Brothers and sisters, we now take our Bibles and read to you the three passages from God's Holy Word. The three passages I wish to read you this afternoon are, in first place, Romans chapter 4, then Hosea chapter 11, and in third place, Ephesians chapter 6. And we'll get to Genesis chapter 17 in the sermon. So, first, Romans chapter 4. Romans 4, verses 6-17. In this portion of God's Word, the Word of our God reads as follows, David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him. Is this blessedness only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abram's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised or before? It was not after, but before. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still circumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he's also the father of the circumcised, who not only are circumcised, but also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abram had before he was circumcised. It was not through law that Abram and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value, and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace, may be guaranteed to all Abram's offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. We turn to the prophecy of Hosea. Hosea chapter 11 We read the verses 1 through 4. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the bales and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love, I lifted the yoke from the neck and bent down to feed them." In third place, Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians 6, verses 1 through 4. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, but do not exasperate your children. Instead, Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. So far this afternoon, the reading from God's holy word, I proclaim to you the word of our God as we could read it from Romans, Hosea and Ephesians. As the church has summarized it and we together confess it in Lord's Day 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism. Lord's Day 27, there we repeat after God what we've heard the Lord reveal in His Word. Does this outward washing with water itself, that's reference to baptism of course, does outward washing with water itself wash away sins? No, only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins. Why, then, does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins? God speaks in this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water takes away dirt from the body. But even more important, he wants to assure us of this divine pledge and sign that we are as truly cleansed from our sins spiritually as we are bodily washed with water. Should infants, too, be baptized? Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God's covenants and congregation. Through Christ's blood, the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to adults. Therefore, by baptism as sign of the covenants, they must be grafted into the Christian Church and distinguished in the churn of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Covenant by circumcision, in place of which baptism was instituted in the New Covenant. In response to the word to the proclamation of the Word of God, we sing some hundred and forty five stanza two. Beloved congregation of the Lord, Last week we listened to the proclamation of God's Word as it was summarized in Lord's Day 26. And it was, we heard, a wonderfully rich word, promise that the Lord gives to us. Baptism signifies the work of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is the gospel of the washing away of sins. But it's not limited to that. Baptism also catches the work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the renewal that follows for the forgiven. And that is to say that our fight against sin is not inherently futile. Here is much encouragement as we carry on fighting against the sin that clings to us. It is also rich. Forgiveness. Renewal. Then the question arises, is that wealth as we heard last week true for the adults in our midst only? What about the children who sit with us in the pew this afternoon, the children around our kitchen tables, the little ones we put to bed at night? How are we to view them? For that matter, how are we to raise them? Children. It keeps so many of us so busy. At the same time, it's a challenge. How do we carry out the task of parenting? Who are those children? And the Lord tells us They're His as much as the adults. So I summarize the sermon this afternoon with this theme, Believing Parents Get to Raise God's Covenant Children. I ask your attention for three points. The first is the identity of the children. The second, the task of the parents. In third place, the promise of the Lord. Genesis 17 is a passage of Scripture so well known to us. It's that portion of Scripture where the Lord God establishes His covenants with Abraham. Now we understand that the covenant God established with Abraham was so delightfully rich for the sinner Abraham. For God says in Genesis 17, verse 7, I will establish my covenants between me and you to be your God." That phrase, to be your God. The baptism form in the back of the book of praise unpacks what that means. To be your God is to say that God the Father says, I am your Father. I adopt you to be my child and heir. I promise to provide you with all goods and avert all evil, or turn it to your benefit." And we realize that's rich. But it's more. For God the Son says, I deliver you from all your sin. In that too, we say, that's rich. To be righteous before God. Isn't that delightful? And God the Holy Spirit will dwell in you, He promises. to cleanse you from all sin, to renew, till we shall finally be presented with a blemish among the assembly of the elect in life eternal." Again, delightfully rich. That's the promise of Genesis 17 that God gives to Abraham. We recognize The wealth that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 17 was not limited to the man Abraham. For God added, I will be God to you and to your descendants after you. So we fill in the blank. Isaac is a covenant child. Isaac's children, Jacob and Esau, are covenant children. And so on. The wealth of God being Father, Son, Spirit, the promises of the covenants are all true for Abram and his descendants after him. And then we say, yes, and it's equally true for us and our children. We who sit in the pew, the little ones with us in the pew, kitchen table, we're just as rich. Okay, and there's the question. How do you know? Four, the words of Genesis 17 were spoken to Abraham, and they're not addressed, first of all, to you and to me. On what authority, then, can we say the wealth of Genesis 17 belongs to us and our children? Their congregation is the reason why we read together Romans chapter 4. And I would invite you to take your Bibles and turn to that passage. The Apostle Paul quotes in verse 7 and 8 from Psalm 32 Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." We understand that's the wealth of the covenants. Forgiveness. Rich. For who is this? And then Paul asks in verse 9, Is this blessedness only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? Is it only for Abraham, Abram's children, the Jews? Let's go beyond that. And the Apostle answers that question in the verses 9 and following and says it's got to do with faith. The promise of God is for those who believe. And that's why the Apostle can end up saying at the last part of verse 11, So then Abraham is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised. All who believe but have not been circumcised. That congregation are the Gentiles. And verse 12, he's also the father of the circumcised, who not only are circumcised, but who walk in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised. That's a reference to the Jews. Well, to the believing Jews, the Jews who believe in Jesus Christ. His points. The wealth that is given to Abraham is not limited to Abram and the Jews, but belongs to all who believe as Abram believed. That, in turn, is why the apostle can say what he says in verse 16, end of the verse, Abraham is the father of us all, to whom is Paul writing. The word us describes Paul and the Romans. But Romans were not Jews. Yet, Paul dares to say, Abram is the father of us all. The point I want to make with this, Abraham congregation, biblically speaking, is your father. Your father because you share the faith. of Abraham. But if you share the faith of Abraham. Then the promise of God in Genesis 17 counts for you. Where the Lord says, I will be your God. But that promise was not limited to Abram, the individual. But included his children. That same promise is not limited to you, the individual. but includes your children. You are children of Abraham in the generations. And so the glorious promises of God in Genesis 17, as caught in the baptism form, belong to you. Is this something strange that I'm saying? This congregation is why the Apostle Peter could say on the day of Pentecost, the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off. Something true in the New Testament dispensation. His audience was largely Jews, indeed, but not necessarily only. More. The Apostle Paul speaks in the same same vein to the Corinthians and says to the Corinthian believers that their children are sanctified. The children belong. What we have. What is the identity of the little children sitting with you in church this afternoon? And the not so little. What is the identity of the family you gather around the kitchen table? But brothers, my sisters, the identity of the children is the same as your identity. They are gods by covenant. And that is to say, the Sovereign Creator has established a bond of love not just with you, but with your infant, with your toddler, with your little one. and the not-so-little ones. A bond of love whereby God says, your little Johnny is mine. That is why the church says in Lord's Day 27, should infants too be baptized? And the answer is yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God's covenant and congregation. What's that mean? Through Christ's blood, the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit of earth's faith are promised to the children, your children, no less than to adults. Think about it. Isn't that exciting? Your little ones, have before God a different identity than the little ones in the family across the road. Your children are His. They are little princes and princesses under Christ. They have a royal position, treasures of God. And they are entrusted to your care. Allowed to see your little ones as belonging to God. And so, the promise of Psalm 32, as the Apostle quotes it in Romans 4, is true for your little child. Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, sins are covered. Isn't it wonderful when you see their shortcomings and your own. There is now the question, who is going to tell your child of his delightful position in God's kingdom? Who gets to press upon your Johnny that he's a prince under God? has a place in God's kingdom, has forgiveness of sins, is promised the renewal of the spirit. That's our second point. For the answer, of course, is the parents have to tell him. So our second point, the task of the parents. Genesis 17. The Lord God makes His covenant with Abraham and says to Abram, I'll be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The very next chapter, chapter 18, records a conversation that the Lord God has, and part of that conversation relates the task God has given to Abraham. Genesis 18 verse 19 says the Lord I have chosen Abraham so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just." We understand there's a task for the man Abraham. He's charged by God to direct his children, those covenant children God will entrust to him. to direct those children in his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. We realize, well, it was not God's intent that only Abraham instruct children in the generations in the way of the Lord. This is the task of all parents. That is why the people of Israel received the instruction of Deuteronomy 6 as they were about to go into the promised land. After they had spent 40 years walking back and forth in the desert, being trained by God in the school of life, the Lord says to the parents of Israel, these commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home or when you walk along the road, when you lie down or when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. In other words, whatever your parents do, whatever your parents think, needs to be molded by the Word of God so that in turn the children get to see who their God is. It is the task God gives to parents. The psalmist echoes this task in the words we sang from Psalm 78. He says, God decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel which He commanded our forefathers to teach their children. There it is. He's commanded forefathers to teach their children. Why? that the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. That's the ordinance of God. Children entrusted to parents so that parents may teach the children the way of the Lord. We understand then? God is mighty. Mighty to entrust children to Anybody's care, the care of the state. Might he even, to raise the children himself, bring them into the world as adults? But he doesn't. He brings the next generation into the world as children and entrusts them to the care of particular parents and gives them the mandate, you tell them who their God is. That's the glorious, privileged task of parents. The Apostle Paul repeats the thoughts in the passage written in Ephesians chapter 6. Father, as he says in verse 4, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. There it is. Task of fathers, and therefore of mothers, is help meets. bring up the children in the fear of the Lord. That is why the baptism form says infants must be baptized as heirs of the kingdom of God as covenant, and the form continues, as they grow up, their parents have the duty to instruct them in these things. And that's equally why before the sacrament of baptism is administered to the children, the parents have to answer their I do And one of the questions is, do you promise us, father and mother, to instruct your child in this doctrine as soon as he's able to understand? Do you promise? It is your God-given task. And we say, yes, we understand all of that. That is our task. But how do you do it? How exactly are we to teach our children, little and not so little, of what it means to be children of God, covenant children, heirs of life everlasting? How do you do it? Gather the family around the kitchen table and there read the Bible and pray? Is that what it takes? Bring them to bed and teach them, time has come for me to sleep. And as they grow up, pray by themselves. Is that how you do it? To be a parent. Take the children to church. Is that how you do it? Send them to Christian school, reform school. And the answer is yes. It's all of the above. But it hardly covers the whole picture. Listen, congregation, to what the Apostle says in Ephesians 6. We read it. Fathers, bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord. What's that mean? Does that mean that fathers and mothers thus help meet them? have to teach the children the bits and pieces God's revealed in His Word. The Bible stories. All about the Lord. And the answer is no. Well, yes, you have to do that. But that is not the apostle's point. Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord describes how God is a parent to His children. Command of the Apostle is, you go and be a father as God is Father. You parent as He does it. And there is then the question, how is God a parent? How does He father His children? How does He raise them? We read together a portion from Hosea chapter 11. It's a passage that the prophet has to speak to the people of Israel in the days of the kings of Israel. In that time period of Israel's history when the people are degenerating in their service to the Lord on the horizon is the exile. then the prophet has to remind the people of Israel how God was father, was parent for the people. How was he father? When Israel was a child, says the prophet, I loved him. And out of Egypt I called my son. And we understand What the prophet is doing here is digging into Bible history, and he's uncovering a particular act of God whereby God demonstrated His fatherness. What did His Father do when He called Israel out of Egypt? Take verse 3. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms. And we see it in the eye of our mind. A father with his toddler teaching the little one to use his feet, holding him in the hands and taking a step and a step, teaching him to walk. And God is doing that for Israel? How did He do that? Then again, the reference to teaching to walk is not simply physical, and we all understand that. Fathers and mothers teach little ones to walk physically, yes, but the point is to get them to walk the road of life. How do you make little adults? Well, mature people are the little ones. And this is what the Lord has done. Well, then, let's turn to Exodus and follow the way of the Lord. How is he a father, a parent, for his son, his child, Israel? I read in Exodus 4, verse 22, Israel is my firstborn son. Those are words Moses has to speak in the presence of Pharaoh. Notice that exactly because Israel is God's son, God not only cares for Israel, but rises to Israel's defense. There is pity for His people, and so a determination to release them from their bondage. So the Lord pours His plagues upon the Egyptians in order to bring about deliverance for Israel. That is what happened. God set His people free. Such was His care, such was His tenderness, His affection for His own. He sought their well-being. But now that the people are set free, what does God do? Does He right away give them an abundance of toys? May I say it that way? Does He give them everything the people want? What do they want? Well, the promised land, thank you. And right away, each our own property. Does the Lord give that? Why, no. Chapter 13, verse 17, When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through to the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert toward the Red Sea. The Red Sea. You know your Bible history, what happened there. The people ended up cornered. Water in front, mountains on the two sides, Egyptians behind. Is God a father? What kind of a father is He? God is teaching them through the school of life. Teaching them, says Psalm 78, to trust in the Lord. How does He teach them that? By working them into a corner where they have to cry to their father for help. And lo, their father does help miraculously. There is deliverance. They walk through the sea. But the same sense of care, the same sense of raising His children to trust Him, comes out in more things that God does. The manna. Why do they hunger? Thirst? Why does God see to it there is no water? Is that because He wasn't mighty to give them water every day? Let's be honest, congregation, God was mighty to give His people water every day and bread in their pantries every day. So they would never miss bread. But He gave them manna. He gave them thirst. And all of it was, again, to teach the people. Deuteronomy 8. The Lord Himself summarizes why, after the 40 years, why things went as they did. Remember how the Lord your God led you all this way in the desert these 40 years to humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart. He humbled you, called you to hunger, then feeding you with manna to teach you that man does not live on bread alone. Know then in your hearts that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." And you get a sense of what's happening here. God as Father is walking His children through the school of life, teaching them to walk. Hosea 11. Teaching them to become mature children of God. in part and parcel of being mature children of God is trusting God, knowing God. Responsible Christian life involves exactly that. And this father is busy teaching his children that. Is that all he does for his children? There is so much more. He gives them instruction in the gospel. He tells of reconciliation in the good news of the tabernacle. The animal dies in place of the sinner. Someone dies that you can live. How does God teach that? Through pictures that people have to build a tabernacle. Daily bring a sacrifice. It's stuff the parents could see, the children could see. The Father was teaching His little ones what the Gospel is, teaching His little ones how they could live by faith in Him. He taught them a lifestyle, holiness. Think of the book of Leviticus. Why did the priests have to do what they had to do? Why the Levites what they had to do? Why the people what they had to do? Why could they not eat that fish and they could eat that one? They could eat this animal and not that animal. Wear this cloth and not that. Why? And the Lord, Father as He is, is busy parenting, teaching His children the whole thing of holiness. You're different from other people. And the list goes on. But God is Father. And He makes a point of parenting. And we can add still more. Why is it that in the book of Numbers, after the people have spent some time on Sinai, God made His covenant with them and taught them His way, they leave the mountain and walk through the desert, and there's fire from the Lord. Because people grumble. There's quail in so many thousands' parish. Miriam gets leprosy. The earth opens up to swallow Chordation and Abiram. What is that congregation other than discipline from a heavenly Father? This Father would grab His children by the scruff of the neck and spank them. For they must learn to obey and must learn to trust the commands of God are wholesome. And you would disobey and you've got to feel it. Think of the book of Judges. Why is it that when the people sin, the Lord sends the Midianites, the Lord sends the Philistines, and the list goes on? This Father is disciplining His children. He's teaching them to walk, to become adults in God's service. Father He is. Now what's this got to do with your parenting and mine? He, congregation, is our example Solomon says in Proverbs 1, listen, my son, to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Why? Why listen to dad's and mom's instruction? Because God has ordained that dad and mom parent you so that you get to know who your Father in Heaven is. And that's to say, by the things they say to you and how they say it, what they do, how they discipline you, you're meant to get to know your Father in heaven better. Hence the instruction to children. Listen to your father's instruction. Don't forsake your mother's teaching. Treasure it. Your parents are teaching you as God's parents had taught Israel. Later in Proverbs 22, for example, folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him. Where does Solomon get that wisdom from? They did some research, some studies. No, beloved. He is simply taking the example of what God has done for Israel. Folly is bound up in the heart of God's child, the people of Israel. Witness numbers. Witness the judges. And so, God administers the rod of discipline to drive that folly from Israel's heart. But then parents need to do the same. God remains Father for His people now, and so instructs parents to follow His example. That's the reason why God gave the fifth commandment. Children, obey your parents. Honor them. And the Apostle Paul feels free to quote the fifth commandment in the passage written in Ephesians chapter 6. Honor your father and mother that it may go well with you and you may live long in the land. First, come out with a promise. For your parents, boys, girls, would teach you, covenant children as you are, who your God in heaven is. Would teach you in words. Would teach you in deeds. But then, respect them. Treasure what you receive in your parents. They are God's gift to you. What we have? Parents are to imitate God. Are to learn how to parent from how God parents. That's the force of the apostles instruction. Bring them up in the training and instruction or do it as the Lord would do it. And that means fathers and mothers in the congregation. Forget so many self-help books on how to parent. But go back to your Bibles. And learn from Scripture how your heavenly father is father. how He's parented in the past. And there's a long account of how God has been parent to Israel. And learn from Scripture too how God is parent today. For make no mistake, God remains your Father no matter how old you have become. and you remain His son, His daughter, no matter how old you are. And that makes the words of the Apostle in Hebrews 12 so relevant. Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined, and everyone undergoes discipline, then you're illegitimate children and not sons. Our earthly fathers, the apostles, continue to discipline us. But God does it for our good, whom He may share in His holiness. Now, just how is God reaching into your life to discipline you? Well, that takes analysis. That takes discussion. Be it in marriage, be it in family, be it with friends, and in the process you're wanting to learn both. What I'm to learn from this experience, how I'm to grow, but also how can I be a better parent? How can I follow the example of my God? Does my God give me everything I want? Shall I give my children all they want then? Does my God ever tune out of my life? Shall I ever tune out of my children's life? Is my God ever too busy for me? Should I then ever be too busy for my children? And the list goes on, but we understand the point. Fathers, mothers, Learn the art of parenting from how God is your parent, was Israel's parents as described in Scripture, and is your parent today. To learn it requires an open Bible. To learn it requires continued humility. To learn it requires analysis of the big questions of life. Wise things happening as they are. What does my Lord teach me? I trust in congregation, it becomes clear. Parenting is an awful lot more than reading the Bible around the kitchen table, telling Bible stories to your children, teaching them to pray, teaching them good manners, not to swear. But Christian parenting involves being busy with the question of how Father in heaven is Father for me, and then passing that on to the children. It's consciously congregation living every moment, every day with an open Bible, seeking to imitate God in what you do. imitate the parent, the father. And we say, that's a tall order. Life is busy. Like a time to keep on being busy with the scriptures and the question of how to be good parent. Like a time to analyze the bits and pieces happening in my life? Why is God dealing with me as He is? My brothers, my sisters, you adults, parents, are children of God, just as your infants, your children are. And what is the promise God has given to you? The same one as He gave to your children. His blood for the forgiveness of parenting sins. And His Holy Spirit to strengthen us to be the parents God wants us to be. There is the delightful promise of the Lord. Will you receive what you need to be parents of God's little ones? On your knees you will receive it. Seek and you will find. the wisdom, the strength to be the father, the mother God wants you to be. For the Lord doesn't fail His little ones, not in the generations either. If He's given His children to you, will He not supply you with what you need to be father, mother? He will. He's faithful. And so, parents of the congregation, grandparents of the congregation, carry on with the wonderful task you have. Your children are His children entrusted to your care. And yes, you can, you can show them who the Father is. God doesn't fail. Amen.