When we reprove our children, do we do it as those who DELIGHT in them? See Prov 3:12. God reproves and delights in us. May the Gospel shape our parenting.

Zach Nielsen writes:

Owen Strachan draws attention to a new systematic Theology book for kids (6-14) by Dr. Bruce Ware called,Big Truths for Young Hearts. I’m sure we’ll be picking up a copy for our kids. Some of you might be interested as well.

Here is a description from Amazon.com:

Sure, it’s easy to teach your children the essentials of Christian theology when you’re a theology professor. But what about the rest of us?

With Big Truths for Little Hearts, Bruce Ware, (you guessed it!) a theology professor, encourages and enables parents of children 6–14 years of age to teach through the whole of systematic theology at a level their children can understand. Parents can teach their children the great truths of the faith and shape their worldviews early, based on these truths.

The book covers ten topics of systematic theology, devoting several brief chapters to each subject, making it possible for parents to read one chapter per day with their children. With this non-intimidating format, parents will be emboldened to be their children’s primary faith trainers—and perhaps learn a few things themselves along the way.

John Piper writes:

The Ten Commandments are not central in Christian parenting. The gospel is.

The gospel is the rule and power by which we teach our children to live. The gospel is the culminating word of God that can break in on our children, who are born in sin, and by the power of the Holy Spirit bring about the new birth and forgiveness of sins and strength in suffering and biblical maturity.

Successful parenting is more than compliant kids. It is gospel-saturated living and teaching—a gospel is not just something that begins the Christian life but empowers it and shapes and sustains it.

Changed and sustained by the gospel, our children can rebel against the low expectations of adolescence and “do hard things” in a way that magnifies Jesus.

Parents have it rough. I know mine did. And I was the main reason for that. Think about all they have to do. Diapers, cooking, cleaning, spanking, listening to fighting & whining. And that’s all before breakfast!

Now, I know what your thinking. “What can C-dog possibly know about parenting? He has no experience. And what in the world does the Gospel have to do w/ parenting” Well, you’re right. I have no experience. But then again, how much experience do any of us have rearing our first child? And the Gospel only has everything to do w/ parenting. Just a couple of thoughts.

1) The Gospel gives parents rest from having to have the perfect child.

We’ve all seen it. We’ve seen a child throw the temper tantrum in public or do something that’s quite foolish. Probably that’s been your child. You know the feeling. Your child does something foolish & you want to find the nearest hole in the ground. Alot of times parents want their kids to behave so that their public image will be esteemed. I know the feeling. I don’t even have kids yet, but I know I don’t want people to think I’m a slacker of a parent or that my child is some little demon.

But the Gospel speaks to that. The Gospel says that my acceptance with God isn’t based on my kids behavior or my perfect parenting. Remember, Jesus was treated as if He were the misbehaving child or the slacker parent. He also was & is the Perfect Son, always doing the things that please His Father. So know that your acceptance with the Father is based on Christ’s perfect record, and view your child’s misbehavior as an opportunity for both of you to grow in the knowledge of Christ’s forgiveness and perfection

2) The Gospel gives parents courage to seek forgiveness.

You know what I’m talking about. You’ve wronged your child before. You’ve gotten angry or been unjust, or just been lazy and didn’t want to deal with his sin problems that flesh themselves out in his behavior. What do you do?

Some parents are under the illusion that their children think they are perfect. They think they need to maintain that. Little do they know that they’re children see right through that.

The Gospel gives me courage to ask forgiveness from my own children. You see, I know that if I ask my Father to forgive me, He will b/c of His Son’s sacrifice on my behalf. I also know that I don’t always have to be right b/c Jesus was always right for me. I can suck up my pride & go to my child whom I’ve wronged, confess my fault against them & ask their forgiveness.

Parents, if you do this, you’ll gain monster loads of respect from your youngin’. We should all be doing this to one another, forgiving & seeking forgivness. This is the kind of power the Gospel gives us!

“Leadership in the Home: Morals-Driven or Gospel-Driven?” has finally been published. It is my first published magazine article. I was a little disappointed that no pictures of bobble heads were added, but then I remembered that we do not live in a perfect world. Take a look: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve added a new link category to my sidebar. It lists eucatastrophe articles that specifically unpack some of the various facets of gospel-centeredness. For those of you who are relatively new to eucatastrophe, here is the primary object of this blog: to explore the beauty and implications of the gospel of Christ for all of life. So with that objective in mind, I added “B 2: eucatastrophe articles” to our link categories.

This post is the manuscript of a seminar that was originally written for a men’s retreat. But even though I wrote it specifically for men, it has application for all who desire to be gospel-driven. If you want to save the document in WORD format, click on the link below. Blessings!

Real Men are Gospel-Driven lecture notes

Real Men (and women) are Gospel-Driven
Dan Cruver

Introduction: The title of my session is “Real Men are Gospel-Driven.” I could have entitled it “Real Men are Gospel-Centered” just as easily. But in either case, the topic as it stands has broad application. I could talk about men being gospel-driven as husbands, as fathers, as congregants, as servants, as leaders, as employees or employers, etc., but my emphasis here is not so broad. What I’m primarily concerned with here is men being gospel-driven as students of Scripture. Why? Because it seems to me that if men are gospel-driven in this way, if men are gospel-driven in their study and application of Scripture, then they will increasingly become more gospel-driven in all these other areas of life. A husband and father who is a gospel-driven student of Scripture will find that he is becoming more gospel-driven as a husband and father. A single man who interprets and applies Scripture from a gospel-driven or gospel-centered perspective will find that he is becoming more gospel-driven in all of his relationships. So even though my primary concern here is with the study of Scripture, I’m not losing sight of the big picture.

At this point someone might say, “What does it even mean to be gospel-driven? I’m not sure I know what it means in general let alone what it means to be gospel-driven as a student of Scripture.” For now let me merely introduce an answer to that question by quoting Jerry Bridges from his article entitled “Gospel-Driven Sanctification.” Hopefully, by the time we conclude this session today you will have a fuller understanding of what it means to be gospel-driven particularly as it relates to Bible study. Regarding progressive-sanctification Bridges writes:

“We must always keep focused on the gospel because it is in the nature of sanctification that as we grow, we see more and more of our sinfulness. Instead of driving us to discouragement, though, this should drive us to the gospel. It is the gospel believed every day that is the only enduring motivation to pursue progressive sanctification even in those times when we don’t seem to see progress. That is why I use the expression ‘gospel-driven sanctification’ and that is why we need to ‘preach the gospel to ourselves every day’” (from “Gospel-Driven Sanctification” by Jerry Bridges).

What is gospel-driven sanctification? According to Jerry Bridges, it is sanctification that is motivated and empowered by the gospel. At the heart of gospel-driven sanctification is the conviction that the gospel is the very power of God for growing in Christ-likeness (cf. Romans 1:16-17). So, what is a gospel-driven man as it relates to life in general? To state it succinctly, a gospel-driven man is a man who lives and breathes the gospel. He is a man (1) who believes that the gospel is not just the power of God to give him entrance into the Christian life, but also the power of God to live the entirety of his Christian life; and (2) who lives accordingly.

What is a gospel-driven man as it relates to the study of Scripture in particular? He is a man (1) who believes that the center and ultimate reference point of Holy Scripture is the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; and (2) who interprets and applies Scripture accordingly. That being said, let’s consider the following two points as it relates to being gospel-driven men in our study of Scripture: (1) The Essential Centrality of the Gospel: A Biblical Perspective; and (2) The Functional Centrality of the Gospel: A Biblical Paradigm. Read the rest of this entry »

My fellow blogger and friend, Rob Wilkerson, has written a very helpful article about disciplining our children in light of the gospel. Take a few minutes and read it. It is excellent!

http://mymiscellanies.blogspot.com/2005/05/preaching-gospel-to-our-kids-pointing.html

The following article by Tedd Tripp was inc luded in Shepherd Press’ most recent e-newsletter. I was graciously granted permission to post it. It is a great article about parenting from a Gospel-centered perspective. (You can subscribe for Shepherd Press’ e-newsletter by going to http://www.shepherdpress.com.)

Keeping Grace in Place

Keeping grace in place in our homes, that is the task. We experience many temptations to leave out the grace and the hope of the gospel when our children require correction and motivation.

How does keeping grace in place look and sound? Your message to your children is this: “People who fail can find hope in the God of grace.” Think of it this way, the gospel must be the core of your nurturing interaction with your children. The gospel is more than just the simple plan of salvation. It is all the grace and power of the gospel - forgiveness, cleansing, internal transformation, and empowerment (Ezekiel 36:25-26).
Read the rest of this entry »

The following is a short article I was asked to write for The Summit Magazine (a magazine for alumni and friends of Baptist Bible College & Seminary). I plan on expanding on it quite a lot since it is impossible to do justice to this topic in 800 words (at least it’s impossible for me). Here it is:

What would you say is the difference between morals-driven and Gospel-driven leadership in the home? We ask this question because we believe its answer is vital to the spiritual health of the home. Both morals-driven and Gospel-driven homes are concerned with the morality of their children. They both desire children who love God and others as themselves. They both value truth-telling, faithfulness, patience, servanthood, etc. However, they represent two radically different perspectives on these important concerns, desires, and values. So what does it mean for leadership in the Christian home to be Gospel-driven? Read the rest of this entry »