Topical Bible: Children: should Fear Parents

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In the context of biblical teachings, the concept of children fearing their parents is often understood as a call for reverence, respect, and obedience rather than terror or dread. This principle is deeply rooted in the Scriptures and is seen as essential for maintaining family order and honoring God's commandments.

Biblical Foundation

The Bible emphasizes the importance of children respecting and honoring their parents. In the Old Testament, the commandment to honor one's father and mother is one of the Ten Commandments, underscoring its significance. Exodus 20:12 states, "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." This commandment is reiterated in Deuteronomy 5:16, highlighting its enduring importance.

The concept of fearing parents is closely linked to the idea of honoring them. In Leviticus 19:3 , it is written, "Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God." The Hebrew word for "respect" in this context can also be translated as "fear," indicating a deep sense of reverence and awe.

New Testament Teachings

The New Testament continues to uphold the principle of children respecting their parents. Ephesians 6:1-3 instructs, "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 have a long life on the earth.'" This passage not only reiterates the commandment but also connects it with a promise of well-being and longevity.

Colossians 3:20 further reinforces this teaching: "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord." The emphasis on obedience is seen as a reflection of a child's respect and reverence for their parents, aligning with the broader biblical theme of submission to authority.

Theological Implications

From a theological perspective, the fear or reverence children are to have for their parents is seen as a reflection of the fear and reverence all believers are to have for God. Just as children are called to respect their earthly parents, believers are called to honor their Heavenly Father. This parallel underscores the importance of family as a microcosm of the divine order.

The fear of parents, therefore, is not about instilling anxiety or dread but about cultivating a respectful and obedient attitude that mirrors the believer's relationship with God. It is about recognizing the God-given authority of parents and responding with humility and submission.

Practical Application

In practical terms, teaching children to fear their parents involves instilling values of respect, obedience, and gratitude. Parents are encouraged to model godly behavior, providing a living example of the principles they wish to impart. Discipline, when necessary, should be administered with love and consistency, aiming to guide rather than provoke.

Proverbs 22:6 offers wisdom on this matter: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." This training involves teaching children to understand the importance of respecting authority, beginning with their parents, as a foundation for a life that honors God.

In summary, the biblical call for children to fear their parents is a call to respect and honor them, reflecting a broader theological principle of reverence for God and His established order.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Leviticus 19:3
You shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

An Appeal to Children of Godly Parents
... to the Lord, and so bring up your children that they ... follow the same way of life,
and should addict themselves ... to do as they did who trained you in God's fear! ...
/.../spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/an appeal to children of.htm

On Obedience to Parents
... 8. But how few children do we find, even of six ... Indeed, how should they understand
it, seeing they have none to ... a little farther with you parents that fear God ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 96 on obedience to.htm

On the Education of Children
... flame, of feeding the disease which you should cure. ... guilty of doing this by praising
their children to their ... And, in spite of either fear or complaisance, go ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 95 on the education.htm

The Christian Training of Children.
... to their adverse influence and opposition,"if parents had deferred ... be so kept concealed
that the children should not very ... And as to the fear that too early ...
/.../selected sermons of schleiermacher/ix the christian training of.htm

A Condensed Guide for Life
... Reverence for parents and teachers, the habitual 'fear of the ... to do and be what he
knows that he should. ... of a teacher addressing his disciples as his children. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/a condensed guide for life.htm

Early Impressions. Dangerous Books and Companions. The Saint is ...
... whom they allow to mix with their children when young ... I had been thrown among good
people, I should have persevered ... had found any one to teach me the fear of God ...
/.../the life of st teresa of jesus/chapter ii early impressions dangerous.htm

On Our First Parents and their Fall
... tigers, and other animals that we now fear so much ... Does it not seem strange that
we should suffer for ... It happens every day that children suffer for the faults ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 5 on our first.htm

Fathers and Children'
... of whom they complain; lest the parents' sins should be but ... Paul mixes the parents'
and the children's sins together in his words, and I fear that we ...
/.../kingsley/sermons for the times/sermon i fathers and children.htm

Home-Discipline.
... in the child a sense of proper fear, without either ... The child should be made to
understand that he lives ... begin too late to correct their children, and leave ...
/.../philips/the christian home/chapter xix home-discipline.htm

Obedience to Parents.
... many women there are who have never been children even with ... age when the only danger
to be feared should be an ... to assert by any other proof, I fear would lead ...
/.../sainte-foi/serious hours of a young lady/chapter xix obedience to parents.htm