Fellowship Church of Sidney

A sad assumption in many evangelical circles is that the Gospel is introductory for the life of the believer. In other words, the Gospel is what gets us into the club, and then we move on to the deeper topics like sanctification and holiness. I would assert that the Gospel is not introductory, but rather is essential for every aspect of our lives – and especially parenting. How do Christian parents incorporate the Gospel in the rearing of children?

First, what is the Gospel? The Gospel by definition is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1^st Corinthians 15:1-4). The Good News of the Gospel is that through this death, burial and resurrection, God accomplished salvation for the believer because the one who had no sin became sin on our behalf so that we might be right with God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This salvation is received by faith and demonstrated by repentance. The question now is, “how does this apply to parenting?” The following are practical ways for the Christian parent to incorporate the Gospel in their day-to-day parenting.

First, teach your children the principles of Law and Gospel and use Biblical terms to do it. There are two equally-important factors in the religion of Jesus; the first is justice and the second is grace. Jesus had to go to the Cross because God would not neglect justice in order to give grace. Sin still had to be punished and His wrath still needed to be poured out. Thankfully for the believer, Jesus took our sins and suffered in our place so that justice was still done and grace could be given to the sinner (Romans 3:26). Parents don’t punish their children every time they misbehave – sometimes the place is not proper for discipline, sometimes the parent is too tired to discipline, sometimes the child has already learned their lesson, etc… Parents incorporate the Gospel when they verbalize in these circumstances that the child just “received grace” and that your kindness is meant to lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4). Other times, discipline can’t be avoided and it should be verbalized that the child will be receiving justice (the fair punishment for their misbehavior).

The point of the Law is to teach us our duty, make clear our condemnation, and show us our need of a Savior (which just happens to be an answer in my children’s catechism). When your child misbehaves or disobeys it should be clear to them that it’s not only misbehavior, it is sin – a sin for which Jesus had to die. This is because without understanding God’s Law, the child will never understand their need for the Gospel. When your child misbehaves (sins), ask them which of Ten Commandments they just broke. Then remind them what Jesus did for us to avoid an eternal punishment for that infraction.

In these small teachable moments, children can begin to understand why Jesus went to the cross. They can begin to understand that just like a parent can’t always forgo discipline or else they would be a bad parent, God would be a bad judge if He simply overlooked our sins. Thankfully, Jesus took both our sins and our punishment for us. This principle also teaches children that discipline (or justice) is not contrary to good parenting and it’s not contrary to the love of God.