Satan’s malicious war against the children of Christian parents is intensifying. When I survey all the evidence, I can come to no other conclusion. Over the last several years, we have seen five covenant children in our congregation repudiate their church membership vows, rebel against God-constituted authority, and trample underfoot the Son of God by denying the most fundamental commandment of the second table of the law and the foundational law of every lawful and just society: “Honor your father and mother.” Evidence of Satan’s war is not limited to our congregation. Similar instances are occurring in Presbyterian and Reformed churches, even where the parents are generally faithful to the Lord, of covenant children suddenly leaving home and renouncing the Christian faith. I know of the same situation occurring in Baptist churches. In the broader Christian community, according to recent statistics, the majority of professing Christian children turns from their formerly professed faith during their college years – or at least has its faith radically altered by and toward secularism. This does not take into account the survey Josh McDowell’s organization took over a decade ago, in which one startling conclusion reached is that almost two-thirds of professing Christian high school-aged young people affirmed the proposition that “no one can know anything for sure.”
Of course, you may be tempted to affirm confidently, “Those families must have done something wrong.” If you have younger children, whose faith has not yet been tested against the malice of the world and the devil, be careful of making sweeping judgments. You may think that your dear, sweet children would never say and do the things you hear of older teens and young adults saying and doing. I hope you are right, but remember that most of the covenant children of which I am speaking once adorned the family Christmas cards in their holiday attire, sat on daddy’s lap, attended Christian schools, and recited their catechisms ever so politely. And even if your children are grown and faithful, the war is not over for you, for you have grandchildren coming. Beyond these personal considerations, who can consider the implications of this war without concern, deep concern for the future of every Christian congregation that takes seriously the future, God’s covenant promises, and the kingdom of God?
Satan’s war against covenant children is purposefully waged. It is part of a larger battle that is occurring in our nation. You see, the battle of our time, indeed, the battle of every age, is really about authority. Who or what is the source of law? Is there any such thing as law? Can I do as I please, provided I do not “hurt” others? May I take legitimate commands from a legitimate authority simply as “suggestions,” or must I bend my will and submit? As these questions trickle down into the local congregation and home, their most painful and pressing front, they take the form: “Must I really obey my parents? When so many of my peers, of whom I am now aware, come from broken homes, live as they please, attend churches that are anti-authority and even encourage spiritual autonomy, do you mean to say that I must put aside my own wishes and do what I am told? Your views are just one among many of the possible options, and who can say that yours is the correct one?” Under this pressure and in the face of Satan’s most insidious lie – to be as gods, determining good and evil for oneself – they are confronted with a choice: submit or leave. Some, of course, would like to have their cake and eat it too. They love the security and provision of their home too much to abandon it completely, but they want to stay on their own terms: personal autonomy, the right to come and go, decide, date, marry, work, when, whom, and where they please. And thus, Christian parents and families must either acquiesce or make one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that cross-bearing can lay upon their troubled, shaking shoulders: stand upon the rock of God’s word and be accused of harshness, narrowness, dogmatism, and lovelessness – and by their own children – or guiltily acquiesce, hoping to save their children by short-term compromise. Those who choose the former know all too well how deeply the splinters of our Savior’s cross can pierce the grieving parent’s heart.
When I say that Satan’s war against covenant children is part of a larger battle, I mean simply this: the broader cultural battle over authority is decided one family at a time, one congregation at a time. If the devil can lead us to compromise rather than submit, he has gained one more notch in his evil belt. You see, it is only the Christian faith that can turn the tide of approaching catastrophe in the west. If you will notice, every pundit of change has already given in to the baser elements of human nature. We will not stop spending; print more money. We will not stop fornicating; distribute more prophylactics. We will not take care of ourselves; make universal healthcare mandatory. In other words, keep on the path of cultural suicide but make others pay for it and the crash landing as painless as possible. Call it appeasement parenting or federal wealth redistribution; it makes no difference. Institutionalize rebellion against God’s word as normal; dissenters are the problem, the narrow-minded, the bigoted. And thus, one person at a time, Satan’s malicious war is deepening the darkness in our culture, a darkness that can ultimately be reduced to just one factor: rebellion – against God’s law, against legitimate authority, against anyone or anything that tells me I cannot do as I please. Capture children early, and the battle has another casualty or, rather, a committed soldier of the city of man. Capture covenant children, and the only ones with the foundation and fortitude to resist his schemes are effectively removed from the battlefield for years, even if they subsequently come to their senses and repent. When they do, they are often too guilt-laden, inwardly focused, and emotionally scarred ever to offer effectual resistance. Bare survivors often make poor soldiers.
And so, we are left with a decision. Confronted with Satan’s malicious war against our little ones, how would our Savior have us move forward? First, it begins when they are very young. Their wills must be confronted – no exceptions. I remember a proverb: “You shall beat him with the rod and deliver his soul from hell” (Prov. 23:14). And, “Chasten your son while there is hope, and let not your soul spare for his crying” (Prov. 19:18). A will unchallenged in youth will become an unwieldy monster in later years. Second, to this must be added a constant dose of gospel – not simply Jesus died on the cross but Jesus died on the cross because you are rebellious by nature and must turn to him to subdue your heart to teachableness. Third, constant prayer. The battle of the will cannot be won through words, persuasion, or draconian parental protectionism; only the Lord of sovereign grace can subdue the human heart and make it flower through joyful obedience to him. Fourth, do not yell. Expect a conflict of the will. Children, like adults, express rebellion differently – some quietly, some openly. If the former, do not assume that all is well. If the latter, you will never shout or condemn the human heart into submission. Teach, yes. Exhort, yes. Show by your own life of joyful submission to God the blessings of being his child. But when you are done talking, resume praying – for God to be glorified and the kingdom of his Son to grow through subduing this one soul to himself. Fifth, do not make an idol of your children. God will topple idols – all idols – including our children, if we set our affections upon them, before him, as if they are our highest joy. One important way to avoid this sort of idolatry is to see your local, domestic conflicts as part of the larger battle for the glory of God. You are training soldiers of the cross. Among other things, your home is a barracks, a training ground for those who will be tested, who will face Satan’s malicious war of “do your own thing,” “no one knows for sure,” and “that’s just your interpretation of the Bible.” These are his slogans, and they are attractive to the fallen human heart. Is your home, life, gospel lifestyle more attractive? Are you under authority?
Your home, however, may be well past this season of parenting. You may even conclude that it is too late to make meaningful change, especially if your children are older. You are wrong. One of parenting’s primary purposes is for me to change – me. God parents me through my struggles with parenting my children. He reveals areas of deep-rooted sin in my life. He reminds me of ways I sinned against him when I was a youth, against my own parents. He calls me to trust his grace, not my parenting skills, expert opinion, or child psychologists, many of whom are grown up rebellious children, a judgment more than verified when you consider that today’s leading parenting theories are really nothing but capitulation to the children, behaviorism, and environmentalism. When you become convinced that radical changes are necessary – whether attitudinal, in the home’s priorities, in your relationship and involvement with the local church, in your entertainment choices, in your disciplinary practices – make them. Make them now. Explain them to your older children. Ask their forgiveness for not being faithful earlier in their life, for setting their “teeth on edge by eating sour grapes” in your own life. And again, pray – not primarily for peace in the home but for God to be glorified through sanctifying the entire family. Remember, the glory of the Lord transforms, and this transformation usually begins in the parents, after which it trickles down into the rest of the family.
In a war, however, more radical measures are necessary. If we do the “basics” of biblical parenting and still find that our children are being defeated in Satan’s malicious war, we must take a broader view. God is calling us to more intense measures, especially if we do not see our children filled with gratitude for the Lord’s goodness, taking their place in his glorious city, and knowing the power of the indwelling word to overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14). Yes, we must leave room for God’s specific providences, and we know that the gospel sword sometimes exposes reprobate hearts within the very church of God. However, this is God’s working, and it is not our place to delve into his “secret things” (Deut. 29:29). I would suggest the following: first, all Christian parents must devote a portion of each day to praying for their children – focused praying that the Lord will honor his word, fulfill his purposes, and build the kingdom of his Son through working in our children’s hearts. Second, Christian congregations, at least those who have not capitulated to entertainment religion and recognize that God’s word sifts our hearts and exposes our rebellion, should have regular times of corporate prayer for their children – again, focused praying, not the prayer of “Lord, make my life easier through godly children,” but, “Lord, glorify your name through combating the evils schemes of the devil against your little ones.” Third, I would encourage you to examine your hearts, parents, and ask the Lord to forgive you of the sins of your youth, and ask your children to forgive you for them. Men of faith, in the Bible, in history, and in the present, always see the connection between their past actions and their present struggles. They also see that the Lord sometimes brings calamity upon their children as the fruit of their own failures. Seek his mercy, honestly, openly, with fasting and prayer, for the very souls of your children and the future of the kingdom of God are at stake.
Fourth, and this is to you, young people, it is time for you to wake up to a life of believing gratitude. Your parents worked hard to clear the rubbish of unbelief and false doctrine from their lives, and are still doing so. They have worked hard to have you in godly congregations, in which God’s word is preached, his sacraments administered biblically, and gospel love is shown in a community of sincere believers. They have spent years of hours talking with you, teaching you, and pointing out the way to God’s glorious city, his church and kingdom. Yes, they have not always led consistent lives, and you have undoubtedly seen much inconsistency and even hypocrisy in their lives. But since when is our faith based upon men? Since when do we give ourselves to God only because those to whom we owe the greatest debt of love and honor are perfect? Never. Never. And yet, many of you have chosen to dally with the world. You are not only throwing away the spiritual capital painstakingly gathered by your parents, but you are spitting in the face of the ones whose hard work have given you every earthly comfort you possess. How disgraceful! What compromise! What base ingratitude! Awake to righteousness, my young friends. You have a great future and tremendous capital with which to push farther toward holiness and God’s kingdom than even your parents have done. You will never have this future unless you shoulder the responsibility of doing armed combat against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Never. And he is making war against you, against your God, against the closest earthly ties you have, against the only truth that will guide you in this life and finally bring you to heaven. How will you respond? If you are sitting on the sidelines of Satan’s malicious war, you already have one foot on his side. He has your eye. And with what? The offer that you can be as gods, determining good and evil for yourselves? Remember, the human race already embraced this lie and has been suffering ever since. Your only safety lies in wholehearted, consecrated love for Jesus Christ, your only Savior and life. Any other commitment will bring ruin to you, dishonor to God, and bitterness in the future.
To all, I say: Satan has declared his malicious and pathetic little war, not so much against us, but against the enthroned Son of God. Let us declare war right back through the blood and righteousness, power and grace, word and sacraments, reign and name of Jesus Christ. Christus Victor! Christus Rex!