(By Barrett Johnson) Every imperfect and normal family wants their kids to turn out right. So, we establish goals for character development and try to create an environment where our kids can mature. Church, school, sports teams, family relationships … each of these provides a context where our kids can learn to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Unfortunately, our “good” objectives might have absolutely nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we inadvertently end up raising pagans instead of Christians. Too many times, (Christian) parents have it as their goal to make their kids good and moral.
It is as if the entire purpose of their family’s spiritual life is to shape their children into law-abiding citizens who stay out of trouble. The only problem with this goal is that it runs in stark contrast to what the Bible teaches. The gospel is not about making bad people moral, but about making dead people alive. If we teach morality without the transforming power of the gospel and the necessity of a life fully surrendered to God’s will, we are raising moral pagans. We end up teaching the wrong thing because we have the wrong objectives. READ MORE
