Discipling Children: The Biblical Model

"There is clear biblical warrant for acknowledging

the lifelong implications of early childhood experience."

Shepherding a Child's Heart (Tedd Tripp)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is a foundational passage for Biblical parenting. It gives us one of the best and clearest pictures on how to create multi-generational faithfulness in families. We must be active and intentional in passing along our faith in Jesus Christ to our children.

It's clear from what we read in Deuteronomy 6 that while church plays an important role in spiritual development, it cannot stop there. The parent is a child's first and most important teacher. Spiritual discipleship must start and continue in the home.

Personally, I love this passage in Deut. 6 because of the clear and beautiful picture given to us of how children learn. Scientists, researchers, and child development experts have been studying children, the human brain, and how we learn for centuries. But here it was all along. Plain as day in the very Word of God. In modern times, scientists have conducted experiments and found evidence that gives proof to the wonderful truths God set out for us long, long ago. Researchers have confirmed the words of Moses and validated the methods the Israelites used to teach their children. 

Hear, O Israel:

"Listen up! Pay attention, kids! This is really important, and you need to hear it..."

The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

We are to teach our children that Yaweh, the LORD, is God. He is the all-sufficient, eternally perfect, infinite Ruler over all. There is no other god than Yahweh, and though He exists in three persons, He is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

We must teach and show our children what it looks like and sounds like to love God with all our heart. We teach them how to worship. No one and nothing should take God's rightful place on the throne of our hearts.
God must come first.
Every time.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  

"Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). We must store up God's words in our own hearts so that as we converse and interact with our children, we are speaking life and truth into their lives.

Impress them on your children.

Clearly Moses believed that every mother and father was well-equipped enough to understand God's word, teach their own children, and teach them diligently. This is how we create multi-generational faithfulness. Parents who realize how much they have been given want to carefully pass on such a good thing to their children and therefore to their grandchildren.

Talk about them when you sit at home

Learning about Jesus, salvation, and God's grace aren't conversations that must remain in the context of church or Sunday school. Discipleship is meant to happen in the home. Teaching God's Word and what He requires of us should be everyday conversation. 

and when you walk along the road,

Children are kinesthetic learners. They learn through movement, action, and "doing." I often hear parents say, "I can't get him to sit still for a whole story. He always wants to get up and move around." That's okay! While there is a time and a place for learning self-control, children naturally want to be on the move. Rather than fighting it, use it to your advantage. Act out the story. Talk as you walk and play. The playground is the perfect place to practice compassion, obedience, and selflessness. Children learn by doing!
This also teaches us that traveling is the perfect time to chat with your children and use your conversations to impress God's truths on their hearts. Rather than turning on the radio or talking on the phone when you're driving, start a conversation.

when you lie down and when you get up.

This implies that discipleship happens all day, every day because children learn through repetition. It also points to some important truths about how God has created us. Research has shown that the times we retain the most knowledge are first thing in the morning and right before we go to sleep.

Make the most of how God has created us by letting the first and last thing your children hear in their days be about the Lord.

Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Historically speaking, the Pharisees took this command literally and seriously. They created little boxes, called phylacteries, in which they placed small pieces of paper with Scripture written them. They would tie these boxes to their hands and on their foreheads. The Gospels reveal they were worn all day long by the Pharisees to give the impression that they were pious men, constantly praying.

But God certainly didn't give us this command in order for us to become proud and pious. Rather, He knew something about how we were created that science had yet to discover.

In Deut.6, God is telling us to bind His commands to our foreheads. Fractions of an inch below your forehead is the part of the brain that we now know as the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain associated with making decisions and taking action on a thought. God asks us to keep his word in our prefrontal cortex and on our hands as reminders to live by the Word and not sin. God is teaching that it's all about doing so that we remember.

Again, children are kinesthetic/tactile learners. They love to touch, hold, and manipulate objects and materials. They learn by actively exploring the world around them and through hands-on activities. Playing with toy animals as they learn about Noah's ark, holding their own picture bible as a story is read, and acting out what they hear are all ways to actively engage your child and help him or her learn more effectively and fully. 

Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

Let our faith be evident to all. Every guest who enters our home should know that we are living for something bigger than ourselves. That our hearts are utterly consumed with love for God, who is God alone.