The God Fearing Child
Central Thought: A God fearing child will enjoy the favor of the Lord.
Hymn: “When We Walk With the Lord.”
Text: Proverbs 16:6; Psalm 25:12-14, 78-:1-7; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
It is clearly stated in the Scriptures that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of god is very fundamental in our relationship with Him. Children are God’s gift to parents. “Lo, children are and heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward”, Psalm 127:3. God is the owner of children and parents are merely caretakers who must report back to the owner on how well or otherwise they have handled this responsibility given to them by God. Parents are expected to bring up their children in the way of the LORD. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it”. It is therefore a big responsibility that God has placed on parents.
The god fearing child is a valuable asset to parents, the church and the society at large. This gives some assurance to the society that there is hope for the future. It is God’s desire for parents to nurture, train and teach their children the fear of God. This is God’s mandate for Christian parents and groups that the children will come in contact with. In this study, we shall examine in detail what it takes to be a God fearing child.
Lesson Objectives:
- To explain what we understand by the expression, “the God fearing child.”
- To discuss how some people in the Scriptures displayed the fear of god inculcated in them as children.
- To identify from the Scriptures the responsibilities of parents and leaders towards children and the consequences of not carrying out the responsibilities.
- To explain some of the responsibilities of the God fearing child.
- To highlight the benefits that the God fearing child stands to gain.
1a. What do you understand by, “the God fearing child”?
The expression, “the God fearing child”, refers to the child who lives for God and serves Him with reverence and ‘stands in awe of Him’. The Scripture makes us to know that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs 9:10a. It is only when the child understands who God is and develops a reverential fear of Him that he can have true wisdom.
Such a child puts God first in all he does, intentionally departs from evil and lives his life in line with the word of God.
1b. How does the fear of God begin in a child? John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17
The fear of God begins in a child when he accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord, Master and Savior. In other words, the first step towards this is that the child must be born again. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”, John 3:3. When the child becomes born again, he becomes a new creature, old things pass away and all things become new. Thereafter, the Spirit of God gives him the enablement to have the fear of God.
2. Discuss how the following people in the scriptures displayed the fear of God inculcated in them as children.
-Joseph in Potiphar’s House, Genesis 39:6-9, 37:2
Joseph displayed the fear of God which his parents taught him even in a strange land where people did not have the fear of God and where none of his parents or relations was around to watch his actions. He conducted his business in his master’s house as unto the Lord and God blessed the house of Potiphar for Joseph’s sake to the extent that Potiphar attested to this. He was also very conscious of the fact that, “the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth”, 2 Chronicles 16:9a. He decided to resist Potiphar’s wife’s advances to lie with her. Joseph’s response of, “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God”, Genesis 39:9b, was indicative of the fact that he feared God greatly.
-Moses in Pharaoh’s Palace, Hebrews 11:23-26
The child Moses was picked up from the river by Pharaoh’s daughter who decided to adopt him as her own child. By Divine arrangement, his mother was the paid nurse that brought him up until he came of age after which he was taken to the palace. It appeared Moses’ mother taught him the ways of God and this sank deep into him. He lived with this consciousness even when he was taken to the palace. He decided to identify himself with the people of God. “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a reason”, Hebrews 11:24-25.
-Daniel in Babylon, Daniel 1:3-8
Although Daniel found himself in a foreign land, he did not allow the fear of God he had been brought up with as a child to be thrown overboard even as a war captive. At that time Babylon was a land full of idolatry and worldliness. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore, he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself”, Daniel 1:8. Daniel was determined not to fail or disappoint God even at the risk of losing his life. He remained resolute in his conviction to keep fearing and obeying god to the point that when he was confronted with the decree not to pray to God, he chose to obey God and was thrown into a lion’s den from which God delivered him, Daniel 6:4-28. God is always ready to stand by those who fear Him.
-Timothy, 2 Timothy 1:1-5
Timothy had a Godly heritage. His grandmother Lois passed on the Christian faith to his mother Eunice, who in turned passed on the faith to Timothy. This was evident in the life of Timothy that the Apostle Paul found him very useful in the ministry. He was made an Elder/Pastor in the church at Ephesus at a young age. This goes to show that when the child is trained in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it.
Apart from Timothy, Philip had four daughters’ who feared God, kept themselves pure, and were virgins who exercised the gift of prophecy, Acts 21:8, 9.
3a. From the following scriptures identify our responsibilities as parents and leaders towards children. Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:7-9; Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Peter 5:2-3; Acts 20:28; 2 Timothy 4:2
Parents are the first to have any contact with their children after birth. They are therefore expected to train the children in the way they should go so that when these children are old, they will not depart from the way of God that they have been taught. Parents must also not provoke the children to wrath but bright them up in the nurture and fear of the Lord. It is the responsibility of parents to assist in the character molding of their children right from their infancy. Parents must endeavor to diligently teach their children the word of God and Godly values and virtues. They must be good examples to their own children. The children must be taught to fear, serve and honor God. As they grow up, parents must make deliberate effort to lead their children to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. This should not be left to chance or to some other person out there. The parents who are determined to raise God fearing children must learn to “catch them young”; realizing that the first contact the child has with this life starts from the home through the parents. The children should be trained and taught core values that will help them to grow up into responsible men and women in the society such as doing house chores, showing interest, getting involved and being committed to the work of God. Parents must provide adequately for their children to the best of their ability. Also the children must be regularly prayed for by their parents and taught to pray for themselves and others.
It is the responsibility of the Christian leaders to shepherd children under their care by feeding them with the sound Word of God, being good examples to the children, in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
3b. What are the consequences of not carrying out your above responsibilities?
There are many consequences of parents not carrying out their responsibilities towards their children. Such children become a source of sorrow to their parents. They may not have regard for their parents. They have no fear of God in them. They will also be involved in many vices.
It is usually said that ‘nature abhors vacuum’. The child will learn negative values through ungodly associations and influences from the ungodly people he comes across on a daily basis. He may even be lured into occult groups. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners”, 1 Corinthians 15:33.
Such a child may not enjoy God’s blessings, and as such may not prosper in things that pertain to godliness and righteousness. Ultimately, such a child will miss eternity with Christ Jesus and end up in hell.
We saw an example of the consequences of neglecting the responsibility of raising God fearing children by the high priest Eli who lost his sons in one day, 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25, 3:11-13.
4. Explain the following responsibilities of the God fearing child.
The responsibilities of the God fearing child are many and demand a great deal of seriousness and commitment on his part. Some of these responsibilities are discussed below:
-Obedience to God at all times:
The God fearing child must exhibit the fear of God in all his actions and in his daily living. This will involve complete obedience to God’s injunctions as stated in the Scriptures. He must live with the consciousness that he ought to obey God rather than men in all situations and all circumstances.
-Abstain from all appearance of evil, 1 Thessalonians:
The God fearing child must, “Flee all youthful lust: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart”, 2 Timothy 2:22. He should avoid evil company. The Scripture clearly states, “Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners”, 1 Corinthians 15:33. This means that he must associate with people that will add value to his life and help him to grow in the things of God rather than those who will draw him away from following the ways of God.
Obedience to parents, Ephesians 6:1-3. A God fearing child must endeavor to obey his parents. This is a divine instruction that should not be taken lightly. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother; which is the first commandment with promise”, Ephesians 6:1-2. Obedience to parents brings blessing to the child and also causes joy to the parents.
-Respect of parents/seniors, Ephesians 6:2-3.
He must honor his parents and all other older people who have one form of contact or the other with him. Essentially, the child should be one who greets his seniors and is willing to lend helping hand to older people when it is necessary. For example, a God fearing child should defer to his seniors/elders by helping them to carry load, standing up for them to sit down in public functions, and greeting them respectfully.
-Participation in domestic works:
Many young people today do not want to get involved in the daily chores at home. In many homes because of the issue of house helps many of them cannot do anything. This should not be the case with the God fearing child. He must be willing to learn and participate in domestic works. This is a virtue that is expected to be exhibited by a child who has the fear of God and respect for his parents. This attitude should be extended to his church/place of worship. God fearing children should participate effectively in keeping the church and its evnirons clean.
-Diligence in studies/career, Proverbs 22:29:
Diligence is a virtue that must not be lacking in the life of a God fearing child. Diligence distinguishes one from the crowd and makes him a sought after person. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men”, Proverbs 22:29. Diligence moves one from obscurity to the lime light.
-Care for parents:
Children are the pride of parents, who they labored to bring up. It is therefore expected of children to care for their parents at all times especially when they become old. Parents are greatly delighted when their children show some care towards them. The God fearing child must be eager to assist the parents in whatever way he can and try to make them happy.
5. What does the God fearing child stand to benefit? Ephesians 6:1-3; Proverbs 16:6, 19:23; Psalm 25:12-14
There are so many benefits the God fearing child stands to enjoy. As the child obeys his parents in the Lord and honors them, it shall be well with him and he will live long on the earth. These benefits cut across every segment of the society; home, school, church or in any place the child finds himself. He stands out among his peers as a good example.
“The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil”, Proverbs 19:23. In addition, God will teach the child the way to choose and will reveal His secret to him and also show him His covenant, Psalm 25:12-14. The child exhibits wisdom as he practices the good things and Godly virtues that he has learnt from home, church, school and the society. He causes his parents to be glad and brings honor to them. Ultimately, he will make heaven.
Daily Living Application:
The God fearing children will always be a pride to the parents, the church and the society. Raising the God fearing child involves a series of actions that will involve teaching the child about God and Godliness, virtues of hard work, commitment to God’s work, respect for elders and properly constituted authority. Above all, he must have had a personal encounter with Christ and must have accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Every Christian parent must see to this with every sense of responsibility and commitment, bearing in mind that a Christina heritage is the best legacy that can be bequeathed to a child.
Memory Verse:
Proverbs 9:10a – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”