Acquainted with the Scriptures from Childhood
by Edwin Crozier
Sadly, I can’t tell you what you need to do as a parent to guarantee your children will grow up and be faithful to the Lord. In the same way, every Bible study prospect has free will and chooses for themselves whether to respond to the gospel; so will your children. However, I can tell you some things we all need to do to be godly parents. One of them comes up in II Timothy 3.
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 3:14-15 ESV).
Your children need to be made acquainted with the sacred writings. Here’s the truth of the matter. You can have daily devotions, take your kids to Bible class regularly, and even have them memorize Scripture, and they may still reject Jesus. But faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). In other words, without becoming acquainted with Scripture, our children cannot possibly have faith in Christ.
What plan do you have for your kids to be acquainted with Scripture? And by that, I mean what plan do you have that you are accomplishing? Don’t delegate this to Bible class teachers for two hours per week. What are you doing to acquaint your kids with the sacred writings?
You may be thinking, “Well, I’m not all that acquainted with the Scripture.” Fine, what a great opportunity for you and your kids to become acquainted together. You don’t have to be a doctoral student in the Bible to get acquainted with it. Simply have a regular reading time. Read the stories together. Read the letters together. Discuss them. Use the P.A.T.H.S. of righteousness as a guide for discussion. What in the reading helps you praise God? What admonishes you? What helps you trust or hope in God? What would you want to share with others? Read a passage and discuss these ideas.
Use some questions inspired by the very passage we are reading now. If Scripture is profitable for teaching, what do we learn from what we’re reading? If it is profitable for reproof, what are we getting wrong based on what we’re reading? If it is possible for correction, what do we need to change based on what we’re reading? If it trains us for righteousness, what habits and disciplines do we need to develop based on our reading?
Getting our children acquainted with Scripture doesn't help them graduate “Bible School.” It just means spending regular time with them reading the Word.
You’re reading along with us here, so perhaps you are already doing that. If not, you might start by simply having them read these chapters with you and discuss these posts. You might even have them listen to Text Talk with you based on these posts.
Do something. No, you can’t guarantee their faithfulness, but you can give them the best possible leg up. Get them acquainted.
