Being a parent is a wonderful combination of beautiful opportunities and overwhelming responsibilities. As Christian parents we are, first and foremost, concerned with teaching the gospel to our children and pointing them toward Christ. Our children’s salvation is of primary importance and should be our ultimate desire and prayer. But we also have the great privilege, opportunity, and responsibility of teaching our children how they can best glorify God throughout their lives - by living according to his ways.
We want to be careful to teach and model the pursuit of righteousness to honor God for the love and grace he has freely offered us, not to earn anything from him. As we do this, we help them form an understanding of the biggest questions in life, including who they are, what their purpose is, how they should relate to others, and who God is.
In teaching our children to pursue righteousness, are we wrongly emphasizing works in the lives of our kids? No! While it’s vital that we clearly communicate to our kids that we are not saved by our works, it’s also vital that they know that our works demonstrate our living faith to ourselves and to the world.
The book of James explains this in the last part of Chapter 2. He describes faith without works as a “dead” and “useless” faith (v. 17,20). In verse 22, he explains that, for Abraham, "faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” In other words, faith and works go hand-in-hand, and neither one is of any value on its own. This concept is so much easier than we have made it. Put simply, true faith CANNOT HELP but express itself in true works.
The Psalmist teaches that there is blessing in walking according to God’s ways. In Psalm 119:1-3, he says, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways (ESV)!” As parents, we want these blessings for our children, and our training and discipleship can actually help our children find them.
It can be overwhelming to consider the fact that we have been entrusted with introducing these little ones to the truth of God’s word – the truth of the gospel and how God saves us and the truth of how he wants us to walk with him. It’s a responsibility we should approach with prayerful reverence and diligence, leaning on the powerful grace of God all the way.
Come back for more posts on discipling your children! Also, check out these helpful resources from Savvy.
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