In His prayer just before leaving this world to return to the Father, the Lord Jesus prayed for the disciples and for those who would believe in Him. His prayer centered around the fact that the Father would keep them from the evil one of the world and the world’s evil influences. Concerning this He prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). In concluding this study and reflecting on the many passages studied, I would like to mention again three principles that are vital to one’s ability to appropriate God’s truth regarding child training.

(1) Teachableness. We all come to parenting, as in everything else in life, with preconceived ideas and we are often reluctant to give them up. God desires to teach us His truth, “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go’” (Isa. 48:17). Our need is to be like the Psalmist who prayed, “Deal with Your servant according to Your lovingkindness, And teach me Your statutes” (Ps. 119:124).

(2) Studiousness. Another need is to studiously search the Scripture. Scripture has a lot to say about the home and parenting. The question is, will we let Him build our house, our home, by searching His Word? May we be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) and search the Scriptures for what it teaches and then to be open to its truth for “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

(3) Cautiousness. If the home is God’s laboratory for building character in our children’s lives, indeed, the place where life makes up its mind, and if the home is the foundation to society, and both of these things are true, then we can be sure that Satan is going to do all he can to undermine the home. We need, then, to be cautious, alert to his methods and schemes. A couple of passages come to mind. We need to know God’s truth and to be cautious that “. . . we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Then in Colossians Paul wrote, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”