“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’ (Deuteronomy 6:20-25).
There are some key tenets that we need to think about when explaining to our children and family why we are faithful and what it takes to be a faithful follower of God the Father. First, we need to tell them the truth that we are not perfect. When we are asked why we must worship God, or why we must go to church, we must always tell them the truth and not lead them to believe that we are perfect and that we were always perfect. Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, gave this advice to tell your children when they ask about our faithfulness and what we do concerning godly things:
“We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” (Deuteronomy 6:21)
Based on the Biblical teaching, we should be honest with our children. We must tell them that we were once sinners alienated from God, and with His mighty Word He brought us out of the bondage of sin and brought us into His family.
“And the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household.” (Deuteronomy 6:22)
Second, We need to be able to teach our loved ones about the depths of sin, the state we were in, and how God through the power of His word was able to take us out of these dark places that we find ourselves in. God today does not move in miraculous ways as He moved against the pharaoh to show His mighty works. But He gives us His word that we might believe. “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Our children need to understand that our God is strong enough to take us out of the grips of Satan and bring us into His marvelous light by the power of His spoken Word. Colossians 1:13-14 – He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. In that power, He is displaying the power to remove us from bondage as He removed the children of Israel from the grips of pharaoh in the bondage of slavery. Thus, Jesus would teach us that we can be free “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
“Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.” (Deuteronomy 6:23).
Third, we need to be able to convey that God has taken us out of sin to bring us into His glorious church: “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). God would take His Israelites out of bondage to bring them into the land of Canaan, a resting place for His people. If we follow the Biblical narrative, we will see that the land of Canaan and that great resting place of God is translated to us through the seed promise of Abraham. In this promise, we are heirs to righteousness and glory in the church. The church is our promised land. When God takes us out of sin, He brings us into the church, His glorious promised land for the Christian dispensation. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29). Just as God brought the Israelites into His family and into the land that He promised, God also brings all those who are baptized into Christ into the land which He promised, the church. Acts 2:47- “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved”.
“And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:24-25).
Fourth, when teaching our family and loved ones why we are faithful and why we worship God, we must teach them that God always commanded us to observe His statutes in a precise manner. It is clear to see that under the direction of Moses that the children of Israel were to follow God’s commandments carefully, and to observe all the commandments, not just some. Today, Christians have that same call to follow the commandments of God carefully. The Apostle Paul would exhort Timothy in this manner: “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed” (1 Timothy 4:6). Just as the children of Israel needed to carefully follow the statutes of God to stay successfully free from the bondage of slavery, we must also as Christians carefully follow the statutes of God, that we can stay free from the bondage of sin, thus saving ourselves and those who listen. “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).
We must take careful consideration in how we answer our children and family when they ask us why we worship the Lord and why we do what we do. We should remind them that we are not perfect, and we were brought out of sin and the bondage that we were in. We need to tell them of our belief in the power of God’s word, and how it can change lives. The truth must be shared with them in that we no longer live in the world and the house of sin, but rather we have been translated from the world of sin to the House of God, which is His church. We must communicate that our faithfulness and diligence to follow His word for what it is, and not add to or take away, is due to our trust in His teaching. They must understand the reason why we follow God’s word so carefully is because we want to be good ministers unto Jesus Christ, great Christians, and an example of Jesus that others can see and relate to. So when we are asked why we do what we do, we must always start from the beginning and say, “I was once a sinner in bondage and God brought me out”, instead of shallow answers and hypocritical curtains of perfection! Christ is perfect! We gain our perfection in Him and Him alone. Let us never forget that our God is good, our children are precious, and everyone deserves the truth. Indeed, God has delivered us from bondage. We must never be ashamed to tell others where He brought us out of and why we are diligent to obey Him and His Word.
In Christian Fellowship,
The Preacher