and walk according to His
Word. They are the people who
learn from the acts of God in history.
The other group—the larger of the two—is stubborn and
rebellious. They have no faith in
God and do not trust His saving power. Undoubtedly one of the reasons for their rebellion was
that as children they were not instructed by their parents.
Parenthood is a calling and
a ministry. Parents are called by
God to teach their children to walk with God. Think what it means to introduce our children to Christ, the
Bible and the hymnal. Are you, as
a parent, fulfilling your God-given responsibility?