Sharing the Gospel while Disciplining your Kids (Part 2)

2. Show them what God says about their sin. What we have to say about our children's sin is not near as important as what God has to say. After examining the things listed above, I've gathered plenty of information to utilize in pointing them to the Scriptures. There I show them what God says about what they have done. I name their sin by the same name God gives it.

It's not an issue of "not being nice to Sophia or Eli." It's an issue of hating their brother or sister, as God teaches in 1 John. They have not "fibbed," they have spoken a lie, and God has much to say about that. They are not "being a jerk" to my wife and I. They are dishonoring us, something God forbids in the Ten Commandments. The emphasis should be on us seeing their sin the way God does, and leading them to do the same, rather than candy-coating it or glossing over it.

The point here should be clear enough: if we don't tell our children what God says about their sin, then we can't lead them to what God has done about their sin.

[Source]: Rob Wilkerson III on Miscellanies on the Gospel