Train Up Your Children

So I realized after I wrote this post that I referenced the wrong catechism! That is to say, I picked one catechism and started working on it before I discovered a more preferable one, known as Benjamin Keach's Catechism (also more commonly known as the Baptist Catechism). So I will actually be using that one in this series, though the other catechism seems to be a good one as well.

I've been thinking a lot about my upcoming fatherhood lately. That makes sense; Sarrah's due date is getting closer and closer all the time. A lot of what I've been thinking about is how we'll go about teaching our children the Bible. This thought has come to mind more and more as I read every day.

My daily Bible reading has taken me into Exodus. If you read it and remember it, you'll notice several times where God, after ordaining a feast or ritual of some kind, speaks of the Israelites telling their children what these feasts and rituals are for. One such example is Exodus 13:14: "And when in time to come your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' you shall say to him, 'By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery'" (see also Ex. 12:26, 27; Deut. 6:20-25). Then there is that famous verse that I'm pretty sure I hear quoted all the time when it comes to teaching children:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6:4-9)

All this leads me to the conclusion that God is very concerned with the proper training and teaching of children. I guess that isn't a very groundbreaking realization; I hear pastors talking about the dad's duty to lead his children in the fear of the Lord all the time. It's just interesting to me that I keep on coming across this theme in my reading.

One way I've considered going about this is by using a catechism. We commonly associate catechisms with the Catholic Church, but there is a long tradition of catechisms in the Protestant church as well. I commonly hear about the Westminster Catechism, which is overall a very good catechism for Reformed folks; the only problem with it is that it teaches Infant Baptism, something I do not agree with.

So I decided to find a catechism that fits with the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith, the basic doctrinal statement of Reformed Baptists (basically Reformed people who practice only Believer's Baptism and reject Infant Baptism, like me and my wife). I think I found what I'm looking for in the Baptist Catechism.

So I hope to go through this catechism in-depth. When I was reading through it it seemed to be pretty doctrinally sound and deep, yet simple. I also thought that a study of it may make a good blog series, and I'd certainly like to memorize and learn from it myself, so I think I'm gonna do it.

I make no promises that the series will be organized or complete. This will not be a teaching series; rather, it will be a series of my thoughts and considerations of the various questions of the catechism. I may or may not finish it, but I hope to. I will also write posts about other things, so this will not be consecutive, though I do intend to go in the order of the questions themselves.

I also want to add, as a disclaimer, that I am fully aware that catechisms are not on the level of authority as Scripture. Anyone who knows me will already know that. I just think it is a good summation of Christian doctrine, and a way for me and my family to learn it and apply it to our lives. It teaches the Gospel, the Ten Commandments, and The Lord's Prayer, all of which are essential for the Christian life. Without the Holy Spirit moving, however, it will not convert them. It will help them hear it and may lead to them accepting it as true, but it cannot, by its own power, bring them to trusting in Jesus for salvation. So I pray that the Holy Spirit will move through our teaching the Bible and this catechism to our children.

So join me in my quest to learn this catechism and figure out if it is good for teaching. We'll see what we learn along the way.