Sermon Tone Analysis

THE PRIORITY OF DISCIPLESHIP IN THE CHRISTIAN HOME

 

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A Paper

Presented to

Dr. Mark Heinemann

Dallas Theological Seminary

 

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

RS 102 Summary of Doctrine

 

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by

Gregory A Hinton

April 2008

Box #667

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Introduction

The necessity for an increased awareness and attention to Christian discipleship has been on the hearts and minds of scholars, pastors, theologians, and laypeople for years.

Just in the past century much has been written, published, and preached on the idea of following Christ and encouraging others to follow the same journey.

In his brilliant work on the topic, Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the encompassing idea of discipleship is to “Follow me, run along behind me!

That is all.”[1]

A few years later A.W. Tozer spoke of a major issue facing discipleship in /The/ /Pursuit of God/:

The whole transaction of religious conversation has been made mechanical and spiritless.

Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego.

Christ may be “received” without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver.

The man is “saved,” but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God.

In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little.[2]

In more contemporary writing one can sense a similar feel of desperation for discipleship from Dallas Willard (/The Great Omission)/, Bill Hull (/The Complete Book of Discipleship)/, and Michael Wilkins (/Following the Master/).

All of these authors, and many others, seek to attack the present issues of contemporary Christian discipleship, or the lack thereof.

They discuss the struggle to disciple in contemporary culture and attempt to present possible answers for the modern Christian and church.

In surveying these works and others, there is a key component missing in all of them.

Scripture clearly teaches that the starting point for Christian discipleship must be within the Christian home.

Likewise, this biblical mandate is missing from the programming and ministry of churches.

This biblical mandate is respected for its context and hallowed for its power.

What is lost in its context and respect is the sphere of its practicality for Christian discipleship.

Somehow this page was taken out of the “discipleship playbook” and must be re-inserted.

It might be that Christian scholarship has chosen to ignore this issue based on personal conviction of theologians and scholars; this is one area that they could be greatly lacking.

The thesis of this paper is to demonstrate that although the family exists as the primary starting point for Christian discipleship, contemporary Christianity has largely neglected this biblical teaching in its writings, implementation, and ministries of discipleship.

It will give an exegetical interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:1-9 as God’s mandate for the family as the key passage for this concept and expose contemporary Christianity’s lack of emphasis in this sphere of ministry.

It will look at contemporary Christian materials on discipleship and show that few, if any, deal with the home as a place for discipleship.

Then it will expose the lack of family focused discipleship in American Christian churches and their ministries.

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Establishing Expectations for God’s People*[3]*

The Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is one of the most dissected and respected passages in the Old Testament.

The Lord Jesus even quotes it as the greatest command in Matthew 22:37-38.

Much study has been written on these verses and the context that surrounds them.

The goal for this portion of the present study is to bring to light the proper implementation of the command in that it was meant to be passed on by the parents to their children and their grandchildren.

This section will also discuss the practical discipleship principles that can be gleaned from these verses.

References to teaching children appear both before and after the Shema in this passage creating bookends or a sandwich out of the greatest command.

As the chapter concludes there is also a practical example given to the adult Israelites on how to respond to a child’s questions about the commands.

This portion of Scripture is being given to the Israelite generation that was preparing to cross into the Promised Land and take it for the Lord.

They had suffered through a long and painful forty years in the wilderness as a result of the previous generation’s decision not to trust the Lord in taking the Promised Land.

The Lord gives these commands in order to help establish how things should be done and what he expects of his people when they move into the land he was giving them.

The potential opposition that could come about from other peoples was not the primary concern, but rather the temptation to forget the commands that had just been reinstituted.[4]

The only way the commands would last was for them to be taught and engrained on the minds and hearts of the old and young.

!!! Deuteronomy 6:1-3 – Commands for all Generations

Deuteronomy 6 begins with a simple introduction of the commands that Moses was giving on behalf of the Lord to Israel.

As they were preparing to enter the Promised Land it was imperative that they understood what the Lord desired of them.

The generation leading the people at this time had been through the entire period of wandering because of the rebellious decisions of their fathers and grandfathers.

It appears as though the Lord is trying to break the rebellious streak in his people and establish a new order for Israel.

The portion worth highlighting from this section is just a short reference to who the expected recipients of these commands were.

The immediate recipients of this passage are more than likely the ruling, elder generation of the Israelite people.

The small point made to them toward the end of 6:2 is that the commands were not only for them, but also for their children and their children’s children.

In this simple specifying statement one can see the importance of spiritual things and religious education taking place in the home.

!!! Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – The Shema

Most commentators focus primarily on these two verses when they discuss the early part of the chapter.

This is probably one of the most revered and well known passages in all of Scripture.

The force and hinge of all the commandments fall upon these two verses.

They are being brought up in order to attempt to pinpoint why very little has been written about the family emphasis in this passage.

Contemporary authors on the topic of discipleship will be discussed later, but here it is worth noting that most commentators and scholars give very little attention to the family ideas presented before and after the Shema.

This lack of scholarly, academic emphasis could be a primary contributing factor to why more practical writings also do not focus on the family aspect of Deuteronomy 6.[5]

!!! Deuteronomy 6:6-9 – Training the Children

In this short paragraph much instruction is given to the Israelites in how they should approach the commandments in their own lives in order that it will have maximum impact and sustainability with their children.

Verse 6 begins by once again encouraging the adults that the commands must be on their hearts.

In this command one finds the first emphasis on how parents should disciple their children.

First and foremost the parents and older generations must commit to following the Lord before they will be able to train up the younger generations.

If parents are not first following the Lord’s commands they will not be able to effectively communicate them to their children.[6]

This could cause a complete and total breakdown in the potential spiritual growth and maturity of the people of Israel.

Verse 7 begins the clear transition from the parents’ hearts to the teaching of their children.

The instruction has now shifted from an emphasis on the current, “ruling” generation of Israel to the generations to come.

The first command is that the people teach these same things to their children.

The Hebrew language is clear in making the point that this is not merely a one-time discussion or lesson.[7]

The use of the Hebrew שׁנן (/shannon/) here is much stronger than simply saying “teach” or “command.”

This word has two meanings.

The Piel usage found in Deuteronomy 6:7 has the meaning /to speak or recite in a continuous manner/.

It is worth mentioning that the other cognate meaning is /to sharpen/.[8]

Much like the consistent process that one would go through in sharpening a weapon, the same consistency could be expected of the first command given in verse 7. One cannot sharpen a weapon once and expect the blade or point to remain in its sharpened state for very long.

It must be re-sharpened consistently in order for it to be an effective weapon in battle.

It can be understood that by consistently performing the tasks described that follow this command a parent will have a positive impact on their children’s spiritual personality.

This word helps emphasize the continual, consistency that the Lord expects from parents as they teach the commands to their children.

The next command in verse 7 begins the specifying statements of when, where, and how parents are to communicate the commands to their children.

The first specific reference is to /speak of them as you sit in your house/.

The first, and most important, place for the instruction of children is in the home.

The home is where children spend most of their time and where they will learn much from the instruction and example of their parents.

A parent’s pursuit of holy things will shine through the most at home.

They can put up whatever front they might want to outside of the home, but the true person always shines through when in the comfort of their own home.

This is why emphasis is made that parents teach the commands to their children at home.

Authenticity comes when a person is in his or her most comfortable state; their home is usually the place where this comfort resides.

The next specifying statement for the communication of the commands is that parents should speak of them /as they walk along the road/.

This communicates that parents need to be talking with their children about God and his Law not only in the home but also when they are away from home.

This is the second piece of instruction that focuses on the location of the teaching of the commands.

They are not meant to be only for the privacy of one’s home, but for everywhere that the family goes together.

As the Israelite people traveled they would have seen monuments that were erected to commemorate something great the Lord had done.

This command reminds parents to take advantage of the presence of these rock piles as they communicate the goodness of the Lord.

It would be an incredible detriment to a child’s spiritual upbringing if he or she was taught to only speak of the things of the Lord while at home.