Family Ministry –
Understanding Who Your Children Are
Introduction – Itching to get to the practical? Sometimes, as parents, we simply want a hurry-up list of how to do it. But set the pragmatism aside for a moment. Your theology matters. You need to understand who your children are and how that affects your training and admonition in the Lord.
Children in the Image of God
(Gen 1:26-28) – We are not bringing highly developed and evolved animals into
the world. We are giving birth to
image-bearers who were created to reflect the glory of God.
A Little
Creator – As the context of Gen 1 would make clear, man
is created to be like God, able to think, plan, and execute those plans with
ethical values.
A Soul/Spirit
Bearer (Gen 2:7, Eccl 12:7, 3:11) – We are personal,
self-conscious, Godlike creatures with a sense of eternity from the beginning.
Dominion Takers
(Gen 1:26-27) – These little ones have been brought forth to rule over the
world as God’s representatives. They
are to do so according to knowledge, righteousness and holiness, twisted in the
fall, but progressively restored in Christ (Eph 4:24, Col 3:10).
Implications
– Children are to be trained and shepherded as God’s image-bearers, with souls
and spirits and consciences. They are
not to be tamed like wild animals. Put
another way, how we treat our children and how we treat our dogs should look
very different.
Children as Innately Depraved
(Eph 2:1-3, Rom 5:12) – There is no doubt about it. Babies are really cute (well, most of the time). But we must remember they are always born
covenantally dead in Adam. They are by
nature, children of wrath.
Adam, Our
Covenant Head (Rom 5:12, 14) – In God’s wisdom, we are well
represented in Adam, who fell on behalf of us all.
There is Sin in
There (Prov 22:15) – Everyone hearing this is a
descendant of Adam. We do not sin and
therefore become sinners. We are
sinners and therefore we sin. When David confessed his sin, he confessed his
inherited sinfulness as well (Psalm 51:5).
Totally
Depraved Babies (Rom 8:7-8) – By nature, they are unable
to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted (or holy)
way. The only ones who will come to the
Lord are those whom the Lord will draw to Himself (John 6:44).
Implications
– Childishness is due to a child’s frame.
Selfishness is due to his nature.
You must distinguish between the two.
There is no such thing as a ‘good child’. We are all born in sin and simply need law and the strength to break the law in order to prove whom we really are.
Therefore, there is no such
thing as ‘the terrible twos’. There is
no such thing as ‘rebellious teenage years’.
There is only sin, manifested by sinners according to their station in
life.
God blesses the faithful
application of discipline by parents as a means to the child’s salvation and
sanctification (Prov 29:15).
Children of Believing Parents (Gen 17:7, Acts 2:29, 1 Cor 7:14) – God has
promised to be our God and to be God to our children. We are not to view our children as the same as children of
unbelievers with regard to God’s promises and obligations.
Regenerate or
Not? – Wise parents will not assume their children
are automatically regenerate. Neither
will they assume the opposite. God has
not placed these children in believing homes willy-nilly. With confidence in the promises of God, we
look for fruit, responsiveness to forgiveness offered in Christ, and as they
grow, the profession of their mouth.
When Was the
Sunrise? – These children are not in the same situation
many of us were in. God has been especially
kind to them. Therefore, we do not need
to look for ‘flashy testimonies’ to prove their salvation. Gratefully notice the promised results of
believing Christ as they grow.
Children in True Liberty and Blessedness
(Psalm 1:1-2, 119:1-3, 44-45, Prov 3:13-18) – Your children must grow up
understanding what true liberty really is – not freedom to sin, but freedom
from sin.
They Are Not
‘Missing Out’ (Prov 20:17) – That sweet-looking sin really
destroys; true liberty sees this.
Hedge of Thorns
(Prov 15:19) – For your children this means that a foolish presumption leads to
destruction. They must pursue
holiness. For you it means that you
must never leave your ‘garden’ untended, for weeds will grow. When you see thorns and snares in your
children, do not first blame ‘their friends’.
You best look in the mirror.
Tireless Glory-Giving (Col 3:17) – Too many
Christians think this parenting-stuff is second-rate ministry to the real work
of the kingdom. They are short-sighted
and plain wrong. This is the first and
promised step of filling the earth with the glory of God as the waters cover
the sea. Each day, what you are doing
is to be done ‘unto the Lord’.