The Call to Train Our Children

Training children is one of the most difficult duties of Christian parents, and the Word of God has much instruction for us. But one of the first things we must remember when it comes to our children is Psalm 127 verse 3: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward." In other words, our children, first of all, belong to God and are a wonderful gift given by Him. Therefore, children must be loved and diligently trained for God's glory! Proverbs 22:6 reads: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." This text not only commands us to train our children, but it also comforts us with the promise that when the child is old he shall not depart from the way he was taught. Christian parents who take their calling seriously to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord may find comfort in this text.

The chief principle in the training of our children is that of discipline. The word "train" in the Hebrew means "to narrow" not to broaden or let loose, but to discipline. It's in the fallen nature of every child to walk the broad way of sin, because, like every parent, sin resides in the heart. The ungodly philosophy of the world says to let the children go their own way so they can explore the different avenues in this world and decide for themselves what they like or dislike. But Scripture teaches us that our children, just like parents, must be governed by God's Word so they do not walk the broad road of destruction. You see, God has given us children in order that we might raise godly offspring for the glory and praise of our God. Malachi 2:15, "He seeks godly offspring." And so fathers are exhorted in Ephesians 6:4, "Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."

The Fifth Commandment teaches parents that we must love our children even as it exhorts children to honor their father and mother. The Heidelberg Catechism, Q104 reads: "What does God require in the Fifth Commandment? That I show all honor, love and faithfulness to my father and mother, and to all in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God's will to govern us by their hand." According to the 5th Commandment, Christian parents are responsible before God to raise their children with "good instruction and correction." The Lord primarily uses these means from Christian parents to teach covenant children the ways of God from infancy to adulthood. And it's normally these children that the Lord is pleased to save and therefore they do not depart from the faith. The word "child" in Proverbs 22:6 is used in a general sense and it refers to a child from infancy to adolescence. And so the text is a call for Christian parents to love their children of all ages by exercising loving discipline, leading them in the narrow way, and applying good instruction and correction in teaching them to walk in the ways of the Lord. This is exactly what we vowed when our children were baptized. Notice the baptismal vow confessed by every parent in the RCUS who brings their child forward to receive God's covenant sign in baptism:

"First: Do you acknowledge that, although our children are conceived and born in sin and therefore subject to condemnation, they are holy in Christ and, as members of His Church, ought to be baptized? Answer: I do. Second: Do you promise to instruct your child in the principles of our Christian faith as revealed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and as summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism; and do you promise to pray with and for your child, to set an example of piety and godliness before him (her) and to endeavor by all the means of God's appointment to bring him (her) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Answer: I do." (RCUS Directory of Worship)

Parents, are you faithful to your Christian vows before God? Which way are you training your children? Are you training them in the way of Jesus Christ, the narrow way of life everlasting? Do you teach them their need for a Savior because of their inborn and actual sin? Do you teach them that they must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). Do you teach them that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone? Do you teach them to take delight in living according to the commandments of God in all good works out of a heart of gratitude for such a wondrous salvation? Do you teach them to forsake unrighteousness and follow God's commandments? Do you teach them the Scriptures? You promised to do so in the baptismal vow! Do you teach them the Heidelberg Catechism? What about prayer? Do you pray with and for your children and set a godly example of piety and godliness for them by obeying God's commands? Do you use the means God has appointed to bring your children up in the care and admonition of the Lord? Do you take seriously your calling as parents to teach your children to walk in the ways of the Lord? This is what you promised when you brought them forward in baptism. Are you faithful to what you vowed to the Lord?

We must teach our children that in all things, whether we eat or drink, we do all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). We should not have a home where our children learn that it's only in church on Sunday that we do things for the glory of God. We must teach our children that every moment of every day in every area of life they must do all things in the service of almighty God out of a grateful heart. Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

The Biblical Method of Training Our Children

The Biblical method of instructing our children in the ways of the Lord is by using the catechism. The word catechism simply refers to a method of instruction that was, at one time, the most commonly used method in the church to instruct children and new converts in the great truths of God's Word. For centuries, Reformed Churches used the Heidelberg Catechism for catechetical instruction of covenant youth, to bring them to maturity in the Christian faith in order that they might confess their faith in the Lord and their agreement with the doctrines of the Word of God. In his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Casper Olevianus wrote the following words, "The system of catechizing includes a short, simple and plain exposition and rehearsal of the Christian Doctrine, deduced from the writings of the prophets and apostles, and arranged in the form of questions and answers, adapted to the capacity and comprehension of the ignorant and unlearned; or it is a brief summary of the doctrine of the prophets and apostles, communicated orally to such as are unlearned, which they are again required to repeat." In other words, a catechism is a summary of the doctrines taught in the Holy Scriptures; it is a systematic doctrinal instruction in the Word of God. The practice of catechism instruction is based on the conviction that the Bible contains a system of doctrine. The Bible is not merely a collection of stories with little moral lessons. The Bible consists of the great doctrines of God. These doctrines form a glorious harmonious, logical system. This system is consistently found throughout Scripture, and it contains no contradictions.

Catechism teaching seeks to elicit from Scripture these great doctrines of God's Word and present them in a logically summarized format. Anyone who teaches knows that it's almost impossible to learn anything unless the teaching is systematic and carefully arranged in its logical relations, and this is exactly what the catechism does. It must also be emphasized that catechism instruction not only sets forth the truth of God's Word, but it also sharply distinguishes truth from error. Catechism instruction seeks to equip God's people to discern the truth, contend for the truth, and in doing so refute and condemn error. However, what needs to be emphasized is the fact that the catechism is of great value only if it is used. If it only sits in the church archives left to gather dust, there is no profit at all in having a catechism. In other words, the catechism must be a living document in the life of the church from which people draw instruction, correction, and comfort. It must be the church's living confession that declares what the church believes is taught in Scripture.

Catechism instruction is usually given by means of a series of questions and answers. Most often these questions and answers are very carefully constructed. The teacher asks a set of formal questions and the students memorize the answers contained in the catechism. The word catechism derives from the Greek word katecheo, which is a combination of two Greek words. Kata is a word that generally means "down" or "down towards." The other word, echeo, means "to sound." We are familiar with the English word echo, which indicates a sound that repeats itself as it reverberates. This is exactly how the catechism works. The parent or teacher asks a theological question, and then waits for the child to sound back the answer. As we "sound down" the truth of Scripture, we hope that this same sound will echo back in the hearts and lives of our covenant children. If done consistently, the minds of our children will be forever shaped by the truth of God's Word.

Scriptural Basis of Catechism Training

The Greek New Testament uses the word katecheo to refer to teaching someone in an orderly and systematic way in the form of a question and answer dialogue. Luke refers to this in chapter 1:3-4 of his Gospel, "...it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." The English word translated "instructed" is the Greek word katecheo. Luke's purpose in writing his Gospel is that those who have been catechized in the doctrine of Christ might know the certainty of the things in which they were instructed. This form of systematic instruction included memorized statements of doctrine and confession.

The Apostles' Creed was developed by the early NT church for this very purpose. But the early NT church was just keeping in step with the method of teaching found in the Old Testament. When Ezra stood up to read the Book of the Law in Nehemiah 8 the Scripture says that the Levites who were with Ezra "helped the people to understand the law" (Neh. 8:7). The manner in which they did this was a form of catechism instruction. "So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading" (Neh. 8:8).

The Apostle Paul refers to catechism instruction of the Jews as those "being instructed (catechized) out of the law" (Rom. 2:18). The Jews to whom Paul refers had been catechized in the Law of God. Acts 18:24-25 tells us that Apollos was "an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures" and he "had been instructed in the way of the Lord..." The word translated "instructed" is the Greek word katecheo. Clearly Apollos was a man mighty in the Scripture for the simple fact that he was catechized in the truth of Scripture. In Galatians 6:6, the Apostle Paul exhorts believers with these words, "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches." The word translated "taught" is this same word katecheo. Paul exhorts those who are catechized "to share in all good things with him who teaches" or does the catechizing. Another example is found in 1 Corinthians 14:19: "...yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue." The word translated "teach" in this text, once again, is the Greek word katecheo. And so the Apostle Paul said he would rather catechize or teach others the Word of God than speak ten thousand words in a tongue. If this is Paul's attitude concerning the special gift of the Spirit of speaking in tongues, which gift has passed away with the completion of the canon of Scripture, then how much more those things in our day which are neither gifts nor instruction in the Word of God but are used as substitutes for preaching and instruction in the life of the church?

Though our age has seen an explosion of knowledge, there is in fact a tragic lack of knowledge about the great and fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures in most churches. Solid preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the church has been replaced with worship services that are mostly music, telling stories of personal experiences, and other forms of entertainment. People in the pews are stirred up emotionally by all sorts of devices such as music, drama, skits, plays, shouting, hand clapping, etc., but there is very little instruction in the objective truths of God's Word. Are these churches being faithful to Scripture? Are they being faithful to their members? As can be seen from the Scripture references above, the only churches that are being faithful to Scripture and their members are those that are faithfully and diligently catechizing their members, from infants to elderly, in the sound doctrine of God's Word!

Although the term "catechism" is not used, the teaching method of catechizing is also seen in the life of Jesus. At age twelve Jesus is found in the temple, "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his answers" (Luke 2:46-47). Very clearly we see in this interaction the teaching method of catechism being employed. Jesus also used the catechetical method of teaching by question and answer with His disciples in order to draw from them the confession that He was the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20). Catechism instruction is also the chief method of the Great Commission. Matthew 28:20: "...teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

This calling involves more than merely expounding a passage of Scripture. It requires bringing the Scriptures together so as to elicit a response from those who hear the teaching or doctrine contained in the Scriptures. Jesus does this with the men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:26 when He says, "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" The "yes" answer is implied in Jesus' rhetorical question. Yes, it was the necessary way of salvation and will of God. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). We also see Jesus using catechism instruction in Luke 10:25-28: "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?' So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.'"  The lawyer went on to ask the question about who was his neighbor, and Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Notice the catechetical question and answer dialogue that takes place with Jesus and the lawyer. Throughout Scripture we read of numerous accounts of Jesus employing the catechetical method of teaching to instruct people.

Clearly catechism teaching is at the very heart of the life of the church. This is true also for the covenant children, and pastors have the same calling as did Peter to not only feed Jesus' sheep, but also to feed His lambs (John 21:15-17). The systematic training of covenant youth by catechism instruction is an important aspect of the pastor's calling. For this reason the RCUS Constitution, Article 192 states, "Every pastor shall carefully prepare the youth in his pastoral charge for communicant membership in the Church by diligently instructing them in the doctrines and duties of the Christian religion. The period of instruction shall, if possible, be so extended that the pupils memorize and are able to recite the entire Heidelberg Catechism before confirmation. The course of instruction shall include catechetical explanation and memorization, Bible history, Bible readings and memorizations, and the study of the books and contents of the Bible, the Belgic Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dort, church history, also the singing and memorization of Psalms, hymns, and Scripture songs."

The RCUS Constitution is very clear concerning the duty of pastors; they are to diligently catechize the children of the church entrusted to their care with the entire Heidelberg Catechism. This means it is also the duty of every child preparing to confess his faith before God and His church to memorize the truth of Scripture as summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism. Parents, your roll is to reinforce what your child has been taught in the catechism class by continuing the method of catechism training at home. It is only by faithfully catechizing our covenant youth that we honor God and find great hope in the truth of Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."