Should I arrange for someone to study with my son?
Question:
Good morning sir. I hope you are well.
My son, who is 14 years old, has shared that he wants to be baptized into the Lord. I don't know if, at his age, he understands and wants to be baptized for the right reasons. I had planned to arrange for someone from the church to study with him, but my husband said that we, the parents, should be the ones to study with him. However, he has not taken the initiative or shown the willingness to study with him. He was working out of town weeks back but is now working locally. I reminded him about this, but he didn't say anything. So what do I do now?
I have already studied I Corinthians 15:3-8 and Acts 1: 9-11 with him. I have not studied Acts 2 with him. I don't know if this is enough for him to be baptized, which scriptures to study with him further, or if he is still too young to be baptized. I don't want to just ignore this because it affects my son's soul, and I can't help but be concerned about his eternity.
I guess I am also struggling with drawing the line between being submissive and letting my husband study with him whenever that may be. I also think of Timothy, who the Scripture tells us was taught the faith of God by his mom and grandmother.
My son doesn't live with us. He only visits during school holidays.
Thank you again, sir.
Answer:
I'm amazed at the laid-back response to your son's desire to be a Christian. The lack of interest shown tells him that being a Christian is not that important. Submission to God comes before submission to your husband. If your husband is interested in teaching him, then he can do so in addition to your son learning from you and from someone at the church.
Since I don't know what your son understands, I can't comment on whether he is ready. I'm not sure why you selected the passages you did or how you hoped they would help him decide to be a Christian. I sometimes use One Hour, One Time, at Your Convenience, Bible Study to study with someone as a starter. To help decide if he is ready, see The "Age" of Accountability.
