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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For information about next years conference contact: Trinity Presbyterian Church, P. O. Box 442, Tazewell, VA 24651; 276-988-9541. Email: fjlester@netscope.net

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 fi~lished 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

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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

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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.

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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

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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)

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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

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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 i~ 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