Bringing Children Up in the Lord’s Instruction
The Failure of Father's to Teach Their Children
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’
Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
– Romans 11:33-36
Many ministers today, when expositing a passage of scripture, practice what I call the Hermeneutical Passover. Meaning that they intentionally avoid discussing the deeper meaning of the text, the teaching which tends to unsettle and deeply challenge its hearers, choosing instead to spend 40 minutes doggie paddling on the surface.
Part of the rationale for this superficial treatment is the perception that their parishioners just can’t handle the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, as Paul puts it. For the overwhelming nature of such profound truth will only disorient them. Not just intellectually, but spiritually. A worry which is not wholly without merit for the truth of scripture is like the challenger deep, the deepest part of the ocean—for in it we encounter the infinite mind of Christ as Paul tells the Corinthians, and thus we should not drive into its depths unadvisedly, or without sure guides (which is why trying to reading scripture in isolation from 2,000 years of church tradition is reckless).
But, to neglect the Bible’s theological riches out of fear, or poor judgment, or mere laziness, has only led to a paucity of holiness and divine wisdom within the laity. When the legendary 19th century Baptist preacher John Broadus died it was written of him in the newspaper that Dr. Broadus preached to people as he knew they wished to be, not as they actually were. This seems exactly right to me. And I think that it should apply both to the level of holiness and understanding of one’s parishioners.
As professor of homiletics T. David Gordon has said: “The pastor is to preach to his audience’s aspirations, and not their current attainment.” The problem today is that our aspirations, not only for holiness, but knowledge have grown weak. Weak preaching has creating weak aspirations. Thus, what is needed is to stir, in the body of Christ, a greater hunger for the deep things of God, a desire to be challenged and provoked by the Spirit.
What is needed is for our loves to be reordered, so that we might again hunger for the meat of God’s word and not merely the milk. So by it we might be brought to maturity. That we might become a full-grown man, as Paul puts it in Ephesians 4, rather than a malnourished child.
A fitting rebuke for the church today is found in Hebrews 5:12:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.”
The aim of the Church on the Square is to be a body of disciples (i.e. learners) who are not content to be nursing infants. Who are not satisfied talking to each other (and to the world) as if we were children in our understanding of the things of God. But, rather to be those who seek to exhort one another to greater understanding so that none of us might be lured away (as Eve was) from our pure devotion to Christ. Guarding not only our hearts, but our minds from the whiles of the serpent.
Indeed, now, more than ever, vain philosophies and empty deceit seek to take us captive. To lure us astray from the faith. Thus, we must become wise as serpents and yet innocent as doves, as our Lord commands. My perception is that many Christians today are the reverse. But here’s the key. The training for such wisdom is to begin in childhood, in the teaching and training of our children.
I wish to give you two related admonitions I wish. One this week and one next. The first concerns the desperate need we have to teach our children. That will be the exhortation for today. The second is the desperate need we have to train our children. (Ephesians 6:4 is the text of this short series, the command to bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord).
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
Now, when I use the word desperate, I do so advisedly. For there is a grave need for us to change course when it comes to the rearing of our children. If you don’t feel the gravity of it, let me try and provoke it in you, because immediate action is required.
Again, our focus this afternoon is on instruction. We begin with a few statistics concerning the current level of biblical knowledge among Christians. But even before I present the data, you already know that the results are going to be abysmal. So, you do sense the problem on one level.
Biblical illiteracy among believers is a scandal we have ignored for far too long. At the root of it is the failure to fulfill the Lord’s command to teach His precepts to our children. According to a study conducted by Lifeway Research (an organization which lately has been engaging in mischief, it seems), only half of all Christian adults, when surveyed, could name the four gospels. Similarly, many Christians were unable to identify more than two or three of the twelve disciples.
It’s not Bible trivia that is the focus here, for that doesn’t necessarily demonstrate true wisdom. The devil is great at Bible trivia. Rather, this is the kind of trivial knowledge which inevitably comes when you read the Bible regularly. These are professed Christians. Those who attend church regularly do better on these surveys.
It gets worse. According to data from the Pew Research Center, nearly half of adult Christians believe that the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you) is part of the Ten Commandments. We are not just biblically illiterate, but theologically illiterate. For example, 26% of regular Protestant church goers did not recognize the doctrine of sola fide. Salvation by faith alone. The hinge upon which the Reformation turned, as Luther said.
We are also woefully ignorant of church history. When asked the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation: Thomas Aquinas, John Wesley or Martin Luther? Fewer than half Protestants answered Luther. Yet, if we quizzed Christians on pop culture, on the latest Tik Tok craze, the latest update on the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelcie romance, the percentage of right answers would be much higher.
This is a disaster. The result of a decadent church. A church that chooses amusement over the musings of the Messiah. Now, we could lay some of the blame on the catastrophe which is the “youth ministry” movement of the past 50 years. As Doug Wilson has said, “And when the blind lead the blind, they both fall into a youth ministry.” But I will save that for another occasion.
The problems, again, is that of dumbing down the truth of Christianity, of playing to the lowest common denominator, a focus upon amusing children not molding them into the image of Christ. But woefully ignorant Christians is not the fault of Youth Ministry. It is the fault of unfaithful parents. Plain and simple. For they are given the responsibility to raise up their children in the Lord’s instruction.
Indeed, it is the fault of fathers. For they are ultimately responsible as Ephesians 6:4 states. (When you come upon an ignorant Christian, blame his father. The father is the one who will ultimately give an account for their child’s understanding.)
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-7
The original hearers of this text were in a (somewhat) similar position to us. God was calling them to turn from the disobedience of the past. The first generation from Egypt had fallen into all manner of wickedness including ingratitude, infidelity, and even out right idolatry. All of which is recorded, in gruesome detail, in the book of Numbers. And the cause behind all such insubordination is “a failure to remember.” A refrain we read again and again in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and later in the book of Judges.
Israel had forgotten God, his commandments, and his great provision, which filled them with ingratitude and even resentment. And which inevitably led to rebellion (it is not just the precepts that need to be taught, but the stories that give those precepts context, meaning, as seen in verses 20-25 of Deuteronomy 6.).
So, Moses is reminding Israel of this disobedience. He is exhorting them to choose a different path forward. He is also providing them with a way to remember the God whom they serve. For the great history of Israel is now to be written down so that all of the wisdom garnered from the past can be studied and bequeathed to future generations. Thus, this moment in Israel’s history is one of covenant renewal. As they stand at the precipice of the promised land and rededicate themselves to the commandments of God, including the greatest commandment found in verses 4-5:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Israel now has a chance to make a greater commitment to Yahweh and his life-giving instruction than their forefathers did. So do we at this moment in church history. For we also are transitioning into a new epoch, as it were – at least in the West.
Although, perhaps we might conceive of our transition as a leaving of the promised land rather than an entering into it. A move east rather than west. Even still, it is a time to rededicate ourselves to the Lord’s instruction. To commit to greater faithfulness in teaching these precepts to our children, than those who have come before us. So that our progeny will not forget the Lord and forsake their inheritance.
BECOME WISE YOURSELF
This admonition is especially true for the young adults among us. Those of childbearing age. I know that people of my generation (as well as the boomers) have been very critical of your cohort. Declaring your generation to be inept and lazy and even ridiculous. All the while taking none of the blame for your generation’s lack of maturity, as if your ignorance simply popped into existence. No matter. You must rise above your rearing.
As we stand at the precipice of our cultural demise, you must answer the call to do better than those who have come before you. To not repeat the foolishness of your ancestors. To not consign your children to the same ignorance that so many of your generation have been consigned to. But, instead to commit yourselves to diligently watering your seed with the word of the Lord so that our culture might once again reflect the glory of his kingdom.
To achieve this, however, the law of the Lord must first be written on your own heart. Deuteronomy 6:6 says:
“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
This means that God’s teaching must be your treasure. The satisfaction of your soul. The pearl of great price. You must delight, as David did, in the divine precepts.
“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” – Psalms 119:97-104
In order to raise wise children, you must become wise yourself. And in order to become wise you must desire wisdom more than anything else. You must buy it, and sell it not. Taking heed to your heavenly father’s instruction, so that it will be a graceful garland upon your head. For this is where the people of my generation (and those who preceded us) went wrong. We didn’t sufficiently treasure God’s word in our heart. For if we had, we would have been diligent to teach it to our children. For these are the very words of life, scripture says!
If we had believed this then we would no more have denied them to our children than we would have denied food. As our Lord said,
“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
If you believe that, then you would never deny such nourishment to your children. For in doing so, you are denying them eternal life.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” – John 6
This flesh and blood, the manna from heaven, is God’s word. His teaching. The words of life. In the book of Judges we find the devastating consequences of failing to instruct one’s children in the precepts of the Lord.
“All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know YHWH, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of YHWH and served the Baals, they forsook YHWH, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them… So, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.” – Psalms 119:97-104
There is nothing more degrading to a human being than to bow down before an idol. And nothing more dishonoring to God. Whether it be a physical idol or a heart idol, it matters not. When such idolatry is widespread it weakens a nation, it tees it up for divine judgment. As the text says, such rebellion is the end result of failing to diligently pass down the faith. The cultural story. This is why our nation is currently being plundered. For we have risen up several generations now who do not know YHWH. Who do not know the story which denies our culture. So the Lord has given us over to the depravity of our own minds.
People often ask me if the Lord’s judgment is near and I say, near? it is already upon us!
“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” – Romans 1:24-25
The insanity we are witnessing all around us is the manifestation of God’s wrath. If we do not repent and cry out for mercy we will soon be sold into slavery. Young people, very soon the responsibility of the cultural mandate will fall to you. Therefore, it’s time to recommit yourself to the Lord and his instruction. To renew the covenant. To grow in wisdom. To write the law of God upon your heart.
Now is the time to become wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. So that you might diligently pass down such wisdom to your children. By making the story of redemption the central narrative of your lives. Speaking of it when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 6). So that a new generation might rise up who knows YHWH (who knows what story they are in) and can lead us out of this present wilderness and into the promised land.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-7
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