Ligonier Ministries Blog

1. The Ways of a Father in Challenging Times

   Fatherhood is full of challenges. Among the hardest is watching a wayward son or daughter —though raised in a Christ-centered home—walk away from the faith. Where do we turn? The book of Proverbs offers encouragement and insight for navigating such perilous waters. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit, > To give prudence to the simple, > knowledge and discretion to the youth— > Let the wise hear and increase in learning, > and the one who understands obtain guidance (Prov. 1:4–5). A father’s hope for his child’s well-being is first communicated through godly instruction. The opening chapters of Proverbs exhort sons and daughters to “hear instruction” (Prov. 1:8); to “receive my words” (Prov. 2:1); to “forget not my teaching” (Prov. 3:1); to “hear, O sons, a father’s instruction” (Prov. 4:1); to “be attentive to my wisdom” (Prov. 5:1); to “do this, my son, and save yourself” (Prov. 6:3); and to “keep my words and treasure up my commandments” (Prov. 7:1). Have we done what we can to instill biblical truths in their hearts and minds? Fathers should also analyze carefully the prodigal’s ways. Proverbs reveals three dangerous heart conditions: the simple one who forgets God, the scoffer who ignores God, and the fool who rejects God (Prov. 1:22). Each is progressively more hard-hearted, more impervious to spiritual truth, and more imminently in danger. The key is to discern which voices they listen to most closely. With whom do they walk, stand, or sit? The simple are naïve, listening to voices of temptation and easily swayed by bad company. Wisdom shouts for the simple to see the outcome of their choices and abandon those habits or friends (Prov. 7:6–27). The scoffer is more arrogant, mocking sin and ignoring all godly counsel. Wisdom challenges this one to listen to his father’s rebuke lest he come to ruin, shame, and disgrace (Prov. 13:1). The fool steadfastly rejects God and despises His Word. Wisdom warns such a person that by turning a deaf ear he brings destruction to himself, and his end is the way of death. Pray for wisdom in knowing how (and how often) to speak the truth in love. What other practical steps are fathers encouraged to follow? Prayer A father’s first and highest resource is bringing the child persistently to the throne of grace. John Yates, a seasoned pastor and father with many children and grandchildren, writes from experience: “Very quickly, children begin to teach a man about his own limitations, that he doesn’t have all the answers, and that he frequently fails as a husband and a dad. . . . This is the beginning of a whole new way of life called prayer.” Yates prescribes a very helpful resource—a prayer notebook to track specific needs and answers for each family member. The persistent prayers of a father avail much. Penitence A broken link in a lost or backsliding child’s spiritual walk might be the father’s fault. Have we told them recently how much we love them? Have we confessed humbly to them our own sins as a father? It is never too late for a genuine apology for angry or hurtful words or discipline that was lax, inconsistent, or overly harsh. Real men take the first step to ask for forgiveness. Any confession is best delivered face-to-face, though a virtual conversation, phone call, or written note (in decreasing order) may be necessary. The note should be handwritten, as personal notes from your hand bear greater weight than an email or text message. Patience One pastor wrote an insightful book in 1876 about the Christian family. In it, he exhorts fathers to lead their flock with patience: “The object is not to break the will, but to educate it; not to bind its freedom by external force, but to teach it to control itself.” Allow time for the often-slow work of grace to restrain what is wild, capturing the child’s heart not by assault but by a gentle siege. Pleasantness In the meantime, don’t be a nag or an ogre. Speak the truth clearly, but not every time you talk. Use words (pre-planned) that express love, not anger; patience, not frustration. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Keep the relationship strong by pursuing fun activities together when possible. Ask the Lord for a welcoming disposition and creative ways to build new bonds, finding joy in shared experiences. Perseverance Never give up. The wise father steadfastly pursues a genuine relationship to the extent the prodigal allows it. Unconditional love says, “I love you no matter what you have done.” The best illustration is found in Christ’s parable of the prodigal son. The rejected father maintained a constant vigil for his lost son, watching the horizon daily for his return. When he saw the boy limping home, he felt compassion and ran to embrace him. He forgave the young man his wasteful dissipation and welcomed him back into the family, “and they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:24). Let them know you will always leave a light on. In the end, fathers, commit yourself and your child into the Lord’s hands. Redemption is ultimately His work alone, and His hand is never too short to save. : John W. Yates II, How A Man Prays for His Family (FamilyLife Publishing, 2020), 9. : B.M. Palmer, The Family in Its Civil and Churchly Aspects (Sprinkle Publications, 1991), 82.

2. Get 1 Year of Tabletalk with Your Donation

   “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) It can be hard to be still in a world filled with responsibilities, distractions, and struggles. Yet as Christians, it is vital that we maintain a consistent time of Bible study—to reorient our gaze heavenward and to deepen the roots of our faith. Tabletalk magazine can help you establish this habit. Each month’s issue provides: Daily Bible studies guiding you passage by passage through God’s Word Themed articles to aid you in a focused study on theological topics A Bible-in-a-year reading program, helping you engage with all of Scripture And more When you give today, you’ll receive one year of Tabletalk. Your gift sends trustworthy Bible teaching throughout the world, enabling more Christians to know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it. Give today to receive a discipleship resource for your own home, and to continue spreading discipleship resources to the homes of Christians throughout the world. This offer ends on June 30.

3. How Is God Our Father?

   The full biblical revelation of God is that He is eternally the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One and indivisible. The Father is the Father of the Son. His name is the Father. Only God can name Himself. The name the Father denotes that He generates the Son eternally in the unity of the indivisible Trinity. Father is His personal (hypostatic) name. It tells us that He does not name Himself by any element in the creation He has made. This is who He is. The name is not a metaphor. Neither is it something we should conceptualize on the basis of what human fathers are like. It is the revealed name, given by God, for the trinitarian hypostasis (person) who begets the Son and spirates (or proceeds) the Holy Spirit. We are to view elements of creation in terms of God’s revelation, not vice-versa. Paul’s remark about “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph. 3:14–15) rules out thinking from created realities and applying them to God. Although God brought all other entities into existence, it can be said only in a very loose way that He is the Father of all. He is Father of all only insofar as He is the Creator. The Bible indicates that it is an amazing reality that He is Father: “See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1). This is entirely out of our hands, a sovereign bestowal of kindness and grace. It is patterned in some way on the relations between the Father and the Son. We bear the family likeness because we are united to Christ, who is the eternal Son of the Father. This is evident insofar as Jesus was rejected by His contemporaries; they did not recognize Him for who He is. Similarly, the world does not realize who we are precisely because it did not realize who He was (1 John 3:1). As the eternal Son, now enfleshed, Jesus’ customary way to refer to God was as His Father. It was highly unusual—some think it unprecedented—for an individual to call God “Father.” Due to sin, people typically see God as far off. Jesus encouraged us to pray, “Our Father,” since, as His disciples, we are united to Him, the Son, by the Spirit, and so come to bear the family likeness as His children. Following from this, the Father—together with the Son—has poured out the Holy Spirit so that we cry, “Father!” (Rom. 8:15–16, Gal. 4:4–6). The expression “Abba! Father!” reads as Abba (Aramaic), Patēr (Greek). Both words mean the same thing: “Father.” Some preachers claim that Abba means “Daddy,” but this is not the case; it is an instance where a cute comment gets taken up and repeated ad nauseam. Rather, the term means that whoever we are, Jew or Greek, whatever language we speak, we have the identical relation to God through Christ, are now His children, and have access to the Father. Moreover, the relation to the Father that we have been given is identical to that which the Son has in eternity; His by nature, ours by sheer grace. In short, we have been made the adopted children of God in Jesus Christ. He is the natural Son, the eternal Son; we were not sons but we have been made so by grace. Christ always was and is the Son; we were strangers and aliens but now we have been brought near. We should banish from our minds, as far as we can, all personal experiences of our own human fathers. For some, these memories may be painful; for all of us they are misleading, for we all fall short. The one model—and the model for human fatherhood—is that of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in metaphorical language: > Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; >    I took them up by their arms, >    but they did not know that I healed them. > I led them with cords of kindness, >    with the bands of love, > and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, >    and I bent down to them and fed them. (Hos. 11:3–4) The image of the returning prodigal in Jesus’ parable springs to mind in which “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). So, whoever we are, in Christ we have “access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Let us draw near, confessing our sins, in the sure and certain knowledge that He will receive us and lavish His kindness on us for the whole of eternity. The Father’s love will then be universally evident for, since we are His children now, when Christ returns in His unfettered glory, we shall see Him as He is and be like Him, to the glory of the Father (1 John 3:2). : James Barr, “Abba Isn’t ‘Daddy,’” Journal of Theological Studies 39/1 (1988), 28–47. : I use “sons” in its generic sense, following biblical language, to express the identity of our relation, women and men, to the Father that the Son has.

4. 66% of Canadian Evangelicals Think the Holy Spirit Is a Force: The State of Theology

   For the first time, Ligonier has released a nationwide Canadian survey. The State of Theology Canada reveals what people really believe about God. And the results are sobering: > 66% of Canadian evangelicals agree with the statement, “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.” This is no minor theological mistake. It shows a widespread confusion about the foundation of the Christian faith. If we fail to know who God is in His triune nature, we risk undermining the gospel itself. Interestingly, most Canadian evangelicals surveyed (93%) affirm the statement, “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” These contradictory responses highlight a deep theological confusion among many in the church. Yet Scripture is clear on this matter: The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force—He is the third person of the Trinity. Download the Free Study Guide These survey results are serious, and they warrant serious discussion. Gather a group and download the free digital study guide for The State of Theology Canada. Each section includes discussion questions and biblical insight to guide your conversation. More Resources on the Holy Spirit R.C. Sproul founded Ligonier to help Christians know who God is and who they are. Here are several resources from Ligonier addressing the Bible’s teaching on the Holy Spirit. Who Is the Holy Spirit? booklet by R.C. Sproul Everyone’s a Theologian, book by R.C. Sproul The Holy Spirit, guide from Ligonier Ministries “What Is the Procession of the Holy Spirit?” article by Robert Letham “Another Helper,” episode of Things Unseen

5. How Can I Be a Godly Father?

   A recently purchased piece of furniture came with an instruction booklet of the assembly required, complete with pictures of what to do and what not to do. The what-not-to-dos came from common pitfalls that had undoubtedly led the common Allen-wrench craftsmen astray from properly constructing a fine piece of particleboard furniture. Yet it was the what-not-to-dos that proved to be especially helpful, saving me from much hand-wringing frustration. Similarly, through His Word, the Lord provides instruction for fathers that can save us from soul-wrenching pitfalls—pitfalls that can lead to our downfall, as well as the downfall of our children. The Scriptures are filled with divine instructions of what to do as fathers—as well as what not to do—as demonstrated by the Apostle Paul’s dual instruction, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Along with instruction, the Scriptures provide plenty of positive and negative examples of fatherhood. The negative examples seem to be particularly poignant, especially when we read of many godly men whose children did not follow in their father’s way or had major failings. The multitude of examples seems to demonstrate that there is a pattern for fathers to note. A prevalent and pernicious sin in a child, perhaps if it had been addressed by the father, might not have ended in the way that it did. These Old Testament stories are given by God for more than just parental instruction, but at the same time, they are not less than that. Therefore, they offer us both warnings and opportunities to learn how to best lead our children (and ourselves) toward godliness. No, we cannot be our children’s savior. But by God’s grace, we as their fathers can proactively point them to Jesus Christ, who not only saves us from sins committed, but also from greater sins and consequences that might be prevented. Let’s look at several scenarios from the book of Genesis. Adam: The Anger of Cain It does not take long for Adam and Eve’s sin in Genesis 3 to show its effect amongst the first family. Their sons, Cain and Abel, are barely introduced before we see a domestic conflict at hand. Cain was angry at God’s acceptance of his brother’s offering over his own. Though God confronts Cain directly (Gen. 4:6), it is not enough to turn him from his anger, which had full vent in the murder of his brother Abel. Cain was destined to be a fugitive and wanderer for the remainder of his life. Were there signs of such a temper and anger in Cain that could have been addressed? Did Adam intercede, or did he sit idly by as he had done when Eve was deceived by the serpent? Isaac: The Impulsiveness of Esau and the Deceitfulness of Jacob The Scriptures tell us that hairy Esau “was a skillful hunter, a man of the field” (Gen. 25:27), yet he seemed to be as impulsive as the animals he killed. Selling his birthright to his brother for a pot of stew because he was worn out and exhausted from the field was not a wise decision (Gen. 25:30–34). Did he not think through the consequences of his decision before he agreed to the terms? Years later, Esau took a foreign wife, even though Isaac his father had instructed him to “not take a wife from the Canaanite women” (Gen. 28:6). Perhaps he did so out of spite for his father and the pain of deception he endured at the hands of his brother, yet he had to live with the consequences of dwelling with a foreign wife and living outside the covenant people of God. If his father, Isaac, had persuaded Esau to realize the consequences of his poor decisions early on, would the latter consequences have been the same? The story of Jacob’s putting on goat’s hair and dressing in his brother’s clothing to deceive his aging, vision-impaired father is well-known. But were there not signs of Jacob’s deception beforehand, when Jacob cajoled the birthright from his brother? Was he not living up to the name given to him by his parents with the dual meaning of “heel grasper” and “deceiver”? When his twin brother, Esau, realized that he had been deceived, he exclaimed, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing” (Gen. 27:36). The greater irony of the story is that Isaac was deceived and lied to in the same way that he had deceived and lied to Abimelech (Gen. 26:7). If Isaac had confronted his own deception, what could he have taught his son? Jacob: The Discontentment of Dinah and the Pride of Joseph The only named daughter of Jacob in the Scriptures is Dinah. Genesis says that she “went out to see the women of the land” (Gen. 34:1). The land refers to the pagan, foreign city of Shechem. What drew her to leave her own household to find something from the women in the next city? In Shechem, she discovered the true wickedness of the land as she was horribly violated by a man who took advantage of her. Was Jacob too preoccupied with his own life that he missed the wandering eyes of his daughter, which led her away and ended in her experiencing this abusive act? The young Joseph received two dreams: dreams of his being exalted, and dreams of his brothers bowing at his feet. These dreams fueled the anger of his brothers against him. How did they know about these dreams? They knew only because Joseph had told them. Was this youthful immaturity, or did this come out of a prideful heart—pride that was perhaps spurred along by Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph (Gen. 37:3)? Had Jacob not learned the consequences of such favoritism from his own experience with his parents and brother? A Call to Fathers If time permitted, we could extend our study to Manoah and Samson, Eli and his sons, Samuel and his sons, or David and Absalom. My purpose is not to cast judgment on fathers, nor to merely play the hypothetical game of “What If.” God used the sinful situations of these fathers and children for His plan of redemption, which demonstrates that His grace is truly greater than all our sins. God’s being sovereign over all these actions does not lessen the pain and consequences these individuals went through, nor the wretched consequences of sin that we as families endure. All the sins mentioned, though not an exhaustive list, are not only sins of the past, but are ever present in our own children (and often in us as fathers as well). When we see similar sinful proclivities in our children, fathers should not idly sit by, hoping that nothing bad will happen to our children. The above stories indicate that this is not likely. Rather, we are to engage the hearts and minds of our children with truth, and when they do sin, to lovingly bring them back through forgiveness and repentance to the righteous path. We are called as fathers to be shepherds and guides for our children in the journey of faith. May we be to our children like the voice Isaiah mentions: “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21). However, with all the examples of fatherly relationships in the Bible, let us not miss the one example of the one perfect Father-Son relationship that did not fall, has not faltered, and will never fail. Beyond the to-dos and not-to-dos of fatherhood, let us always rest in what is done—accomplished and finished—in Christ, who perfectly obeyed His Father even unto death. From that Father-Son relationship comes all the grace, mercy, and strength for us as fathers as we grow in godliness and desire for our families to do the same.