Skip to main content

Part 7: The SUCCESS of Parenting

THE SUCCESS OF PARENTING 

Geoffrey R. Kirkland

Christ Fellowship Bible Church (St Louis, MO)

 

What makes parenting successful? Every father and mother want to be successful in what they do. But how does one really know if they did it right? Christian parenting is like other duties in the life of the believer. God calls His people to consistent faithfulness. Successful parenting does not necessarily mean that all the kids will be Christians, go to good churches, be married and have a bunch of kids. One could fail miserably at his parental responsibilities and yet, in the immense mercies of God, the kids may walk closely with Christ! Or, a parent may faithfully lead his children in the home by teaching the Word, walking holiness, guarding the Lord’s Day, leading in prayer, and modeling Christian conduct and yet all the while the children may remain unregenerate and be indifferent toward Christ and His gospel. The outcome of the children’s spiritual condition does not necessarily determine whether or not the parent was successful. 

Success in the Christian life is always measured by consistent faithfulness. The goal is for you to be faithful to Christ and obedient to the obligations that He gives to you. Epaphras was praised by Paul as a “faithful servant of Christ” (Colossians 1:7). On that final day, Jesus will reward His people by saying: “Well done, good and faithful slave’ (Matthew 25:21, 23). This does not mean perfection nor does it mean the outcome of a task determined the success of the event. Rather, was the child of God obedient, faithful, and diligent to follow Christ and discharge the duties that God gave him? That’s the proper barometer for biblical success. 

In the Word of God, the Lord calls parents to understand God and study Him diligently. He then calls parents to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, and strength. Furthermore, parents must teach the things of God diligently to their children in the home formally and informally (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Ephesians 6:4). The question for parents is whether or not they have been faithful to these key fundamentals in the home. God does not command fathers to keep the kids busy with school activities, or ensure they go to a good college, or make certain that they are the best on the sports team, or that they have the new video game and cell phone and entertainment gadget that’s on the market. Successful parenting means that fathers lead their homes in the study of God, the worship of God, prayers to God, and in holy living before God. 

Only God can save lost souls. Indeed, the Spirit of God uses His Word in the saving of unregenerate souls. Parents must know this and thus impart biblical truth and also pray diligently that God will attend His Word with great power — power to save the lost and power to sanctify the saved. The duty of parents consists in faithful parenting and obedience to God and persistent praying and intercession to the Lord. Paul said it well: It is required of stewards that one be found “trustworthy” — or, faithful. This certainly applies to parenting. Therefore, successful parenting is when the father and mother can say that by the enabling grace of God, they have sought to lead their children to Christ through the consistent teaching, instruction, example, and leadership as they obeyed the Lord and His Word. 


This is part 6 of the blog series on PARENTING.

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 58:10 - Rejoice at the Destruction of the Wicked?

Does the Bible really say that the righteous will rejoice at God's vengeance upon the wicked? Yes, it does. First of all, the Bible no where advocates or condones people rejoicing over the downfall of the enemy because of personal vengeance . All vengeance must be left to the LORD (Deut 32 and Rom 12). Nevertheless, when the Christian has a God-centered perspective, it is absolutely reasonable—yes, required—that believers rejoice at the destruction of the wicked. (Again, this is not personal vengeance or gloating that the wicked are finally cast into hell.) But in my sermon last night I provided seven reasons why the righteous will rejoice at the judgment of the wicked: 1. God commands it (Rev 19:1-10) In a mysterious way, God commands believers to rejoice because His judgments are poured out upon the wicked. Just read Revelation 19:1 (which immediately follows Rev 17-18 and the cataclysmic destruction of Babylon, the false religious system and the false political system durin
Read more

Quotes on God's Sovereignty from AW Pink

Yesterday I read Pink's classic work again in preparation for my sermon on Psalm 47 this week at Church. God is good and He truly is the Sovereign King. Quotes from A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God . Revised edition. Reprint, 1928. Carlisle , PA : Banner of Truth Trust, 1998. “From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns.” (p.15). “Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering naught but His own glory. “The Lord hath made all things FOR HIMSELF. (Prov 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to do so? Since God is God, who dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticize Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is?” (p.30). “Because God governs inanimate matter… when we complain about
Read more

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity.

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity Psalm 11.2 says that the wicked seek to destroy those who are “upright in heart” ( לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב). The LXX renders the Hebrew phrase as: τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ (“the straight ones [=upright] of heart”). The Aramaic Targum renders the phrase in its oft-expanded way:  תקיני  לתריצי לבא (“the firm stability of the upright ones in heart”). Why is this language used to speak about integrity? Why does this describe the godly? I want to offer a few observations concerning this phrase. 1. This phrase refers to the godly person being one who is unbending and standing straight up for the Lord and for His Word. The Hebrew root for “upright” (יָשָׁר) speaks of that which is straight and right. So then, the person who is upright in heart is one who is straight in his life, straight in his course, unbending in his convictions, unswerving in his conduct. Joshua was told not to turn away from the Law of God either to the right or the left (Josh 1.7;
Read more