Parenting by God's Promises

Parenting by God’s Promises offers a comprehensive guide to raising children within the framework of the covenant of grace, addressing parents, grandparents, and church leaders with both theological depth and practical wisdom.

Dr. Joel R. Beeke organizes this book in four parts. The first establishes covenantal foundations for parenting, exploring how God’s promises to believers extend to their children and how the covenant of grace shapes the calling of Christian parents. The second develops the threefold office of Christ—prophet, priest, and king—as a model for parental responsibility, covering teaching, intercession, sympathy, discipline, and loving rule in the home.

The third and fourth parts turn to practical application, drawing on Puritan wisdom to address topics such as teaching children piety, cultivating listening skills, guiding speech, and navigating sibling relationships. Beeke also offers focused guidance for parents of teenagers, including discerning God’s will, resisting negative peer pressure, and managing anger. Appendices include Cotton Mather’s parental resolutions and a discussion of children’s place in the church. Study questions accompany each chapter.

Throughout, Beeke grounds parental hope not in human effort but in the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God, emphasizing that parents cannot give their children new hearts but can entrust them to the One who can.

Key Themes

• The covenant of grace as the theological foundation for Christian parenting
• Parents as prophets, priests, and kings in the home
• The balance of preventive and corrective discipline rooted in Scripture
• Dependence on God’s sovereign grace rather than parental performance
• The complementary roles of family and church in nurturing children

Featured Quotes “What is so sweet about children is their capacity for unreserved, wholehearted, unwavering faith in the people they love.”

“Just as our sanctification is progressive, so is the teaching of our children.”