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Most Christian parents want their children to behave well. We want them to obey, tell the truth, be respectful, make wise choices, and stay away from things that could harm them.

And we’re right to teach and require many of those things.

But what if, in our desire to raise godly children, we inadvertently teach them the wrong lesson about Christianity?

What if our children learn all the rules, know exactly what will get them in trouble, and even become very good at outward obedience—without ever understanding what is going on in their own hearts?

Worse yet, what if they come to believe that Christianity itself is primarily about keeping a long list of rules?

There is a subtle form of legalism that can creep into even sincere Christian parenting. It happens when our household rules begin to carry the same weight as God’s commands and when changing our children’s behavior becomes more important than helping them see their need for genuine heart change and a Savior.

Could we be raising well-behaved little Pharisees instead of pointing our children to Christ?

And how can we tell the difference between biblical discipline and parental legalism?

We’ll look at that today in Galatians 4. We’ll also discover how we can practice idolatry without bowing before a statue and why Proverbs gives us two seemingly contradictory instructions about how to answer a fool.