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Why is it important to teach Scripture to children?
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Without scripture, they do not know where truth comes from and without knowing where it comes from, how can they know whether to value that truth? To have God’s truth given to us is such an amazing truth in and of itself.
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It’s important to teach children scripture because it’s the double-edged spiritual sword that can help and protect students’ mindsets when walking in the journey of life. Teach the children when they are young, and they will never depart from its ways.
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Touching on just a couple of reasons that Scripture is important in children’s learning.
Teaching from the Bible signals to children, especially younger kids, that what is written in that big Bible is more important than other books because it is from a good and loving God. And it is written especially for them. God loves them so much he shows them what he is like in His book.
And, in the United States increasingly, the backgrounds of children are void of understanding of the language, the symbols, even the moral structure that God provided His people even before Christ came. If that early framework from the Hebrew Scriptures which our Christian faith draws upon is overlooked or excluded, then the more important culmination of salvation in Jesus lets a Christian be without any guide for daily living. (I have recently taken another class which I am applying to our current culture.) Acts tells of people who were familiar with God’s laws and Jewish life even though they were not Jewish. When they received the Holy Spirit they had an understanding already of how they should live their lives. Cornelius and the Ethiopian were baptized immediately.
The farther people were from that understanding, such as in pagan worshippers of other gods, more instruction and careful guidance had to be given, for they had no framework for Christian life. Teaching Scripture provides examples of God- honoring and God- fearing persons and their responses to circumstances of life. As a child learns and comes one day to a saving faith, they will be able to draw upon those people’s examples. They’ll have a language and the symbols and a law (yes, law) that guides in uprightness. Salvation through faith in Christ above all. But also how to live as a Christian as the near pagan world grows more prolific.
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God’s Word is the road map for our lives. We are supposed to hide it in our hearts so that we won’t sin against God. Many of our families aren’t teaching Scripture at home and many churches are failing too. We must teach them Scripture – they are hungry for it.
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The Bible is very clear about how we are to feed His children. Jesus said “Let the children come.” He also tells us to come with child like faith. He also warns how awful it will be if we cause any student to stumble. God loves children and He wants them to know HE loves them. He wants them to know about Jesus, so yes it is crucial that we help them dive into the Word of God to meet Him.
