If we want our children to be confident and fearless, why would we teach them to flee? The answer is simple and profound; the Bible commands that every day we all need to courageously run away from some things and toward others.
- What should our families flee?
II Timothy 2:22 and I Corinthians 6:18 command all God’s people to flee immorality. I Corinthians 10:13-14 provides us the glorious promise that we can always escape temptation because God is faithful to provide a way to escape it. I Timothy 6 lays out a number of sins, and verse 11 commands “But you, O man of God, flee from these things.” I Thessalonians 5:22 requires that we, “abstain from every form of evil,” and Proverbs 14:16, 22:3, and 27:12 provide the nearly identical guidance that “A prudent man sees evil and hides.”
Joseph is an amazing example of living these commands. In Genesis 39 we learn that Joseph was sold into slavery and was tempted by his master’s wife. Verse 8 tells us, “he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has given all that he owns into my hand. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?’ 10 So it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 Then she seized him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!’ And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside.”
In order to be Christ-honoring parents, we absolutely need to teach our children to flee from sin, but we also need to teach them to do it the right way.
- How should our families flee?
A. We need to understand just how deadly sin is.
The Bible says sin is lethal. Romans 6:23 tells us “the wages of sin is death,” and James 1:15 reveals that sin, “brings forth death.” Our problem is that we don’t truly understand the danger of sin. We like our sin. We love our sin more than we love our Savior. But our families will never escape temptation unless we truly know, understand, and believe that it’s going to kill us. Joseph understood this. When confronted by Potiphar’s wife, he told her that lying with her was wrong because he wasn’t allowed to do it. The very real understanding is that there would have been significant consequences for sinning in that way.
But understanding the danger of sin is not the most important part of escaping sin. People can flee consequences without wanting to please the Lord with their lives. However, this is nothing more than self-worship. Therefore . . .
B. We need to understand how good God is.
If we read the passages surrounding the verses we considered in our first point, we’ll see that all of the commands to flee from sin include fleeing to the Lord. Most Christian parents are familiar with Proverbs 22:6 which states “Train up a child according to his way, Even when he is old he will not depart from it,” but too often they don’t know what precedes that verse. Verse 3, states “A prudent man sees evil and hides, But the simple pass on, and are punished.” Then it goes on to say in verse 4 “The reward of humility—the fear of Yahweh— Is riches, glory, and life.” After verse 5 reveals the destruction of sin, verse 6 tells us to train our children in the way they should go. We’re to be training our children to see evil and hide themselves, not only because thorns and snares are in the way, and not only because it will result in consequences, but because we fear Yahweh.
However, if our kids flee from sin for their own glory, they’re only running headlong toward the sin of self-worship. The only way to truly flee from sin is to run toward God. There is no fleeing from sin that doesn’t take you closer to the Lord. And not only will running toward God cause us to flee from sin, James 4:7 tells us, “Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The tempter himself will actually flee from you! How glorious!
Joseph believed this as well. He didn’t reject Potiphar’s wife simply because he respected her husband or wanted to protect his own livelihood. In Genesis 39:9 he says, “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?’ We need to love God. We need to want to please Him above all else. Does your family turn from sin and pursue holiness because He’s worthy, He’s majestic, He’s awesome, and He deserves their love and obedience? It saddens my heart when I meet people who really want their kids to be morally good, but they have no interest in introducing them to the God who defines all that is good. There is no such thing as a morally good person who pursues holiness for any other reason than they love God.
- When should our families flee?
Hebrews 12:1-2 commands that we lay aside every weight and sin, fix our eyes on Christ, and run with endurance until the day we die. There is never a time when we should stop pursuing God and running from sin. There is never a time our kids can take a break from fleeing temptation.
But this fleeing isn’t motivated in superficial fear. It’s courageously motivated by the fear of the Lord. In Luke 12:4-5, Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” This is not about cowardice and rearing a generation of kids who’ve been sheltered. This is about rearing a generation of disciples of Christ who can’t help but walk away from sin and darkness as they energetically follow Him. This is about rearing a generation of young people who are spiritually mature and strong and passionate about pleasing the Lord.
And that’s exactly who Joseph was. He daily rejected the temptation, and each act of holiness was fleeing from evil. Then one day when she grabbed his clothes, “he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside.” And that’s what we need to do when it comes to sin. That’s what we need to teach our kids to do. We must perpetually run from sin because we love God and know how dangerous sin is.
More From Striving for Eternity
If you want more information on studying the Bible and how to interpret it correctly, check out the store section at strivingforeternity.org/store. There are tons of resources to help you get started on your journey to interpreting the Bible better. Also, invite Andrew Rappaport and Aaron M. Brewster to come to your church and teach you biblical interpretation with their Biblical Interpretation Made Easy Seminar. Andrew Rappaport, Aaron M. Brewster, and other guests on Apologetics live would also enjoy answering your questions on the live show on Thursdays from 7pm–9pm CST with the link to the stream yard at strivingforeternity.org/apologeticslive. Lord bless you and strive to make today and eternal day for Christ Jesus.
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