If You Want to Raise a Pharisee (Part 1)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

How do you like that title? Bet that caught your attention. Welcome to this new week of Freedom Fighter blogs.

A number of my staff attend Grace Bible Church in Wall Township, NJ, where Pastor Randy Smith serves as the Lead Pastor.

Recently he shared a message of steps to raising a Pharisee, and his 17 points are too good not to share with you.

If you have kids or grands, this is powerful. Here are the first 8:

1. Make the Christian home all about rule-keeping (do’s and don’t’s), but never explain to your child why we should follow God’s Word.
2. Add your own rules to God’s Word and make them more important than God’s Word.
3. Strictly enforce the rules on your children, but give yourself a pass.
4. Show your children nothing about grace, forgiveness, mercy, and love.
5. Preach at them until they are blue in the face, bore them with the Bible and never listen to what they have to say about God’s Word.
6. Make Jesus a burden rather than a blessing – make God’s Word a bondage rather than a liberation.
7. Give them no opportunity to think spiritually for themselves.
8. Fail to guide them in a spiritual worldview – teaching them how to process life with the Bible.

Wow! I sure wish I had this with list earlier in my life. I will share the remaining 9 next week.

Let me know your thoughts.

Relentlessly pursuing Christ,

Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 11 amazing grandkids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 15-17, Matthew 23:1-22| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us – He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.” – Oswald Chambers

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. – Galatians 4:4-5

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.

Bill Welte, President/CEO
America’s Keswick