All Articles For denHartog, Arie

The covenant family is God’s gift to those who marry in the Lord. It has as its highest calling to reflect the beauty, holiness, and blessedness of the personal covenant life that exists within the triune being of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The covenant family exists where husband and wife are bound together in the love of Christ in the unity of faith. The covenant family is created by God through the work of regeneration in the hearts of the two so married. The purpose to raise a covenant family begins with a serious attitude about marrying a fellow...

Previous article: March 1, 2017, p. 255. The Reformed believer has greater incentive than anyone else for teaching his children to love the church of God. We have the clearest and most biblical understanding of what the church is and who her members are. The church is God’s holy dwelling place with His chosen people. There God reveals His glory and salvation. Outside of the church there is no salvation. The membership of the church is determined by God, not by man’s choice. The Lord gathers His church with believers and their covenant children. This is God’s way from the...

Previous article in this series: December 15, 2016, p. 131. In the first article on this subject I discussed the important role that parents have in teaching their covenant children about our calling to work. This calling is obviously central to their lives. Work will consume much of our time and energy and interest in life. Work is part of the cultural mandate God has given to man. This mandate continues after the Fall, but must be directed by the higher purpose of Christian living, which is seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all things. The Christian...

Previous article in this series: September 15, 2016, p. 493. One of the most important areas of instruction that we must give to our children in our covenant home is that of their future daily occupation. To neglect this subject in the instruction of our children would be serious. Attitude and behavior in this sphere of life will have a dramatic impact on the future of our children. Years ago, sons were usually trained in the trade and occupation of their fathers. Daughters were taught by their mothers to be good homemakers. Things have obviously changed in major ways in...

Previous article in this series: May 15, 2016, p. 374. Many have written about the importance of prayer in our personal lives as Christians and for the church of Jesus Christ corporately. In this article we continue a short series on family worship. Prayer should be central to our family worship, along with the reading and study of the Word of God. The family should routinely be gathered together to devote itself to prayer. Time and application must be given to this important spiritual activity in our homes. Our prayers should never be mere formal recitation of stock phrases, hurriedly...

Previous article in this series: January 15, 2016, p. 181. In our last article we opened the subject of family worship. By family worship we mean worship at set times together as a family, with all of its members—young and old—present. Family worship is disappearing in many Christian homes. Neglecting regular worship together as a covenant family will have serious consequences. Family worship is central to real covenant life in our homes. It promotes true spiritual life and unity among the members of the covenant family. We may not allow the busyness of life (as important as the activity may...

For my contribution to this rubric in the next few installments I intend to write a few articles on the important subject of family worship. By family worship is meant the regular worship of God in a covenant marriage with husband and wife, or in the covenant home with the family together, parents with their covenant children. Such worship is simple in form, including the obvious elements of reading a portion from the Bible, some discussion of what is read, singing, and prayer. It should also include some instruction in doctrine and application of the truth of the Word of...

In this article I want to consider one more reason why the Christian home is the ideal institution that God created for the raising of covenant children. Remember that I speak of that which is ideal. No home achieves that ideal. The best home in this world of sin is still imperfect. But the ideal is what God Himself has created the covenant home to be. We must strive after this ideal, conscious of the fact that we do this only through the exercise of our faith and earnest prayer. The foundational truth of the Christian home is the truth...

Previous article in this series: March 1, 2015, p. 259. In my last article I addressed the truth that the covenant home must be a sheltered environment. God’s people must be a separate and holy people in the world. They are called to condemn the wickedness of the world and to be consecrated to God in a life of holiness. Our children need to be trained in the sheltered environment of the covenant family. The goal of this training, however, is not that the family can live in isolation. That we as God’s people are called to be separate in...

Previous article in this series: January 1, 2015, p. 161. The covenant home is God’s ideal institution for the nurture of our covenant children. There is no worldly institution that can properly nurture the children of the covenant. The ideal covenant home must provide a sheltered environment for our covenant children. Especially in the formative and impressionable years of their lives our covenant children must be sheltered from the evil influences of this ungodly world, from its evil philosophy of life and from its wicked behavior, dress, entertainment and amusements. God’s covenant people are called out of the world to...