Presumption

I recently read the book Gospel-Powered Parenting by William Farley. I have mentioned several times that I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it. Several sections in this book are worth quoting. Today I'd like to share with you one of those sections that stood out to me. It pertains to presuming that your child understands the gospel because they grew up in a "Christian" home. I was particularly struck by the comment about legalism at the end of the second paragraph quoted here.

"Finally they [parents] never presume that their children understand the gospel. We noted in chapter 1 that parents do this at their peril. A young person started attending our church. He was from a Christian home. He had attended an evangelical church every Sunday for twenty years. Yet in a membership interview, when we asked him to articulate the gospel, he said, "It is the Ten commandments."

When I explained this to his parents, they were astounded. They had presumed that he understood the gospel. But the default condition of our flesh is "earn it." We enter the world in love with legalism. We are convinced that we can merit God's favor. We love moralism but we resist the gospel. Parents who understand this never stop preaching the gospel to themselves and their children.-----Gospel-Powered Parenting, Chapter 10, page 184