Saturday, August 22, 2009
Proverbs 3:13a Blessed is the man who finds wisdom.
HELP YOUR CHILDREN TO ACQUIRE GOD'S WISDOM
One of the most well-known and favorite passages of Scripture is this one (from Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy): "From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (3:15).
What does it mean for one to be "wise for salvation through Jesus"? Simply put it means having an understanding of two basic Bible teachings: Sin and grace, Law and Gospel. In a world where sin is erroneously held to be a minor slip-up or insignificant blemish that God overlooks, the Lord wants us to help our children towards a good understanding of His true definition for sin: It is the missing of the mark of perfection He requires of us, on account of which we justly deserve His anger and punishment. Examples: Disobeying dad or mom, being mean to a sibling, walking around with an "attitude" . . . are grave transgressions against our holy God which truly merit His anger and punishment.
Just as importantly, the Lord desires that we faithfully and diligently convey to our children the meaning of grace. It is that undeserved love of God that moved Him to send His Son to seek and to save us poor sinners. He so loved us that He commissioned His Son to walk in our shoes under the law, fulfill it in our place, and take upon Himself the punishment we had coming. Because of Jesus' work as our loving Redeemer, all our dark transgressions have been permanently erased from God's ledger book. Every repentant child of God may be of good cheer knowing that where my sin abounds, God's grace abounds much more, thanks to Jesus.
To understand and believe these truths of Holy Scripture -- I am a great sinner, but Jesus is my great Savior -- is to be supremely wise, wise for salvation.
