JDL - Direction Five - Baptize and Teach - Raise up a child in the way that he should go

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 (ESV))

The “Great Commission,” as it is called, from Matthew 28:19-20 tells us that we should go out and make disciples of all nations. We are to do this by first baptizing and then teaching. We talked about baptism and how important baptism is. Baptism is the real complete deal our Lord gives to us. Baptism is one of the means our Lord has of giving us all His good gifts and blessings. How does He do that? He gives us His good gifts and blessings through faith which is the instrument that grabs hold of and makes the gifts ours. It is something like when you go to a friends house and she asks you if you would like a bowl of ice cream. She does not give you a bowl of ice cream and expect that you brought your own spoon, rather, she provides an instrument, namely a spoon to bring the ice cream from the bowl to your mouth. In a similar manner, our Lord offers all His good gifts and blessings and He also provides the instrument for making those blessings ours, and that instrument is faith. And so we see that Holy Baptism is the whole deal.

Yet, it does not and must not stop at Holy Baptism. For, water in a cup, set out by itself, would eventually evaporate, so it is with our faith. Unless we continually nourish and feed our faith, it too would die, evaporate and be gone. So, we see in the giving of the “Great Commission,” that we are to baptize and teach. As children, we are nourished with the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God. As we grow older, we are to crave more than just milk, we are to crave for the “meat and potatoes” of the Word of God.

There is also a promise as wise King Solomon tells us in the Proverbs that as we raise up a child in the way that s/he should go, that is in the ways of the Word of God, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, then, even though s/he may stray as we sinners are oft to do, yet, when s/he is old, s/he will not depart from those ways. Here we see God’s giving the responsibility for raising children to their parents, and in particular, the ultimate spiritual responsibility is on the shoulders of the father, but more on that later. It is the responsibility, not of the public school system, not of the village, not of the grandparents, not even of the local Christian congregation, but solely the responsibility of the parents who have been gifted with the child to raise that child in the way that s/he should go.

Thanks be to God that, as always, He does not leave us hanging, but with the privilege, duty and responsibility, He also provides the means and the way, that is, through His Word. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; 15:33). With those words to guide us, we know and understand that our duty begins with teaching our children the fear, that is the respect and love of the Lord. Because if there is no respect and love for the Lord, then one would need to fear His wrath. But with love and respect, then one only needs to relish His love, care and concern.

The fact that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom can easily be seen especially in societies and cultures where there is no fear of the Lord. When the Lord is cast out, humanism rushes in. When the Word, namely Jesus, is cast out, ignorance rushes in. Without fear of the Lord, without the Word, without Jesus, there is, and can be, no truth, no absolutes, no authority. The fear of the Lord, the respect, love and honor of the Lord, believing His Word from the beginning is the beginning of wisdom.

One can see what has happened when a society and culture looks outside the Lord for answers. Various anthropocentric (man-centered) theories and hypotheses begin to arise. Creation by Intelligent design is questioned which brings into question the rest of the Word of God, and the road is traveled which leads to man dependence rather than God dependence. Thus, we see the importance, the extreme importance of baptizing and teaching in the way of the Lord or the way of the world would be the temptation and the leading to destruction.

With the help of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God, He continues to direct our lives as we submit ourselves to His way and His will. His ways and His will is the best for us. Whether we see that, know it or believe it at any time, His ways and will are what is best.

Think About
In the same way that we need to eat every day in order to nourish our bodies and keep them a live, so we need to make regular (daily and weekly), and diligent (listening to, believing and doing) use of the means of grace in order to nourish our souls.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive my complacency, my believing that since I am saved I do not need to daily tend to my spiritual well being. Open my eyes to see opportunities to be given Your gifts and my heart to hear and be given Your gifts. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.