What the Bible Says About Parenting sets out the scriptural pattern for raising children. John MacArthur treats the responsibility God assigns to parents rather than to schools or church programmes, the goal of a child's conversion rather than merely good behaviour, the place of instruction and of discipline, the distinct role of fathers, the handling of a child's sin, and the ordinary means by which the faith is passed on in a household.

The book suits parents at any stage, those preparing for children, and grandparents wanting to support rather than undermine their children's households. MacArthur writes against the therapeutic assumptions of much parenting advice, and the emphasis on the heart rather than technique is what distinguishes it.