Victory Blog

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Victory Baptist Church – Brodheadsville Pennsylvania PA – AmericanTowns.com

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In this column we are talking about children who grew up in a Christian home, but have not followed the Lord. Last time we began to focus on how parents handle their God given authority over their children. As noted previously, how we handle the authority God has given us as parents is critical to the process of training. We have briefly considered the warnings of Ephesians 6:4. Paul writes, “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” If we provoke our children to wrath we may be the very reason they reject our Christian training. May no child ever be able to point at his own father or mother to seek justification for his own rebellion against the Lord. But, let there be no doubt that such rebellion will never be condoned by God nor will stumbling over an unjust parent ever excuse a young person’s sin. Still, the Lord gives parent’s severe warnings of the necessity to perform their parenting obligations well.

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Last time we concluded our article by challenging parents, whose children grew up in their Christian home but have not followed the Lord, to consider how they handled the authority God gave them over their children. We ask again, was there anger, temper, inconsistency, or harshness? Maybe we should add, was there favoritism? Were children caught in the middle of parental conflicts?

How we handle the authority God has given us as parents is critical to the process of training. Most of us are familiar with the cautions expressed in Ephesians 6:4. Paul writes, “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Why he says that is quite obvious. The parent can undermine the very task of training he is assigned to do. Read the rest of this post »

In our last article, we ended with this suggestion: If your children have gone astray from the ways of the Lord consider the issue in these terms; why has my child not followed my faith and adopted my values? We started this series by request, and with the promise that we would address the issue forthrightly and compassionately. We will continue.

One of the most meaningful lessons I ever learned as a young father had to do with the relationship between authority and influence. I was especially stirred when the instructor asserted that influence had far greater impact on someone than authority. Read the rest of this post »

What does it mean to train children? In our last article we quoted from Matthew Henry’s commentary in addressing Proverbs 22:6. He writes, Catechise them; initiate them, keep them under discipline. Train them as soldiers, who are taught to handle their arms, keep rank and observe the word of command.

In our last article we also asked the following question. If a soldier had finished his course of training, but could not handle his arms, keep rank and observe his commands, was he, in fact, trained?

In addressing Proverbs 22:6 and the promise of children not departing from the way they should go, Charles Bridges, in his commentary on Proverbs wrote, If then the promise is not fulfilled, it is because the duty was not performed.

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