Sermon Central
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Proverbs Is Not A Book Of Promises
Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 26, 2023 (message contributor)
A broken parent came to me and said, "Pastor Larry, I raised my kids in church. I raised my kids to follow Christ, know His Word and put Him first in their lives. They all made decisions for Christ in our church and were baptized. But, now that they have all graduated from high school, not a one of them is serving God, going to church or living the right kind of moral life. What did I do? Why have I failed? I thought God promised in Proverbs 22:6 that, if I raise my children up in the ways of the Lord, they will not depart. What happened to God's promises?"
I thought for a moment and then said, "First of all, parents are called to be faithful to teach their children the Word of God, but it is up to the individual child to make their own decisions. The best parent in the Bible is the faither of the Prodigal Son because he is a picture of God the Father, but look at what happened to his son! For that matter, look at what happens to God's children......some of them have failed miserably, like Samson, David, Moses and Simon Peter."
Then I added, "One of the real mistakes we make as parents in interpreting the Book of Proverbs is that we presume it to be a book of promises, when it is really a book of PRINCIPLES. For example, God tells us in Proverbs that, if we co-sign on a note, be prepared to lose your shirt. That is generally true, but not always, because it is a principle, not a promise. And when God says that your child shall not depart from their faith when the have been rooted and grounded in the Word, generally that is true..........but not in every case because it is a PRINCIPLE and not a PROMISE."
- Dr. Larry Petton
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