HE SHALL NOT DEPART! |
The World, the Word & You!
Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan
“IS THERE ANYTHING WORSE THAN LOSING A CHILD
IN DEATH? THE ANSWER IS YES, IF YOU’VE LOST YOUR CHILD TO ETERNITY.”
I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about the importance of bringing children to a faith that will last for eternity…
…Children! How wonderful they are to have and know. Yet sadly in our world, children have for the modern humanistic mind, become simply an unwanted by-product of sexual enjoyment that has little value. Hence we see the awful child killing of abortion, physical abuse, bold abductions, and now cropping up the violent responses of our children as the years go by. However, in the Bible tucked neatly in what is called, the Book of Proverbs, lies a passage of Scripture that for many is a difficult statement. Why even the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Him one day about such teachings. We read in,
John 6:60 (NIV) “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?””
Yes friend, in the Bible there are many “hard teachings” or “difficult statements.” that need clarification. One in particular, from which my message comes today is found in,
Prov 22:6 (NIV) “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Oh how many professing Christian parents have banked on this verse, only to find out one day it didn’t come true! How can one explain this? What is the answer? How important is it really to train a child “in the way he should go?” Well after another pause for this refreshing musical moment, I’ll return with my explanation and challenge today…
…Children, for those who’ve had them know they can be a blessing or a curse! However, it is God’s intention that all of them be a blessing and joy to every parent who brings forth new life into the world. Nevertheless, the world is full of parents and their tears who find that their offspring have not brought the world or them joy, but heartache and suffering. Perhaps the worst suffering of all is for a Christian parent, to one day find their child who grows to maturity “reject” the faith taught them, and turn to the lost world to find their satisfaction and fulfillment. Especially, if they have trusted in God’s Word found in that “Hard Saying” in the Book of Proverbs that seemed to “promise” parents they could assuredly have godly children. Well let’s look into this difficult statement and find some answers.
First of all, we must admit everything written in the Bible isn’t easy to comprehend or understand. This is not a fault of Scripture or the writers who penned God’s revelation and words. It is simply a fault of our own sinful and finite minds in reading and comprehending. Moreover, we often “read” into the texts of Scripture what we want to hear and see, or interpret by our own corrupt minds and thoughts, texts in light of popular tradition, or contemporary thought. But let’s explore the promise of Proverbs as to rearing children in the faith of God.
At the onset, we must understand the purpose of the Book of Proverbs. The Book of PROVERBS, is exactly that… not a Book of “Promises!” And yet, within its divine pages we can surely accept and know it is a book of truth. Now what is a proverb? A proverb is simply “a pithy saying that has great value because it expresses a useful or divine truth.” This means God has given us some practical, workable and positive truths within this Book of Proverbs. Therefore, we can know, for the most part, that if we follow them, the anticipated outcome will result. Now in Proverbs chapter 22, at verse six, God says,
Prov 22:6 (NIV) "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
On the surface it seems to say that “if a Christian takes the time and makes the effort to ‘train’ their child(ren) rightly in the things of the Lord, they will also become Christians and their lives will follow the righteous living taught for their blessing and eternal joy throughout their adult lives.” Sounds good to me, but what about children raised in just such an environment who appear later in life, to abandon their faith or lapse into immorality and suffer the consequences? Well, let’s break down the passage now and find some answers.
The beginning phrase says, “Train [up] a child in the way he should go.” The verb “train” [Hebrew: Hanak] used here is also found in (Deu. 20:5 – dedicating a house; 1 Kings 8:63; & 2 Chronicles 7:5 – God’s Temple). We read in the latter,
2 Chr 7:5 (NIV) “And King Solomon offered a sacrifice … So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.”
So then, the verb “train” in Proverbs 22:6, is word that means “to dedicate, set apart, or prepare for, or hedge in.” Thus all godly parents, when they have children, are to dedicate, prepare, and train them for the purpose of loving and serving the one true God now revealed in Jesus Christ. So, how is this to be done? Well, in researching the original language text, I discovered that the concept here “to train,” carries with it the idea of affecting the taste, literally to“touch the palate of the mouth.” It appears that when a newborn came into the world, oriental mothers had a method of causing their children to desire their milk for their nourishment. They would, “ put date syrup into the mouth of the infant.” When this sweet and delicious syrup began dissolving on its tongue and palate of the mouth, the little child begin sucking, and then the mother would introduce the necessary milk for its growing life and living. The child soon learned to desire the nourishment of mother’s milk and associate a pleasurable taste with it. In other words, she “created a taste for,” her milk!
So our text truly begins with the admonition to godly parents. “If you want a child to follow your faith, if you want a child to hunger after God, if you want a child to develop tastes for holy things rather than mundane unholy things, you must early on, “create a taste for it, and feed that taste all through their growing years.” Yes, “touch the palate of their mouths,” with the things of God and the text goes on to say, “when they are old, they will not depart from it.” Now let’s examine that last phrase for here some good godly Christian parents after training up their children discover they do not follow after the faith of their fathers, but go on into godless living and sadly some an eternity without God! Oh, the anguish, heartache, and suffering such parents endure, only to then question the truthfulness of the Word of God!
Now the phrase “when he is old,” refers quite simply when he comes of age, or as a male child “gets the beard.” God’s Word says this training must continue until he reaches manhood. That means Christian parents must never stop training their children by always “creating a taste for” God, His Word, the fellowship of the saints, service to Him and a life of dedication to Jesus Christ and His kingdom and work.
What that means is every Christian parent must from an infant, where possible, always be sure that their child sees the very same thing “in” their parents! Abraham Lincoln once rightly said, “ if you want a child to walk in the way, you must walk that way before them.” Mom and Dad, how’s your faith and practice of it? Do your children see it as the light and joy of your life? Do they see that every waking moment, apart from the work and duties of life, you both are following hard after the things of the Lord? When your church meets are you “always” joyfully there? Do you participate faithfully, in serving the Lord through your local church? Are you a member in good standing? Do you always speak constructively and positively of your church, its members and leaders? Or after morning worship service do you serve “roasted preacher, or teacher, or leader?” What do you do with your money earned? Do you live for the things of this world, and “buy, buy buy”… or invest your earnings in God’s work and services? Do your children see Mom and Dad as joyous, witnessing and thankful Christians? Have they seen you lead others to Christ? Is your home a worship center for the Lord? Do you hold regular devotions with the children, talking about the goodness of God, the joy of the Lord and how wonderfully God provides and delivers His children down through the ages? Have you given your children the benefit of a godly education, rather than the secular schools and its education today that mocks the Christian faith, and is an evangelistic field of evolutionary atheism?
Have you paid whatever the price, to shield your children from the filth and muck of most Hollywood entertainment? I could go on, but that is what God means when He says, “touch the palate of the mouth,” or “hedge in” your child(ren), so that when they grow to maturity they have seen the blessings, joy, wonder and excitement of the Christian life that truly comes to all who live it.
God says “if” you do this, then the last part of this verse will most likely follow. Notice I said most likely. You see again we err in interpreting the Scriptures to make this verse a PROMISE! It is not, for if it were, it would violate the very nature and being of our humanity. You see God has made us free-will creatures. We are created in God’s image, which includes that personal sovereignty and choice as to who we will worship, adore, follow and serve. Every parent needs to realize the awesome “power” of human will, God has bestowed on us and our children.
We can make the choice to love and serve the one true God or the god of this world or self.
So how parent’s train their children will bear heavily upon that decision. Now public education and teaching today that has cast out Christianity is clamoring for the soul of your child. They teach without end, for them to choose the godless world over and against the faith of their family. The sad truth is, many of those who give their children to these “Philistine” government schools, lose them to Christ no matter how much training to the contrary, simply due to the sheer amount of time we give children to them in any given week. So often a good godly Christian family who has followed the Lord, but given their children to these godless schools, may well lose them in spite of this “faithful saying.”
Another reason godly parents may lose their child to Christ and the Christian faith, is due to just the very nature of mankind. All children are born with a will that naturally says “no” to God. Only by gentle, loving, non-coerced teaching of truth and righteousness, can we overcome this with God’s help and care. Yet, God will by no means violate the human will. He only “woos” it and manipulates it for His glory and our good, while preserving our own autonomy. Likewise, every Christian parent must do the same but accept that a child can overrule it for its own sinful desires and path. So… what can we deduce? Well a number of things,
1. Proverbs 22:6 is surely a fantastic tool for Christian parents to know that overwhelmingly, God says that “if” we do as I’ve just shared with you, about rearing a child from infancy, the chances are he or she will follow your faith and enjoy life eternal in the presence of Jesus Christ.
2. Proverbs 22:6, is not an ironclad promise. If it were, it would violate God’s Word in other areas. Therefore, it is vitally important that every Christian parent not “fool around” with their faith and take it for granted before their children. Their tender lives in eternity are at stake. Remember this there are only two things that will last in eternity. (1) the Word of God, (2) the souls of men. Nothing is more important than seeing to it that all our children arrive, “home safe;” that, they have received Jesus Christ into their hearts and have learned to love and enjoy Him and His Word now and for ever. That is your duty. To fail here, and to lose your child in eternity will become the most horrible thing in the universe!
3. Realize the power of evil, sin and self will. Its force is all around us, and we Christian parents must do everything we can to cancel it out. I firmly believe Christian education today is mandatory, along with faithful church attendance, fellowship and service as a lifestyle, and a home that is bathed in God’s love, His Word, much prayer and sacrificial service to Christ. Apart from this, our chances of passing on the faith to our children, a faith “THAT WILL NOT DEPART,” is far and slim.
Now with that said, let me ask you? Do you know Christ as your Savior and Lord? If not and you are a parent, do you realize in eternity not only will you lose your own soul, but you will be responsible for your child(ren) going to Hell forever as well. If you love them, you will do everything to ensure their abundant life here and of course their eternal life for ever. What must you do? Here’s the plan.
1. Turn your heart and life over to God by recognizing that you are sinner under God’s eternal judgment. (Rom. 3:23).
2. Acknowledge the wonderful joy that the Bible does promise full forgiveness and eternal life to all who confess their sins to God and call upon Jesus Christ to save them (1 John 1:9
3. Realize that God loved us so much, that He came to earth, Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ and offered His infinite life as a full payment for our sins (Rom 5:8). Jesus Christ, God Himself, died there to pay the sin payment of death for the whole world! (Ezek. 18:4)
4. Understand also what the Bible promises, that all who
“receive” Jesus Christ into their heart and life by calling upon and confessing
Him as the Lord and Savior will receive this forgiveness and blessing of a new
relationship to God. The Bible says,
Rom 10:9-10 (NIV) “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus
is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and
it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” John 6:47 (NIV) JESUS
SAID: “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.”
5. Know God’s faithful plan to save you and your family will
come true, if you truly “train them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.” Jesus once said, “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?” You’ll lose not only your own soul, by neglect,
but that of your children as well. Nothing could be worse!
Oh friend, think deeply on these truths. Your eternal destiny is at stake, and that of your children as well. The only outcome for those who know not Christ in this life is eternal death in a place of unmentionable suffering, a place called Hell. May God rescue all of us, and our families, from this, by His mercy and grace so freely offered through Christ. Yes, Proverbs 22:6 says,
Prov 22:6 (NIV) “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
This is God’s admonition and truthful saying, that for
the most part all depends upon you, Mom and Dad, don’t lose it, but accept it
and give yourself unreservedly to God through Christ, and the chances are good
and acceptable, that God will rescue your children too. Oh what joy it will be
to know, that you and your children, together, will spend eternity with our
Lord Jesus Christ. That’s my hope for you and for all who listen today. Make it
so!
…Yes, Proverb 22:6 is a general principle which sets the
standard for the vast majority of faithful godly followers of God through
Christ. This principle urges parents to give special and detailed care and
example as to the awesome task of rearing children, so they may continue in
that path that leads to an abundant life here, and, eternal life in the
hereafter. May God so bless your home and heart for Jesus sake, Amen.
· Radio talk #1801
· Broadcast date: May 06, 2001
· Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator
· Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast
· Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 22 years, and serves as General Director.
These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(wwy@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/