Many people look at the Christian faith as just a religion of do’s and don’ts. Perhaps our kids do too.

Is it?

This is a question we need to be very clear on as parents, for ourselves and for our kids. If our children think that the faith is just about all the things we can’t do and all the things we have to do, then they don’t really understand what Christianity is all about. And they probably won’t stick around. They will become a part of the majority of kids who are leaving the faith when they leave the nest.

God never intended for our relationship with Him to be a labor-intensive checklist that is more of a burden than a delight. If this is how your kids approach the faith, chances are at some point they will chuck it for a belief system that doesn’t make them feel like they must constantly perform to be acceptable. 

So what are all those do’s and don’ts in Scripture about?

In a very special “best of” re-airing of one of my all-time favorite episodes of CHRISTIAN PARENT/CRAZY WORLD, I explain that the do’s and don’ts in the Bible are about protecting us, not making us acceptable to our heavenly Father. Christ’s atoning work on the cross makes us acceptable to God. The don’t list isn’t comprised of a bunch of good stuff that God inexplicably doesn’t want us to do—it contains what leads us to bondage. And God’s overwhelming heart is not to condemn us; it is to free us.

Scripture shows how Christ is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep who are doing the do’s to go after the one sheep being wounded by the don’ts. The Gospel of John depicts God as a passionate father who longs for his lost, don’t-doing child to come home. The list of do’s and don’ts in Scripture are an expression of God’s love for his children, his concern to protect his children, and his desire for them to thrive.

Please enjoy this favorite early episode of CP/CW that dives into one of the biggest misperceptions about our faith, and tune in next week for a very special 100th episode of the show where I will be sharingthe #1 factor in maintaining a lifelong faith. 

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EPISODE RESOURCES:

The tree of knowledge of good and evil: Genesis 2:15-17

Church of the Highlands: Freedom Curriculum

The Parable of the Lost Sheep: Luke 15:1-7

The Parable of the Lost Son: Luke 15:11-32