Pastor Brian Schwertley-Self Control in an

Age of Rebellion
Pastor Morecraft-The Gospel of Truth for
the State
Judy Rogers Concert
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THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH
FOR THE FAMILY
I. The Mother and Father as Mediators
of the Gospel of Grace and Truth Under
Christ
A. THE UNIQUE MEDIATORSHIP OF JESUS
CHRIST
Paul declared to Timothy: There is one God,
and one mediator also between God and
men, the man ChristJesus ... - I Timothy 2:5.
Hebrews 12:24 refers to Jesus as the mediator
of a new covenant. ..
Jesus Christ was sent to earth by God the
Father to bestow God's unmerited grace upon
sinners, saving us from our sins; and to reveal
God's truth to mankind, giving us true insights
in to the character and will of God and the
nature of life in this universe so we can live
for our Creator's glory. Therefore, when Paul
says that this is a faithful saying and worthy of
all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, he was speaking of this
redemption and revelation. For this reason
John says of Him: And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His
glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
Father, full of grace and truth. -- For of His
fullness we have all received, and grace upon
grace. For the law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Iesus
Christ.- John 1: 14, 17
"Grace" is God's undeserved favor by which
sinners are saved from sin's consequences and
power and accepted with God as His children,
Ephesians 2:8,9; and His saving power by
which we are enabled to live for His glory, I
Corinthians 15:10. "Truth" is the revelation
of the character and will of God in inerrant
propositional form in the Bible and in the life
and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is the Living Word of God, John 1: If. By
means of the written Word the Spirit brings
us true knowledge of the Living Word, the
embodiment of the truth of God. As Jesus
said: I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but by Me.- John
14:6. Therefore, Jesus can say that when
someone knows the truth of God, that truth
liberates that person from whatever blinds
him and enslaves him.
In this ultimate and final sense, there is only
one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus! God sent Him to earth to be
a go-between, an intermediary, to intervene
between the holy God and sinful human beings
who were separated from God because of His
wrath toward sin and their hostility toward
Him. As mediator Jesus was to do whatever
was necessary to remove God's wrath and
man's hostility and to reconcile God and
human beings as eternal friends.
Our Westminster Standards repeatedly
emphasize that, in this sense, Jesus is the
ONLY mediator who can bring God and men
together so that no one comes to the Father
but through faith in His mediatorial work.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, 8.1
calls Him the Mediator between God and
'man; the Larger Catechism Q 36 calls Him
the only Mediator of the covenant of grace;
and the Shorter Catechism Q 21 refers to
Him as the only Redeemer of God's elect.
Christ so completely satisfies the demands
of an intercessory work, that no room is
left for any other intercessor; even as His
righteousness so satisfies the claims of the
Law, that there is no room for any ritual
or ascetic righteousness to procure fuller
adoption, [we are complete in Christ
argues Paul in Colossians 2:3f]. This,
in a word, is the Apostle's argument.
That Christ's priestly work is such, it is
not possible that any other intercessory
agency can be needed, or be added.-
Robert L. Dabney, LECTURES IN
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, p. 481
B. THE INSTRUMENTAL MEDIATORSHIP
OF PARENTS
Jesus Christ, our Mediator of the grace and
truth of God to His people, uses instruments
empowered by the Holy Spirit to apply His
accomplished salvation into our lives. Parents
are one of those instruments in the hands of
our Mediator, by which He saves His covenant
children from the power and consequences of
sin and molds their characters and lives into
His image down through their generations. A
Christian parent's position before God with
reference to his/her children is therefore one
of "mediator," (with a small "m"), under the
one Mediator between God and men. Parents
are mediators in the sense that, by the design
of God, the effects and influence of grace
and truth are brought to bear upon their
children through their faithfulness to Christ.
They represent their children before God and
they represent God and His Word to their
children. Their faithfulness as parents is used
by Christ as "a means of grace and truth"
from Him into our children. God promises
parents who are faithful to Him that He is
the faithful God, who keeps His covenant
and His lovingkindness to a thousandth
generation with those who love Him and keep
His commandments, Deuteronomy 7:9. So
then, if we continue to love Him and keep His
commandments in all things, and especially
in the way we bring up our children, we
will be the "means," "the instruments,"
"the mediators," through whom Jesus Christ
will manifest His covenant faithfulness and
lovingkindness to our children, down through
their generations.
As Christian parents are faithful to the Lord,
God promises them that He will circumcise ...
the heart of your descendants, to love the
LORD your God, Deuteronomy 30:6. They
are instruments/weapons of righteousness,
Romans 6: 14, in the hand of Christ by which
He accomplishes His purposes in the lives and
destinies of His children.
C. THE THREE-FOLD TASK OF THE
MEDIATOR
In order for Jesus Christ to remove the sin
that separated His people from His Father,
He had to deal with the three effects of sin
on an individual: its blinding effect; its
condemning effect; and its enslaving effect.
And He accomplished all this by functioning
as our Prophet, who heals our blindness, our
Priest, our removes out condemnation, and
our King, who delivers us from bondage.
In a similar way, Christian parents, as mediators
of grace and truth from Christ, under Christ,
through Christ and because of Christ, are to
function as prophets/prophetesses, priests/
priestesses, and kings/ queens.
I. CHRISTIAN PARENTS AS PROPHETS TO
THEIR CHILDREN
Christian parents are to be prophets to
their children, if they are to be effective in
mediating the grace and truth of Christ into
their lives-Hear, a Israel! The LORD is our
God, and the LORD is one! And you shall
love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words, which I am commanding
you today, shall be on your heart; and you
shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. And you shall
bind them as a sign on your hand and they
shaUbe as frontals on your forehead. And
you shall write them on the doorposts of
your house and on your gates.-
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
A prophet in the Bible is one who interprets the
past, present and future in light of the verbal
revelation of God. He explains the events of
life solely in terms of that revelation. God
calls parents to embrace the totality of the
Biblical revelation in their own hearts, minds
and lives, and then to raise their children in
a context that is saturated with the Word of
God, so that their children will learn to view
every aspect of life from the perspective of
that Word, continually bringing their every
thought into captivity to Christ.
Parents are false prophets to their children
without Christ and His Bible, the Prophet
and the Prophetic Word par excellence. Any
attempt to interpret life without Christ, in
whom is gathered all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge, and without His Bible, which
is the truth of God about Himself and His
creation, will result in a false interpretation
of life that drives children away from the
one, true and living God. In fact, without
Christ and the Bible, there can be no basis for
knowledge and morality. As Isaiah 8: I 9-20
tell us: And when they say to you, "Consult
the mediums and the wizards who whisper
and mutter," should not a people consult
their God? Should they consult the dead on
behalf of the living? To the law and to the
testimony! 1f they do not speak according to
this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Therefore, parents must make sure that all the
opinions they transmit to their children are
rooted in God's opinion of things revealed in
the Bible, and are centered in Christ, upon
whom the universe and every fact in it depend
for meaning and .existence.
The Christian parent must seek to instill
a love for the truth, for all truth, about
God, God's Word and God's world in his/
her children, teaching them that the Bible
is the only place they can go to discover
the origin, meaning and purpose of any
aspect of reality and life in this world. The
integration of faith and learning, as well
as of faith and life, is a basic task of the
Christian parent. This obviously demands
a thoroughly Christian education of their
children, which parents are responsible to
provide for their children.
2. CHRISTIAN PARENTS AS PRIESTS
TO THEIR CHILDREN
Christian parents are to be priests to their
children if they are. to be effective mediators
of grace and truth to them-For every high
priest taken from among men is appointed on
behalf of men in things pertaining to God
in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for
sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and
misguided, since he himself also is beset with
weakness; and because of it he is obligated
to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people,
so also for himself.- Hebrews 5: 1-3. A
Levitical priest in the Old Testament was a
person who was appointed and ordained by
the Lord to represent the covenant people
The GOdpel of Truth for the Family
before their God. He led Israel in worship
and instructed her in her relationship to God.
He offered sacrifices to God symbolizing
the atoning sacrifice of Christ in the place
of God's people, by which sacrifice they are
reconciled to Him. He pronounced God's
benediction upon them. On the basis of these
sacrifices, he interceded for Israel with God.
In the High Priest's breastplate were twelve
IJrecious stones representing the twelve tribes
of Israel, symbolizing the fact that as He
entered God's presence they were on his heart
and his intercessions were on their behalf.
They were "in" hinl and were represented
by him when he entered the Holy of Holies
in the Tabernacle, which room represented
the very throne room of God, where the ark
of the covenant stood. By their sacrifices,
intercessions, instructions and benedictions,
they consecrated the covenant people to God
as God's holy people, manifesting a holiness
that pervaded the entirety of their lives.
Like these ancient priests, parents have been
appointed and ordained by God to represent
their children before Him and to represent
God before their children. Because of the
once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, by which
the eternal salvation of God's people was
secured, parents are to recognize God's claim
on their children, and that from the very
beginning of their lives they are to testify to
thei children of God's gracious ownership
of them by bringing them to be baptized,
thereby consecrating them to the Lord as
His children, friends and servants to live in
terms of His revealed will instead of their
own. They are to impress upon their children
the claims of Christ who purchased them, so
that they will always understand that they are
not their own, but are to glorify God in their
bodies. They are to instruct their children in
a Christ-centered life so they will never know
a time when they have not loved and served
Jesus Christ. They are to pray earnestly with
and for them. They are to bless them, i.e., be
the instruments through whom God blesses
them. They are to lead them in worship.
And they are always to carry them around on
their hearts.
God has constituted us priests unto Himself on
behalf of our children; with the encouragement
of the work of Christ behind us, we have
to offer that spiritual sacrifice of earnest, fervent
prayer and tender compassionate concern for the
totality of their needs, the greatest of which are
spiritual.- Al Martin.
Furthermore, Christian paren ts are responsible
to embody before their children the grace and
truth which they are seeking to communicate
and mediate. This means that they must have
an authentic faith in Christ for which they are
willing to live and to die.
As priests, parents are to bear patiently and
deal gently with the ignorant and erring. Like
Christ, our great high priest, we must be able
to sympathize with our [children'S] weakness,
Hebrews 4:14-15; that in Him through us,
our children may receive mercy and may find
grace to help in time of need, Hebrews 4: 16.
We, and our children, are ignorant and
erring because we are sinners. The ignorant
are such because of the lack of a due and
diligent attention to our only infallible rule
of faith and practice, i.e., the Bible, so that
they fall into sin due to their guilty ignorance.
The erring or misguided are such because,
not having guarded their hearts, they were
seduced by the power of temptation, turning
from the straight paths of holy obedience,
and wandering in the crooked paths of
unrighteousness.
As priests we are to bear patiently and deal
gently with our children for two reasons
according to our text: (1). Because they
are sinners; and (2). Because their parents
are sinners-since he himself also is beset
with weakness, Hebrews 5:2. The Greek
word translated deal gently in the NASV
is fLHplOTTa9Elv , found only here in the
New Testament. It means "to treat with
magnanimity instead of severity, to moderate
one's angry, impatient, or frustrated attitude
toward others, hence to bear patiently with and
to deal gently with." Sympathy, compassion,
patience and gentleness go together in dealing
with those to whom we are to minister, most
especially with our children. We willingly
manifest these Christlike and priestly qualities
because we have love and compassion for
our children, who have to struggle with sin
in their own lives because they inherited
their sinful natures from their parents, who
themselves are beset with weakness, which
is the consequence of human depravity. In
order to deal gently and patiently with our
children. we must never forget who and
what their parents are. It is only in doing
so that we will be kept from exasperating our
children, and provoking them to resentment
of us and of our God. Our children must see
in us Christ's own priestly likeness.
One of the most beautiful examples of a
father acting as a priest toward his children
is Job.
(l)There was a man in the land of Uz,
whose name was Job, and that man was
blameless, upright, fearing God, and
turning away from evil. (2) And seven
sons and three daughters were born to
him. -- (4) And his sons used to go and
hold a feast in the house of each one on
his day, and they would send and invite
their three sisters to eat and drink with
them. (5) And it came about, when the
days of feasting had completed their
cycle, that Job would send and consecrate
them, rising up early in the morning
and offering burnt offerings according
to the number of them all; for Job said,
"Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed
God in their hearts." Thus Job did
continually.- Job I: I ,2,4,5
In offering burnt offerings to God in behalf
of his children, Job is saying that he looked
to that which the burnt offering symbolized
as the basis for the .salvation and well-being
of his family, i.e., the sacrificial death of his
Redeemer, Job 19:25. Job did this continually,
I :5. Do you continually enjoy the fellowship
of your family, lead your family in worship,
intercede in their behalf, and look to the
death of Jesus Christ for their redemption and
security?
3. CHRISTIAN PARENTS AS KINGS/
QUEENS TO THEIR CHILDREN
Christian parents are to be kings!
queens to their children if they are to be
effective as mediators of grace and truth
to them-For I Uehovah] have chosen
him [Abraham], in order that he may
command his children and his household
after him to keep the way of the LORD by
doing righteousness and justice; in order
that the LORD may bring upon Abraham
what He has spoken about him.- Genesis
18: 19. Because God has given parents
this governing authority over the family,
to administer the rule of God over it in
God's name, any blatant, persistent and
incorrigible rebellion against that parental
authority by young adults is considered
treason against God, and hence deserving
of the death penalty, Exodus 21: I 7;
Deuteronomy 21:18; Matthew 15:4. Any
disobedience in children is to be treated
by the rod and reproof, and if necessary,
church discipline. However, the problem
today is that many parents are ruled by
their children, thereby training them to
respect no one's authority but their own.
The kingly/queenly role of the parent
involves the exercise of authority and of
leadership, which itself involves the two
concepts of dominion, Genesis 1:28, and
service, Mark 10:42f; 9:35;John 13:12f.
And God blessed them; and God said to
them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth, and subdue it; and rule over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of
the sky, and over every living thing that
moves on the earth."- Genesis 1:28
And calling them to Himself, Jesus said
to them, "You know that those who are
recognized as rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them; and their great men
exercise authority over them. But it is
not so among you, but whoever wishes to
become great among you shall be your
servant; and whoever wishes to be first
among you shall be slave of all. For
even the Son of Man did not come to be
The GOJpeL of Truth for the FamiLy
served, but to serve, and to give Bis life a
ransom for many.". Mark 10:4245
A godly king/queen not only obeys,
maintains, inculcates and enforces God's
revealed order for life, he/she also serves
his/her subjects/children. The parent
rules and leads by serving-The Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve;
and to give Bis life a ransom for many,
Mark 10:45. The exercise of parental
authority must be in a Christlike manner,
and not as an exasperating, abusive tyrant.
Service is power to strengthen and direct
the desires of children, Isaiah 58.
The Christian parent rules in submission
to the superior authority of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Under this Christlike,
Christoriented and Christ.governed rule
in the home, the child is nurtured in an
atmosphere of love. He is given respect
as one created in the image of God,
redeemed by Christ and sanctified by the
Spirit. In this kind of environment the
child is freed from the mass confusion and
impersonal relationships which prevail in
antiChristian cultures. He is constantly,
implicitly, and explicitly pointed to One
greater than his parents, as the One to
whom he owes his ultimate obedience and
in whose presence he lives and moves and
h;l.s his being.
Training a child to submit, willingly and
tot"lly, to Divine authority is the heart
of Christian education in the home,
school and church. As Herman Bavinck
has written: "Objective authority and
subjective respect for authority are the
two pillars upon which for centuries all
education and instruction have rested."
And as Solomon said: The fear of the
Lord [loving submission to the God of
the Bible] is the beginning of knowledge,
Proverbs I: 7.
The godly use of parental, kingly/queenly,
authority can serve as an instructive model
for God's authority. Children can be
taught that willing submission to human
authority is both a reflection and a part
of a proper Creatorcreature relationship
with God. The parent himself must set
the example of being submissive to God's
authority and faithfully follow the rules
and principles drawn from the Word of
God.
Genesis 18: 19, which we have quoted above,
contains truths of vital importance for
parents, that are just as true today as they
were when God spoke them to Abraham.
In a theophany, i.e., a visitation of God
in the appearance of a man in the Old
Testament, Jehovah reveals to Abraham
that he and Sarah will have a child of
promise through whom the covenant
promises of Jehovah would be realized in
Abr;l.ham's posterity, culminating in the
Messiah. And the LORD told Abraham
that, if he is to bring the covenant
blessings to the world's nations, he must
teach justice and righteousness to his
descendants, so that they will do justice
and righteousness; and in keeping the way
of the Lord, they will enjoy God's rich
blessings.
The statement in verse 19 that the
Lord knew Abraham (literally "I have
known him," or as the NASV has
it, "I have chosen him"), confirms
that the patriarch stood in a special
[covenantal] relationship to the Lord
and that, when he received further
revelation of the righteousness of
God, he would instill it in the way of
his descendants. To live in conformity
with the will of God (righteousness)
and to make the right decisions based
on His will Uustice) now become the
conditions for inheriting the blessings
of the promise, Psalm 33:5; Proverbs
31:3. Allen Ross, CREATION AND
BLESSING, p. 350
Responsibility to walk uprightly is
th" kernel of meaning here. The
consequence of ungodly habits is
clearly shown, [in the imminent
judgment on Sodom for its
perversion], so that Abraham should
so instruct his descendants to fear God
to the end that they should walk in
paths of righteousness and thus inherit
the promised salvation and escape
the wrath of God.- Harold Stigers, A
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS, p.
171
The promise, (in Genesis 18: 19), is this: God's
families are to work "to create a culture that
has as its foundation the revelation of truth
from God, its moral power the obedience
of faith to that revelation, and its fruit
righteousness unto holiness, wrought out by
them in the mutual manifestation of the love
of God. That culture involve(s) the teaching
of the Word of God to one's children and
by them in turn to theirs, that they should
regulate their lives by it. It was to reveal the
true people of God so that the world might
hunger after that revelation and seek that
culture to their everlasting blessing, Abraham
devoted his entire life to it."- Stigers, p. 171
II. Threefold Ministry of Parents as
Mediators of Grace and Truth
Christian parents, as mediators of grace and
truth under Christ, are to bring up their
children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord, Ephesians 6:4. The word, nurture,
1tOlOEIO, involves the ideas of education-
And Moses was educated [1tQlOEIO] in all
the learning of the Egyptians, Acts 7:22;
22:3, and discipline-My son, do not regard
lightly the discipline [1tOlOEIO] of the Lord,
Hebrews 12:5; I Co,inthians 11:32. And the
word, admonition,vou9EOlO, involves the
idea of counseling-And concerning you,
my brethren, I myself also am convinced that
you yourselves are full of goodness, filled
with all knowledge, and able to admonish
[VOU9ETElV] one another, [i.e., competent
to counsel one another], Romans 15:14. So
then, the threefold ministry of parents is
Christian Education. Christian Discipline
and Christian Counseling. This threefold
ministry amounts to the true DISCIPLING of
A.
children: Ohristian education is preventive
discipling, Ohristian discipline is corrective
discipling. And Ohristian counseling enables
the children to solve their problems God's
way revealed in the Bible. It also relates to
their role as mediators of grace and truth: As
kings! queens, parents educate and instruct.
As prophets they correct. And as priests they
sympathetically counsel.
PARENTS AND CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION
I. THE COVENANTAL CONTEXT OF
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Christian education must be understood
and practiced within the context of God's
covenant bond of eternal friendship
between Himself and His people in
Christ in which He has entered into a
communion of life with us and has given
us His sovereignly-dictated order of life
for our family-And I will establish My
covenant between Me and you and your
descendants after you throughout their
generations for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your descendants
after you, Genesis 17: 7.
This covenant means that we as families
and individuals must live in terms of
God's total claim on us, Deuteronomy 5;
and that because of that claim, we have
the responsibility of total obedience
to Him motivated by faith in Christ,
Deuteronomy 6 .. Our obedience to Him
is in terms of separation from evil and
the conquest of the earth by the Word of
God, Deuteronomy 7.
Therefore Christian education is an
essential aspect of that total obedience to
which God's grace calls us. In educating
ourselves and our families, we learn how to
live and think in terms of God's revealed
will, and thereby become equipped to
advance His kingdom in ourselves, our
homes, and throughout the earth, Genesis
1:28.
Tbe GOJpel of Trtdb for tbe Family
2. THE GOALS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
(DEUTERONOMY 6: 1-3)
a. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE
(6: 1,2)
We must carefully instruct our children
in how to be faithful members of God's
covenant, how to live as God's friends,
and how to be loyal servants of Christ in
all areas of life.
b. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRISTIAN
MIND (6:8)
Covenant children must learn to love
God with their minds, i.e., to think about
everything from a distinctively Biblical and
Christian perspective, I Corinthians 10:5.
" ... the Christian mind (is) a mind trained,
informed, equipped to handle data of
secular controversy within a framework of
reference which is constructed of Christian
presuppositions. The Christian mind is the
prerequisite of Christian action."- Harry
Blamires, THE CHRISTIAN MIND. We
live like we live because we think like we
think; or as the Bible puts it-as a man
thinketh in his he.art so is he.
c. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRISTIAN
CIVILIZATION (6:1)
Because the kingdom of Jesus Christ
embraces, governs and transforms every
area of life, Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew
13:33, Jesus calls His disciples to press
the claims of His kingdom in every area
of life on earth, until the knowledge of
the Lord covers the earth as the waters
cover the sea. The kingdom of Christ is
the manifestation of the sovereign rule of
God in power and grace which establishes
a new civilization of righteousness and
blessedness in history in Jesus Christ in
fulfillment of God's covenant promises.
We are to teach our children to see
3.
themselves as the ones who will protect
and perfect that future Christendom.
There are two, and only two, mutually
exGlusive philosophies of education.
These are involved in two mutually
exclusive philosophies of man and
his goal for human civilization and
culture."- Cornelius Van Til, ESSAY IN
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS
OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
(DEUTERONOMY 6:4-5)
a. THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH OF
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
The foundational truth of Christian
education is this: The LORD is our God,
and the LORD is one! Because God is
one, and beside Him there is no other
God, He is the one Lord over everything
and the Source of Truth for everything.
There can be but one law, one truth, one
meaning of life and one gospel. The
oneness of God means that Christianity
is the only true religion and the only true
interpretation of life and the universe.
The Lord our God has spoken. His
Word is our life. To refuse to follow
His Word is moral, intellectual and
cultural snicide. His Word is the
life and breath of Our educational
method. Our children must see that
Christianity is not AN explanation of
the facts, not AN approach to life, but
THE ONLY explanation and approach
which will glorify God and provide
answers to man.- Chris Streve!,
"Christ and the Transformation of
Culture"
b. THE FOUNDATIONAL ETHIC OF
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
(DEUTERONOMY 6:5)
4.
The foundational ethic of Christian
education is You shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your might. Adoration
of and submission to God in Christ is the
starting point and goal of all Christian
education, because the fear of the LORD
is the beginning of knowledge, Proverbs
1:7. Without a life-consuming love for
God, God's Word and God's world, a
true understanding of life in this world is
beyond our reach, Deuteronomy 30: 15-
20.
THE PRIMARY CONCERNS
OFCHRISTIAN EDUCATION
(LUKE 2:52)
The primary concerns of Christian
education can be seen in the education
of the young Jesus-Jesus Increased in
wisdom and stature; and in favor with
God and man.
a. INTEILECTUAL ADVANCEMENT:
Jesus increased in wisdom ...
All facets of education must be aimed
at stimulating and expanding the mind,
bringing every thought captive to the
word of Christ.
The sphere of the intellectual,
the sphere of knowledge and
understanding, is not a sphere in
which the Christian gives ground,
or even tolerates vagueness and
confusion.- Harry Blamires, THE
CHRISTIAN MIND
b. PHYSICAL DISCIPLINE:
Jesus increased ... in stature ...
Physical strength, health, stamina,
conditioning and discipline are important
to God who created the human body to
serve Him, Romans 12:1-2.
c. SPIRITUAL GROWTH:
Jesus increased ... in favor with God ...
The highest priority III Christian
education must be placed on the child's
understanding of and personal faith in
Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. A
personal relationship with Christ is vital
to the success of Christian education
because Jesus said, Without Me you can
do nothing, John 15:5.
d. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:
Jesus increased ... infavor .. with ... man.
Knowing how to relate to one another,
serve one another, work with one
another, treat one another with dignity
and graciousness, be hospitable and
courteous to one another are all essential
ingredients to Christian love and to the
Christian's mission in this world. Without
social graces, hospitality, brotherly love,
kindness, respect and courtesy, we will be
of little value in advancing God's kingdom
and in reflecting Christ's character in our
own lives before others.
B. PARENTS AND CHRISTIAN DISCIPUNE
Train up a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it, Proverbs 22:6.
1. THE MEANING OF "TRAINING"
This training of children is more than the
transmission of information. It involves
the molding of character, the putting of a
child in an exact direction. And since our
children are sinners, it involves corrective
discipline and chastening, which redirects
the child along the way he should go.
Eli's heart was broken because he failed
to train and discipline his sons when they
sinned, I Samuel 2-3.
2. THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN
DISCIPLINE
The purpose in our disciplining of our
children is rooted in the purpose in God's
fatherly discipline of us His children:
My son, do not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord, nor faint when
The GOJpel oj Truth Jor the Family
you are reproved by Him; for those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
and He scourges every son whom He
receives. It is for discipline that you
endure; God deals with you as with
sons; for what son is there whom his
father does not discipline? But if you
are without discipline, of which all
have become partakers, then you are
illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers
to discipline us, and we respected
them; shall we not much rather be
subject to the Father of spirits and
live? For they disciplined us for a
short time as seemed best to them, but
He disciplines us for our good, that we
may share His holiness. All discipline
for the moment seems not to be joyful,
but sorrowful; yet to those who have
been trained by it, afterwards it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness.-
Hebrews 12:5-11
3. THE FRAMEWORK OF OHRISTIAN
DISCIPUNE
Ohristian discipline takes place within a
framework of justice and loye. Balance
here is crucial. It must be done consistently.
Parents must say what they mean and mean
what they say. Inconsistency in corrective
discipline is cruel and exasperating to
children. It must be administered with
sufficient firmness that the child will know
he is being chastened. It must be done
in faith that God will honor the parent's
faithfulness, II Samuel 22:31. It must be
administered with clarity and faithfulness.
The corrective means must take into
consideration the nature of the child and
the seriousness of the misdeed. The rules
and expectations of the parents must be
clear from the start; and the reason for
the chastening must be made clear. And,
of course, corrective discipline must be
administered in love. The chastened
child must be assured of the continued
love and affection of his parents, and that
the discipline itself was performed out
of love for the child. The child must be
chastened because he or she is intensely
loved-whom a father loves he chastens.
4. THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF
OHRISTIAN DISOIPUNE
The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child who gets his own way
brings shame to his mother.-
Proverbs 29: 15
The rod and reproof are separated only to
the detriment of the child. Both together
are detrimental unless they are performed
in Ohristian love. The rod refers to
spanking for the sins committed and
reproof refers to Bible-based corrective
counsel by the parent of his child, so his
child will know how to avoid the sin for
which he was chastened. The rod is wise,
considerate, faithful discipline, "always
aiming at the sUbjugation of the will and
the humbling and purifying of the heart."-
Oharles Bridges, PROVERBS, p. 168
A variety of ways by which a parent
can correctively discipline his child are
presented to him in the Bible: allowing
children to bear some of the consequences
of some of their bad choices, Galatians
6:7f; requiring restitution to teach a
lesson, Luke 19:8; withdrawal of blessings
and privileges for a time, Deuteronomy
31: 16f; separation from the fellowship of
others for a time, II Thessalonians 3:6,14f,
although restoration to fellowship must
always be the goal, I Oorinthians 5:2,5.
However, the primary Biblical method of
chastening is the actual use of the rod.
Spanking can have a real sanctifying effect
on our children, when done properly-
Stripes that wound scour away evil,
and strokes reach the innermost parts,
Proverbs 20:30. Spankings can be means
of grace to our children. When inflicted
and received properly, spankings will bring
the disciplined child to say: It is good for
me that I was afflicted, that I may learn
Thy statutes. I know, 0 Lord, that
The GO.Jpel of Truth for the Family
Thy judgments are righteous, and that in
faithfulness Thou has afflicted me, Psalm
119:71,75. Therefore, spanking should
be inflicted faithfully, lovingly, vigorously,
and hopefully, as our God-given and
primary means of corrective discipline.
If spanking is to have its full effect, it
should be administered in this, or in a
similar, fashion: (I). Be sure the child
understands what he did wrong. (2). Help
him evaluate his actions in the light of the
Bible. (3). Help him see that when he sins
he needs to be corrected to learn that the
way of the transgressor is hard. (4). Show
him your obligation to be God's agent
in his correction. (5). Explain to him
what ought to be done in the future. (6).
Spank him so that he knows he has been
spanked. (7). After you have disciplined
him, embrace him, show him affection,
assure him of your love for him, and pray
with him. (8). Ask him/her to ask God
and you for forgiveness.
The book of Proverbs answers most of the
excuses and objections parents give for
not spanking their children:
He who spares his rod hates
his son, but he who loves him
disciplines him diligently. - Proverbs
13: 14
Do not hold back discipline from
the child, although you beat him
with the rod, he will not die. You
shall beat him with the rod, and
deliver his soul from hell.- Proverbs
23:13,14
Discipline your son while there is
hope, and do not desire his death.-
Proverbs 19: 18
Correct your son, and he will give
you comfort; he will also delight
your soul.- Proverbs 29: I 7
Foolishness is bound up in the
heart of a child; the rod of
discipline will remove it far from
him.- Proverbs 22:15
C. PARENTS AND CHRISTIAN
COUNSELING
Few joys are more satisfying and exhilarating
to a parent than to have such a relationship
with his/her children that he/she is able
to give personal counsel gladly received
from his/her children concerning their
intimate problems and crises. But SOme
would say, "Shouldn't counseling be left
to the professionals, the psychologists and
the psychiatrists?" And the answer is given
by the greatest and most Biblical, living
teacher of Christian counseling, Jay Adams:
"Qualified Christian counselors properly
trained in the Scriptures are competent to
counsel-more competent than psychiatrists
or anyone else." (Every parent should have
and read at least four of Adams' books: (I).
COMPETENT TO COUNSEL; (2). THE
CHRISTIAN COUNSELOR'S MANUAL;
(3). MORE THAN REDEMPTION; AND
(4). CHRISTIAN LIVING IN THE HOME.)
Furthermore, Ephesians 6:4 commands
parents to give counseling, VOU8EOLU,
admonition, to their children. So then, it
is not optional. Parents are commanded
by God to be counselors to their children,
therefore, it is their duty to spend time
preparing and training themselves to be
Biblical counselors. This duty does not
discount the counseling role of teaching
and ruling elders in your life and in the
lives of your children-But we request of
you, brethren, that you appreciate those
who diligently labor among you, and have
charge over you in the Lord and give
you instruction, [VOU8E"tOUV"tuo, i.e.,
counseling].- I Thessalonians 5: 12.
1. THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
The five qualifications for effective Christian
counseling are found in Romans 15: 13-14
and Colossians 1:28.
(13) Now may the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing that
you may abound in hope by the power
of the Holy Spirit. (14) And concerning
you, my brethren, I myself also am
convinced that you yourselves are full
of goodness, filled with all knowledge,
and able also to admonish [counsel] one
another.- Romans 15:13-14
And we proclaim Him, admonishing
[counseling] every man and teaching
every man with all wisdom, that we may
present every man complete in Christ.-
Colossians 1 :28
2. THE THREE BASIC ELEMENTS OF
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
True Christian counseling is called by Jay
Adams nouthetic counseling. The word
nouthetic comes from the Greek word for
counseling, VOV8EOLO, nouthesis. In the
English versions of the New Testament,
it is often translated "counseling,
admonition, warning, teaching," although
no one English word conveys its full
meaning. N outhetic counseling consists
of three basic elements, denoted by the
word. nouthesis.
a. CHANGE
h.
N outhetic counseling always presupposes
a problem, an obstacle that must be
overcome, something wrong in the life
and thinking of the person counseled
that God wants changed. This need for
change assumes two additional ideas: (I).
All problems are consequences of the
entrance and presence of sin, Romans
3:23; (2). Lasting and substantial change
is possible because of the power of the
Holy Spirit, I Corinthians 6:9-11.
CONFRONTATION
Nouthetic counseling presupposes that
problems, caused by sin, are solved by
loving, verbal confrontation of the
counselee regarding his sins, using the
Bible. N outhetic counseling is Biblical
counseling. The distinctive feature of
c.
the Greek word, nouthesis, is training by
word of mouth. Problems are solved in
Biblical counseling by person-to-person
verbal means-instruction, exhortation,
encouragement, admonition, correction-
from the Bible. It aims at helping a
person change his perspective and
behavior patterns to conform to Biblical
standards, Colossians 4:6. "The basic
thrust of the word, confrontation, has
always been to indicate personal, face-to-
face involvement that refuses to sidestep
the often. unpleasant but necessary task
of helping a person who is in difficulty."-
Jay Adams. And, of course, it must be
remembered that the truth must always
be spoken in love, trying not to break a
bruised reed or a smoking flax.
CONCERN
Behind the verbal correction is the intention
to benefit the person counseled, which
intention grows out of the counselor's
loving concern for him. He seeks to
change that in him which is hurting him
because he loves him, I Corinthians 4: 14;
Colossians 1:28. "Nouthesis is motivated
by love and deep concern, in which clients
are counseled and corrected by verbal
means for their good, ultimately ... that
God may be glorified."-Jay Adams
3. THE ROLE OF CHRIST AND THE HOLY
SPIRIT IN COUNSELING
a. BIBLICAL COUNSELING FOCUSES
ON JESUS CHRIST (COLOSSIANS 1:26;
I CORINTHIANS 2:2)
b. BIBLICAL COUNSELING IS
INEFFECTIVE WITHOUT THE HOLY
SPIRIT Gohn 14:16,17; 16:7-15)
(1.) THE HOLY SPIRIT USES THE BIBLE IN
HIS COUNSELING (EPHESIANS 6:17)
(2.) THE HOLY SPIRIT USES CHRISTIANS
IN HIS COUNSELING (COLOSSIANS
1:28; 3:16; ROMANS 15:14)
Tbe GOJpel of Trutb for tbe Family
4. THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN
COUNSELING
As we have pointed out, Biblical change is
the goal of nouthetic counseling. But change
is hard. It includes changing attitudes, life-
patterns, habits, responses, relationships,
behavior. This call to change is a call to
repentance and not merely to remorse over
failures, Hebrews 12:16,17; II Corinthians
7:10; Acts 26:20; Philippians 3:13,14.
a. ALL TRUE, SUBSTANTIAL AND
LASTING CHANGE BEGINS,
CONTINUES AND ENDS IN A
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH
JESUS CHRIST THROUGH HIS
WORD AND SPIRIT (EPHESIANS 4:20-25;
COLOSSIANS 3:8-12)
b. THE CHANGING OF SINFUL
OUTLOOKS, LIFE-PATTERNS, AND
ACQUIRED SINFUL HABITS INVOLVES
THREE BASIC ELEMENTS:
First, change involves the renewing of the
mind by the Word of God-- ... and that you
be renewed in the spirit of your mind ... ,
Ephesians 4:23; Romans 12:1-2. This
involves an examination of one's basic
presuppositions and a bringing of them into
captivity to the Word of God. It involves a
correcting of our thinking about God, life
and our problems. Many of our problems
arise from incorrect thinking about God
and about ourselves. As believers we
are no longer under the tyranny of sin,
therefore, we can control and govern our
thought life. And, finally, renewal of the
mind involves believing the Word of God is
powerful enough to change our minds and
lives deeply and lastingly, Romans 6: 17; II
Timothy 3: 14f.
Second, change involves saying "No!" to
sinful thoughts. habits, desires, tendencies,
moods, attitudes, patterns, inclinations,
and behayior-- ... that; in reference to your
former manner of life, you lay aside the old
self, which is being corrupted in accordance
with the lusts of deceit. .. , Ephesians 4:22.
This involves a breaking of bad habits by
the power of the Spirit and self-discipline.
"A way or manner of life is a habitual
way of living. God gave man a marvelous
capacity that we call habit. Whenever one
does something long enough, it becomes a
part of him." - Jay Adams
Saying "No!" to sin involves a refusal to
be dominated by specific sins-if you are
living according to the flesh, you must die;
but if by the Spirit you are putting to death
the deeds of the body, you will live, Romans
8: 13. Believe what God says about you is true
and act on it-Even so consider yourselves
to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body that you should obey its lusts,
Romans 6:11-12. See also Ephesians 4:25-
30; Colossians 3:5f; Romans 8: 12f.
Third, change involves saying "Yesl" to new;
holy habits, thoughts, desires, tendencies,
attitudes, patterns inclinations, moods, and
behavior-and put on the new self, which
in the likeness of God has been created in
righteousness and holiness of the truth,
Ephesians 4:24. Starting with the renewal
of the mind, this involves a specific change
in behavior and habits. This is the point
of II Corinthians 5: 17-Therefore if any
man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old things have passed away; behold, new
things have come.
The old self is our fallen, sinful nature. It
has been put to death just as decisively as
Christ's death on the cross-our old self
was crucified with Him, that our body of
sin might be done away with, that we should
no longer be slaves to sin, Romans 6:6. The
Christian has been spiritually resurrected
out of the death and tyranny of sin into the
reign of grace-Therefore we have been
buried with Him through baptism into death,
in order that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life, Romans
6:4.
Saying "Yes!" to new, holy habits is the
creation of new, holy habits to replace the
old, unholy habits-do not go on presenting
the members of your body to sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but,present
yourselves to God as those alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God, Romans 6:13. If a
person is not re-programmed by the Word
and Spirit of God, when the pressures
of life grow heavy, he will react to them
according to the habits he is used to and
feels comfortable with.
This involves a daily, persevering work made
possible by the regenerative work of God in
us. It involves dying more and mare to sin
and living more and more to righteousness.
It is sanctification. If we do what God tells
us to do (in the Bible) only when we feel
like doing it, we will feel like doing it less
and less, until we do not feel like doing it at
all; but, if we do what God tells us to do (in
the Bible), especially when we do not feel
like doing it, we will feel like doing it more
and more. And thus, we have created a new
holy habit. Breaking a sinful habit involves
replacing it with a holy habit out of love for
Christ, Ephesians 4:24,26,28.
Seven elements are involved III Biblical
change: (I). Becoming aware of the habit
or practice or attitude that is to be "put off."
(2). Discovering the Biblical alternative. (3).
Structuring our whole situation fOT change.
Because sin affects every area of life, James
1 :8, change involves planned restructuring
of life in its ,entirety. (4). Breaking links
in the chain of sin. The problem must be
solved in steps and stages, just as the habit
was formed. The counselee must retrace
his steps to break the chain of sinful habits
and patterns. (5). Getting help from other
Christians, (6) Stressing the whole personal
relationship with Jesus; Christ ahd the
desire of the believer to please and, honor
Him. (7). Practicing the new pattern until
it becomes a holy habit. New patterns
become an habitual part of one's life only
through diligent, persevering practice and
discipline, II Chronicles 27:6; I Timothy
4:7; Hebrews 12:1. A godly life with lasting
and substantial change is impossible without
persevering discipline in obeying God's
Word for Tesus' sake. Hebrews 5:13.14.
Conclusion
The promise of God to parents is that by
the grace of God, parental faithfulness as
mediators of grace and truth under Christ,
relating to their children as prophets, priests
and kings, ministering to them perseveringly
in Christian education, discipline and
counseling, will produce children who:
(I) .... will be able to give the same testimony
David gave about his own relationship to
God in Psalm 22:9-10-Yet Thou art He who
didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou
didst make me trust when upon my mother's
breasts. Upon Thee I was cast from birth;
Thou hast been my God from my mother's
womb. First, David testifies that God's grace
made him a believer who trusted in Him as
a newborn on his mother's breast. Second,
even in his mother's womb he enjoyed union
and communion with God, for Thou hast been
my God from my mother's womb. Constantly
pray for your children, pre born, barn, and
yet to be conceived, that God's saving grace
would be operative in their lives even before
they'are born so they will never know a time
when they have not loved and served Jesus
Christ.
(2) ... will be able to say about their own
children someday, even if some of them die
in infancy, what' David said about his in II
Samuel 12:19-25-But when David saw that
his servants were whispering together, David
perceived that the child was dead; so David
said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And
they said, "He is dead." So David arose
from the ground, washed, anointed himself,
and ch'anged his clothes; and he came into
the house of the LORD and worshipped.
Then he came to his own hause, and when
he requested, they set food before him, and
he ate. Then his servants said to him, "What
is this thing that you have dane? While the
child was alive, you fasted and wept; but
when the child died, you arose and ate food."
And he said, "While the child was still alive,
I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows, the
LORD may be gracious to me, that the child
may live.' But now he has died; why should I
The GOJpeL of Truth for the FamiLy
fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go
to him, but he will not return to me," Then
David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and
went in to her and lay with her; and she gave
birth to a son, and he named him Solomon,
Now the LORD loved him and sent word
through Nathan the prophet, and he named
himJedidiah for the LORD's sake, The name,
Jedidiah, means beloved of the LORD,
What do we have in this story that should
encourage Christian parents? We have David,
a believing man, although an imperfect man,
believing the covenant promises of God
regarding his children as belonging to God
along with himself, and so finding comfort in
those promises in the death of his seven day
old infant, Genesis 17:7, He is comforted with
the thought that, although his child has died,
being God's child, he is safely with God in
heaven, and that someday after his own death,
he and his child will be reunited in heaven,
Furthermore, still believing God's promises to
him as a believer, that God remains his God
and the God of his children after him down
through their generations, David expresses
his faith in those promises by naming his next
infant, Jedidiah, because of his assurance by
the prophetic Word that his son was beloved
of the LORD as God's child,
(3)", will therefore be able to see the faithfulness
of God in bringing the covenantal salvation
he brought to them and to their parents to
their own children, which He promises when
He said that I, the LORD your God",visiting
the iniquity of the fathers on the children,
unto the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to
thousands [of generations], to those who love
Me and keep My commandments,- Exodus
20:5-6.
MIGHTY MEN
A STARTERS GUIDE TO
LEADING YOUR FAMILY
By John Crotts
Grace and Truth Books, Sand Springs, Ok,
(www.graceandtruthbooks.com)
"Two lines formed at the entrance of a men's meeting
at church. a very long line waited in front of the door
marked, "Men Who Are NOT the Spiritual Leaders
of Their Families." Over the other door the sign
read, "Men who ARE the SpiritUal Leaders of Their
Families," One man stood in tins line. When asked
what Ins big secret was, he shrugged his shoulders and
responded, "I'm just standing where my wife told me to,"
John Crotts, Pastor of Faith Bible Church, Sharpsburg,
Ga" graduate of Liberty University and The Master's
Academy, has written a helpful little starter booklet,
38 pages, for men who need some encouragment and
guidance in leading tI,eir family spiritually.
"Christian men so '!!len find the task if .family leadership so
daunting we withdraw}i'om it into a distant uninvolvernent
- leaving the wife and children with the impression that we
don't ca" enough to lead, or don't want to, when the heart if
the problem '!fien is, we're frightened if ~ or we don't want
to admit iJlat we lack the tools or how-ta-training. "
Crotts takes seriously ti,e words of J R. Miller,
Presbyterian Minster of the 19th C, "The husband",
must be a good man".No man is fit to be a husband who
is not a good man, He need not be great, nor rich, nor
brilliant, nor clever, but he must be good, or he is not
wortilY to tal,e a gentle, trusting woman"s tender life into
his keeping,"
No one expects a descendent of 'Old Ersbell' (Rev. Archibald
Alexander -1789-1861 - President of Hamden Sydney College
and first teacher of theology in Princeton Seminary) to be
greedy, or avaricious, or pinching, or unkind, or indolent, or
ignorant, or very rich. But the public did expect them to Imow
their catechism, to be familiar with their Bible, to keep the
Sabbath, to fear God, keep a good conscience, with industry
and economy to be independent and as last to die Christianly."
Southern Presbyterian Leaders, Henry Alexander White,
Banner of Truth Pub., Pg. 183