“The Bible prioritizes teaching as
the primary method of helping
future generations know Christ
and grow in maturity.”
ing shapes the beliefs of children. Paul instructs Timothy,
“Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it, and how from child-
hood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings” (2
Tim 3:14-15).
One of Paul’s goals for Timothy is firm belief which is
the result of three things: what Timothy learned (biblical
truth), who he learned from (parent, grandparent, and
spiritual mentor), and how he learned (being taught the
Bible from childhood). Notice, the Bible is concerned
with what children learn, who teaches children, and how
children are to learn. If we want children to live a godly life,
for their entire life, then these are God’s methods toward
that end. Scores of Christian children have not been taught
the Scriptures, leaving them susceptible to false teaching,
immaturity, and unbelief.
3. SHAPES CHARACTER AND CONDUCT BY TRUTH
A common phrase used to communicate how to pass on
faith to future generations is this, “Faith is caught, not
taught.” It sounds spiritual. Unfortunately, it’s unbiblical.
The Bible elevates both as important. Faith is caught, which
is why we must be able to say to young people, “Imitate me
as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). Faith is also taught. The
Bible prioritizes teaching as the primary method of help-
ing future generations know Christ and grow in maturity.
Let’s explore a few passages (paraphrased) that command
parents and grandparents to teach the truth of God’s Word
to young people.
• Teach these things to your children and your children’s
children (Deut 4:9).
• You shall teach them diligently to your children, and
shall talk about them when you sit, walk, lie down, and
when you rise (Deut 6:7).
• He commanded our [grand]fathers to teach their chil-
dren, that the next generation might know them, the
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children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their
children (Ps 78:5-6).
• Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and forsake not
your mother’s teaching (Prov 1:8).
• Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but
bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the
Lord (Eph 6:4).
• Older women ... are to teach what is good, and so train
the young women to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and
submissive to their own husbands. Older men ... urge
the younger men to be self-controlled (Titus 2:2-6).
Parents and grandparents are to use the Bible to shape
who a child becomes and how the child lives. This is the
pattern and command of Scripture. Parents and grandpar-
ents in Deuteronomy were commanded to teach the law
of God (Ten Commandments) to children so that future
generations develop an understanding of right and wrong.
The father and mother in Proverbs provide an example on
how to train children to develop a biblical view of life as they
instruct their son to make wise choices about friendship
(1:10), money (3:9), marriage (5:18), and work (6:6), and
more. The grandparents of Titus 2 shape future generations
by providing character training and guidance on how to be
a godly mother and wife.
4. DEFENDS AGAINST COUNTERFEIT IDEAS
A biblical worldview helps children defend their faith. Rais-
ing children today requires a Colossians 2:7-8 mindset: “As
you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted
and built up in him and established in the faith, just as
you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that
no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit,
according to human tradition, according to the elemental
spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
The strategy that Paul provides is simple. We are to teach
the core truth of Scripture so that a Christian is established
in the faith, then introduce a competing belief system and
dismantle it by exposing why it is false. When I teach kids,
I refer to this as the Bible’s big truth and the world’s big lie.
The two most prominent philosophies children are
exposed to today are secular humanism and socialism.
Familiarize yourself with them, learn what they teach, why
they are deficient, and be able to point out these arguments
when you see them in education, media, or culture. In a
post-Christian society, children are going to face strong