Education Insights • 2024 • Volume 2 • Issue 1 20 Children must be educated and trained how to speak and act. All this is implied in the command to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The process begins at birth and continues as long as the children are living in the father’s home. Through an exposition of four biblical passages, it has been shown that a Christian man should be a sanctifying means for his wife and children through his sacrificial love and shepherding. We now turn our attention to practical issues related to male spiritual leadership in the home. Good intentions need a good direction. Having a biblical foundation is essential, but men also need to know how to apply God’s truth against the schemes of their spiritual enemy. To shepherd their families in accordance with the Bible men must understand the battle, learn from history, love their wife, and teach their children. The Battle Understanding the battle begins with men appreciating the cosmic battle that rages around them: a cosmic battle often described as spiritual warfare. The apostle Paul instructs the church in Rome to wage war against the sin in themselves (Rom 6) and also to combat the schemes of the devil (Eph 6:10-18). Since the Garden of Eden, the devil has waged war on the family, and based upon the teachings of Scripture, he will not relent until Jesus completely and ultimately destroys him. Christian men are prone to overemphasize or underemphasize when it comes to spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:10 makes clear that one can stand strong only in the Lord’s power.6 Therefore, as men seeking to overcome the battles of marriage and parenting, fathers must center their focus upon Christ and root their foundation in the Word with absolute dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The church is not immune to having wrong priorities. Many well-meaning and biblically-sound, church-going people have inadvertently made their families an idol. Their desire to raise godly children has caused them to position the discipling of these creatures they are to steward ahead of their creator. Every sin-infected individual must examine his own life to see if Jesus is truly the aim and focus of his life, because many good things sadly become the ultimate thing. Sincere Christians are equally susceptible to wrong priorities. Currently in many evangelical churches parents who simply get their families to church are seen by congregants and staff as sufficiently meeting biblical parental standards. Further compounding the potential for idolatry can come when the church pushes the congregation toward idolatrous relationships within the family. Churches that most likely began 6 Eph 6:10 encourages, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”
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