Family
What does the Bible say about raising children?
Key biblical instruction for parents on nurturing children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Overview
Historical and Literary Context
Deuteronomy 6, the Shema passage, places responsibility for teaching children about God at the center of Israelite family life, woven into ordinary daily rhythms rather than confined to formal instruction. Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3, written to New Testament households, directly address both children and fathers, showing family discipleship remained central to the early church.
What Scripture Explicitly Says
And these words... shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (KJV)
Scripture explicitly places primary responsibility for spiritual instruction on parents, especially fathers (Ephesians 6:4), explicitly commands discipline administered without provoking children to anger or discouragement (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21), and explicitly commends the value of consistent, godly instruction (Proverbs 22:6).
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 (KJV)
Questions Christians Discuss
Christians hold different views on the specific application of passages like Proverbs 13:24 regarding discipline, and on how to balance firm correction with grace-filled encouragement across different ages and temperaments. There is wide agreement that discipline must always be motivated by love and aimed at the child's good, never by a parent's anger (Hebrews 12:10-11).
Gospel Connection
The pattern for parental discipline is God's own fatherly discipline of his children, which is never cruel or capricious but always for their good, that they might share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Parents raising children in Christ are extending, in miniature, the same patient, loving correction God shows toward his own children.
Practical Application
Parents are called to intentionally weave conversation about God into ordinary daily life, model consistent godly character, discipline in a way that corrects without provoking bitterness, and pray specifically and regularly for their children's hearts and faith.
Reflection Questions
- 1
How could you weave conversation about God more naturally into your ordinary daily rhythms, as Deuteronomy 6 describes?
- 2
What does it look like practically to discipline 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord' rather than out of frustration?
- 3
How does God's own fatherly discipline in Hebrews 12 shape the way you correct your children?
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the gift of children and the responsibility to raise them in your truth.
Give me patience, wisdom, and consistency, and let my discipline reflect your own loving correction, never anger. Amen.
Cross References
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) - 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.'
Colossians 3:21 (KJV) - 'Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.'
3 John 1:4 (KJV) - 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.'
Continue Your Study
Biblical Topics Library: Marriage and Family -- a broader thematic treatment of family life.
Study 8: Forgiveness -- essential for healthy family relationships.
Prayer Library -- prayers for children and family.
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Gospel Connection
Parental discipline models God's own fatherly discipline of his children, always for their good, that they might share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10).
The Whole Bible Connection Engine is built on the conviction that every part of Scripture speaks to every other part. Read widely. The connections are in the text.