How familiar are you and your children with the spiritual journeys of Christian leaders like Martin Luther and John Huss ? In their important book , 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home , Dr . Josh and Jen Mulvihill affirm the importance of knowing church history . They write , “ Studying church history is learning the stories , trials , sacrifices , and joys of those who have come before us in our Christian walk . The heroes of the Christian faith led daring , bold lives that were anything but dull or boring .” 8 The Mulvihills recommend reading biographies of notable Christians throughout history as “ the best way to make church history come alive .” 9
STAYING POWER Learning about notable Christians in the past anchors growing believers to the faith and keeps them from being “ tossed back and forth by the waves , and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming ” ( Eph . 4:14 ). When believers are familiar with the faith-journeys of Christians who ’ ve gone before them , they know they are not alone . They also are compelled to realize they stand on the shoulders of spiritual giants ( see Heb . 12:1-3 ).
In our day , sadly , deconstructing one ’ s Christian faith has become , in some circles , “ all the rage .” This is especially true among young adults . Against this cultural backdrop , having the ability to appreciate and celebrate the best aspects of one ’ s history and heritage sets up guardrails that hinder a young believer from departing from the straight and narrow path ( see Matt . 7:13-14 ) and careening over the edge into an abyss , out from which he or she may never be able to emerge .
FORMAL AND INFORMAL OBSERVANCES When God used Moses to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt , He established for them a formal observance that parents could use to pass along to their children an appreciation for His delivering His people from bondage . The Passover has its fulfillment in Christ ’ s deliverance of sinners from sin ’ s penalty . Just as Hebrew parents were to use the occasion of the Passover to teach their children about God ’ s actions in Egypt to deliver His people from slavery ; so , too , can we as believers today use the Lord ’ s Supper to share the good news of God ’ s deliverance from bondage to sin ( see Ex . 12:1-28 ; 1 Cor . 11:23-26 ). Jesus died and rose again to make believers right with God ( see Rom . 5:1-2 ).
Spiritual training is to take place informally as well : “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength . These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts . Impress them on your children . Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road , when you lie down and when you get up ” ( Deut . 6:5-7 ).
Of course , children naturally would ask questions about the commands about which their parents talked so much . Fathers and mothers were to tell them how God acted on behalf of His people in history . They were to tell them the Lord gave them His laws for their benefit and that by obeying Him they would live fulfilled lives in the present day ( see vv . 20-25 ).
MEMORIAL STONES Just as the Israelites were crossing the Jordan River and were on the cusp of conquering the promised land , God again set the stage for them regularly to affirm and remain anchored to their heritage . Joshua 3:17 tells us , “ The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground . . . until the whole nation had ” crossed over . The Lord told Joshua to select a man from each tribe in Israel “ to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan , from right where the priests are standing , and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight ” ( 4:2-3 ).
Those stones would become the focus of many future conversations . They would have remained at the bottom of the river had God not brought His people miraculously through the Jordan . The Lord acted as He did so people worldwide might know of God ’ s power and “ so that you might always fear the Lord your God ” ( v . 24 ).
Remembering the past isn ’ t only about the past but also about appreciating one ’ s heritage now and remaining true to it in future days . It ’ s about loving and fearing a faithful God , despite any and all contrary forces and influences .
For more biblical principles on remaining anchored to the faith , visit discoverbedrocktruth . org / remainfaithful /.
B . Nathaniel Sullivan is a writer whose work appears regularly at wordfoundations . com and discoverbedrocktruth . org .
ENDNOTES : Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible , New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973 , 1978 , 1984 , 2011 by Biblica , Inc .® Used by permission . All rights reserved worldwide .
1 . Martin Luther , “ 95 Thesis ,” Theopedia , July 1 , 2024 , https :// www . theopedia . com / 95-theses .
2 . “ Printing Press ,” Wikipedia , July 7 , 2024 , https :// en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Printing _ press .
3 . Martin Luther , “ 95 Thesis ,” Theopedia , July 1 , 2024 , https :// www . theopedia . com / 95-theses .
4 . “ What are the 95 Thesis of Martin Luther ?” Got Questions , January 4 , 2022 , https :// www . gotquestions . org / 95-theses . html .
5 . David L . Brown , Ph . D ., “ John Huss Jan Hus ,” Logos Resource Pages , May 2 , 2020 , http :// logosresourcepages . org / History / huss _ b . htm .
6 . Ken Curtis and Dan Graves , “ John Hus : Faithful Unto Death ,” Christianity . com , July 31 , 2023 , https :// www . christianity . com / wiki / people / john-hus-faithfulunto-death-11629878 . html .
7 . Dr . Philip Ryken , “ The Gospel Brings About Reformation ,” LifeCoach4God , April 17 , 2012 , https :// lifecoach4god . life / tag / martin-luther-at-the-diet-of-worms /.
8 . Dr . Josh and Jen Mulvihill , 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home : Raising Children to Godly Adults ( Roanoke , VA : RenewaNation , 2021 ), 125 .
9 . Ibid .
Copyright © 2024 by B . Nathaniel Sullivan . All rights reserved .
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