I once heard John Piper talk about the viper that the guilt over parental sin can be for us. It is a viper in that the guilt of sin related to parenting can sting worse than that of many other sins, since the consequences of that sin can directly affect the children we love with all of our hearts.
We certainly want to be responsive to the Spirit’s gracious convicting work and take all parental sin seriously that we might grow in grace and serve our children well. However, I am also concerned that parental guilt not be the paralyzing viper that it can be. So, having responded to the Spirit and acknowledged our sin in light of his gracious, convicting work, how can we defang this viper? I would suggest two ways.
First, we must remember that God has made our children to be very resilient (thankfully so!), which should provide hope for us in and of itself. They aren’t marred for life by our failings as a parent. Second, and even more importantly, we must remember to aggressively apply the gospel to all of our parental sin. There is simply no other way to defang the viper than by daily looking to and trusting in the finished work of our Savior. To help us do that, I want to encourage you to remember the glory of the gospel that we’ve seen recently in the book of Hebrews.
- In Hebrews 8, we saw the superior promise of our superior priest, such that (in Christ) God will “remember our sins no more” – a powerful promise indeed! Won’t we need that promise on a daily basis as parents?! (Listen to the message on Hebrews 8 here.)
- In Hebrews 9.1-14, we saw the superior sacrifice of our superior priest, such that we can now know a “purified conscience.” That means, through the finished work of your Savior, you can confidently draw near to his throne of grace for mercy towards parental guilt and grace for fresh parental empowering! (Listen to the message on Hebrews 9.1-14 here.)
- In Hebrews 9.15-28, we saw the three “appearings” of Jesus that bring us to God (present, past and future) which call us to accept no substitutes for the gospel. (Listen to the message on Hebrews 9.15-28 here.)
And one more recommendation: CJ Mahaney’s brief thoughts on applying the gospel to this issue are worthy of reviewing many, many times! See the six14 blog post from 7.11.2008 or click here to access the audio clip of CJ talking about the gospel and parental sin.
May we as parents fight for faith in justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that we might have faith toward God for the task of parenting.
So grateful for you and for the finished work of our Savior giving us faith and hope for the holy task of parenting!
-Tab
