What you believe is what protects you. What your children believe will be what, ultimately, protects them. Protects them from what? From the attacks of the world. Responsible parents are always looking for ways to protect their children. Whether it is an improved baby monitoring or a new cell phone with a GPS locator or a car with more safety features, protecting our children is important. But what will protect them from the deceptive schemes of a world at war with God? Satan, as the father of lies, has constructed a world system that attempts to obscure and conceal the evil he has planned for those who follow him. That is what Ephesians 2:1-3 is teaching us; note especially verse […]
Proverbs and the Gospel
26 posts
This post is part of an ongoing series about parenting and proverbs. Our goal is to make specific application of the first 9 chapters of Proverbs to the issues parents face with their children. Every Christian parent wants to see his children protected and guarded by God’s wisdom, especially as they grow older and begin their own lives away from home. The book of Proverbs has much to say about this biblical and good desire. We have already looked at the first 5 verses of Chapter Two which focus on the importance man’s effort to know the wisdom of God. Now in verses 6-11, Solomon turns to the sovereign grace of God in protecting and guarding young hearts. Please […]
The opening words of Proverbs state that the fear of God is where to begin to understand how life works. Then, just to strengthen the point, Solomon says the people who think they have no need of God despise the fear of God. If Proverbs 1:7 is one of the verses you have memorized, you might be thinking that you don’t remember the verse exactly this way. The verse actually reads this way: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. The verse is saying that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of knowledge. But fools, those who say there is no God, despise this foundation, i.e., the fear of […]
Parenting, Proverbs and the Gospel I’m not sure, is an increasingly popular response among a teenager and young adults when they have a decision to make. For example: Will you be home for dinner tonight? Where would you like to go to college? What kind of friends do you want to have? My folks are out of town; would you like to spend the weekend with me? What do you want to do after college? What did you think of the pastor’s sermon last Sunday? Do you want to party after the game? Would you like to go to a Bible study? Are you ready for marriage?
Flowers and gifts on Mother’s Day are very good. But God has called us to honor our mothers and wives in greater ways as well. The gospel changes everything about life. The gospel does not draw its power from human performance, but rather, human efforts draw their power from the Holy Spirit. His power is not limited by human weaknesses. So when we read the exhortation of Proverbs 31:31 to honor mothers and wives for all that they have done, we are not rating their performance, but instead, we are honor them with gratitude simply for who they are. Motherhood is part of the plan of God to bring glory to himself. For Christians, we have the additional blessing of […]
The book of Proverbs has more to say about the practical side of parenting than any other book of Scripture. This makes the study and mastery of Proverbs a must for parents. All of Scripture was written ultimately by the Holy Spirit, who both anticipated the coming of Christ and built upon his advent with every word he breathed out for our good. Proverbs is no exception. If you want to teach your children the true meaning of Proverbs, you must do so through the lens of the gospel. Understanding the cultural and linguistic issues is vital, but no more so than understanding that the Holy Spirit anticipated that coming of Christ and his teaching in Proverbs. The following series […]