Excerpt 1: What is Biblical Child Training

There is an explosion of information today, much of which is false or unverifiable. Man desperately needs an accurate and reliable source of information that will provide beneficial and verifiable results when used. The Bible provides that source. When an intensive investigation has been honestly performed and a specific subject has been systematically developed from the Bible, the result is dependable information by which man can successfully live his life. In a day when most information is based on man's constantly changing opinions and his limited observations, it is exciting to see the objective truth of God's revelation presented. This truth is information by which man can live his life with the confidence that he is right. It is also truth that will produce predictable results when properly utilized.

What the Bible Says About...Child Training is a study designed to help parents to better understand their role and to reveal the mechanics for successfully raising children. To accomplish these ends this book will carefully define parental accountability, authority, and responsibility. It will also describe the nature of a child and explain his Biblically defined stages of development. With these principles firmly established, the book will present the Biblical system for training children.

 This system is divided into two distinct phases, controlling and teaching. The control phase is the establishment of the parents' right of rulership over the will of the child. When parents can control their children, they have laid the necessary foundation for the fulfillment of the Biblical commandment for children to obey their parents. The teaching phase can only be accomplished by parents who have first trained their children to obey. This is because, before a child will receive the instructions of his parents, he must first respect their word; and before he will respect their word, he must first become obedient.

Colossians 3:20a “Children, obey your parents in all things;”

Children will not accept instruction from those whom they do not respect. The Biblical commandment for children to honor their father and mother is fulfilled when children respect their parents enough to accept their advice and instructions of wisdom.

Ephesians 6:2a “Honor thy father and mother,”

Parents who utilize this system consistently from the time their children are very young have God's guarantee of success. It is possible for even those parents who have failed in training their child during his early years to gain control and still produce an obedient and respectful child.

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

What the Bible Says About…Child Training is unique in that the subject is handled solely from the Biblical viewpoint. The author accepts the Bible as absolute truth and as infinitely superior to any human system of thinking. There has been no attempt to modify God's Word to make it compatible with human philosophies, psychology, sociology, religious views, or public opinion. God's Word is accepted as is, without human adulteration. The Bible is also accepted as living and powerful information that is as relevant today as in the day when it was first revealed.

What the Bible Says About…Child Training is available as a paperback book, corresponding workbook, and audio and video cassettes with reproducible outline.

_{This excerpt was taken from the FOREWORD and INTRODUCTION to What the Bible Says About…Child Training, 2nd edition}