We need to help our children get a hold of this whole issue of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Children desperately need to know the fear of the Lord. We’ve emphasized the imminence of God in modern evangelicalism, but we’ve lost sight of the transcendence of God - this God is a holy God. He’s a sovereign God. He’s a powerful God. He’s a glorious God. He’s a severe God. He’s a God Who will not trifle with wickedness or wink at iniquity. He’s a glorious, glorious God.
But we’ve really made God into a celestial vending machine in modern evangelicalism where we put in our coins of Bible reading and prayer. Then we push the buttons to get what we want. And when we don’t get what we want, we kick the machine. Now I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had conversations with people who’ve come to me and said, ‘I’m mad at God.’ Now think of the effrontery of that. The thing formed says to the One Who formed it: He has no hands. The pot mocks the Potter. How on earth can we, trapped in our finitude, have the effrontery to give God a report card and decide God has not done well in his task of running the world and ordering providence for us.
We need again and again to help our kids to see the wonder and glory of the character and being of God so that they are overwhelmed with His glory - this marvelous God that has made them and all things for His glory. This God is an awesome and glorious God before Whom wise men tremble because wisdom begins with the fear of God.
I remember one night one of our kids said, “You know, Dad, instead of having bumper stickers that say: 'Smile! God loves you', we ought to have bumper stickers that say ‘Tremble! God is a consuming fire.’”
I said, ‘You’re right.’ Because you can not understand anything about God without understanding the wrath of a holy God on sin. And we need to help our children get a hold of this.
-Ted Tripp [Preparing our Future Generations, sermon #3]
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