Is giving a child a Christian education important?

Most decidedly. Christian parents neglect a most important duty if they do not endeavour to store the minds of their little ones with the truths of God's Word. It is true that for those truths to be effectual there must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the soul; but if the mind is stored with Scripture while young, there is material that the Holy Spirit can use at any subsequent time. How many there are who, during mature life, have had some passage of Scripture which they learned in the days of their childhood brought powerfully before their souls in such a way that conversion has been the result! So that even if we have to wait many days, or years, for the seed to spring up, it is well to sow it in the minds of our children. We may be sure that if we do not instil into their minds the teachings of God's Book, Satan will be ready enough to take advantage and plant his evil thoughts there. By all means, then, teach your children, and let them be taught, the truths of God's holy Word,

As the little boy grew up, his father, and especially his mother Conchessa, diligently taught him the truths of Christianity, and sought to instil into his mind the knowledge of the true faith, warning him to beware of the idolatrous rites which prevailed in many places around them; Scotland, at this time, like Athens of old, being almost "wholly given to idolatry." Succath, like many other little boys, often paid little heed to the earnest teachings of his parents, and liked better to be the leader in the fun and mischief of his companions, than listen to the story of the Saviour's love. The time was coming, however, when he was to remember and profit by these lessons. In due season the good seed so prayerfully sown would spring up and bear fruit an hundredfold. How important to learn the truths of Scripture while young! Timothy was commended because from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make wise unto salvation. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

There is just another point in connection with this subject, beloved friends, that one cannot help noticing in passing, and it is that these Holy Scriptures which God gave by personal communication through the Holy Ghost to the prophets of old, that Book with all its holy splendour, with its profound and illimitable wisdom, could be communicated to a child. "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures," and I now ask you whether we have not today a responsibility in this respect. What was true of the Old Testament is true of both Old and New; and if Timothy derived an incomparable advantage from the instruction he received in his most early childhood — instruction in the Scriptures — ought we not to see to it that the children of this day, our children particularly, the children of our families, of our households, are in like manner instructed in the truths of Holy Scripture?

Beloved friends, it is a grand mercy of God that such a book as the Scripture, which is so profound that the most agile mind is baffled by its instructions and revelations, can, as we gather here, be taught to a child, while by teaching it to a child we are conferring upon it a priceless boon. And, looking to the fact that all around us is a sea of confusion and error, and that in public and general schools that which is not of God is communicated, along with, if not instead of it, ought we not to be the more careful that the children who are under our particular care should be instructed in what is true and what is of God? What is of God is true, and the communication of truth is the best preservative against error.

There are some persons who say, "Let the children grow up; let them get to years of understanding; there are parts of the Scriptures which I do not understand myself, and how then can I communicate them to my children?" But, beloved friends, here we have the fact that these holy women of old, Eunice and Lois, took the little babe Timothy, and they sowed the seeds of life, while they communicated to him those holy writings which when he was advanced to the superior knowledge of Christianity he had not to surrender, but still to maintain. They were still to be a guide to him. Therefore we ought — and it is our serious responsibility — to instruct our children in the truths of Holy Scripture, since they are able to make them wise unto salvation.

Instructing Children in the Scriptures

There is another point in connection with this subject, beloved friends, that one cannot help noticing in passing. It is clear that these Holy Scriptures which God gave by personal communication through the Holy Ghost to the prophets of old, this peerless Book with all its sacred splendour, with its profound and illimitable wisdom, can be communicated to a child. “From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures.” And I ask you whether we have not today a responsibility to the young in this respect. What was true of the Old Testament is true of both Old and New; and if Timothy derived an incomparable advantage from the scriptural instruction he received in his most early childhood ought we not to see to it that the children of this day, our own children particularly, the children of our families, of our households, are in like manner instructed in the truths of holy scripture?

Beloved friends, it is a grand mercy of God that such a book as the scripture of truth, which is so profound that the most agile mind is baffled by its instructions and revelations, can, as we gather here, be taught to a child, while by teaching it to a child we are conferring upon it a priceless boon. And, looking to the fact that all around us in the educational world is a sea of confusion and error, and that in public and general schools that which is not of God is communicated, along with, if not instead of it, ought we not to be the more careful that the children who are under our particular care should be instructed in what is true and what is of God? What is of God is true, and the communication of truth is the best preservative against error.

There are some persons who say, “Let the children grow up; let them get to years of understanding; there are parts of the scriptures which I do not understand myself, and how then can I communicate them to my children?” But, beloved friends, here we have the fact that these holy women of old, Eunice and Lois, took the little babe Timothy, and they sowed in his heart the seeds of a new life, while they communicated to him those holy writings which when he was advanced to the superior knowledge of Christianity he had not to surrender, but still to maintain. They were still to be a guide to him. Therefore we ought and it is a serious responsibility that we should instruct our children in the truths of holy scripture, since they are able to make them “wise to salvation.”

What we have learned of the truth, we are to abide in; and are to value all the truth, whether learned from Paul or from the other Scriptures. Timothy had known the Old Testament Scriptures from childhood. This should encourage those engaged in Sunday School work to teach the children the Holy Scriptures, which make those who listen wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. And how very important it is that our own children, in our homes, should be brought up to know the Scriptures, and to love them as the sacred letters.

We cannot originate a whole system of schools, from the primary class to the University, nor would it, indeed, be desirable that our children should be removed from that necessary intercourse with others which must mark our whole stay in this world. "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil."

What is needed is that our children should be instructed in the way of the Lord from infancy. The safeguard which was thrown about Timothy, that from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures, which were able to make him "wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus," is the only and all-sufficient one to guard from the prevailing forms of error which are all about them and us.

But the question may be anxiously put, How is this to be done? First and foremost, by assiduous instruction from the Scriptures. Thus in the passage already cited from Deuteronomy it is said to the Jewish parent, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children," etc.; and St. Paul, writing to Timothy, reminds him that "from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures" (2 Tim. 3:15); and it may be inferred, from the mention of Timothy's mother and grandmother, that it was by these godly women that he had been so instructed. It should be a solemn consideration with all Christian parents how far they are doing the same thing. There are many families where the Bible has a place, but not the chief place, in the instruction of the children. But surely "the nurture of the Lord" can only be derived from the word of God; and hence, whoever would be faithful in this matter, must be diligent in its systematic explanation. And what an advantage to the children who are thus taught! The truth of God is brought to bear upon them from the very outset, and used by the Holy Spirit, according to promise, to quicken, form, and direct; they are, under His gracious power, reared in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There may not, in such cases, be any signs of distinct conversion (as is often observed in the case of children of faithful, believing parents), because the Spirit of God uses the Word at the very commencement of life for their blessing in regeneration.

Secondly, while the Scriptures will be the primary source of instruction, they will also guide as to the character of the education to be imparted in other directions. This is often a most perplexing question with Christian parents; but if it be ever remembered that they have to train their children for the Lord, the difficulty will to a large extent be removed. They will then see, that all the instruction imparted must keep this one object in view; and they will carefully guard them from being taught anything which may not be necessary in their path through the world, and which would be inconsistent with their being the Lord's servants. This is a principle of easy application. Is the thing proposed to be taught to fit my child for the Lord, or for the world? So also in the selection of books for their reading. The object of their education, as laid down in the Word, being kept in view, it is easily determined whether a book would contribute to or hinder that object. As in many other things, it is simply a question of a single eye; and to maintain this, we need to be constantly in the presence of God, judging ourselves and our ways.

"And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates." (Deut. 6:6-9).

"And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates; that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." (Deut. 11:19-21).

These Scriptures may well give us to understand the urgency of teaching our children the Scriptures. As they get older, school work and homework will take up their time; and year by year you will find your opportunities grow less. While they are little children is the time to teach them this blessed Book. When we were children, my Mother used to gather us every day, in our holidays especially, and she would read aloud to us; and make the dear old Book live to each one of us. I feel sure that each child in our family looks back with unmixed and unbounded pleasure to those afternoon reads with our Mother. It was no weariness to us, whatever it may have been to her, to sit and listen to stories from the Bible; and what little we may know of the Holy Scriptures, I am sure we largely learned from her. Our Father, too, taught us in the daily morning and evening readings; and we had an Aunt and a Grandmother, who also taught us these Holy Scriptures. They each one loved them, and we well knew that; perhaps that was the secret that unconsciously made us love the Holy Scriptures also.

What a heritage for any child! To know the Holy Scriptures. We may have little to leave our children in the way of earthly possessions, but if we have given them, from a child, the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, we have given them greater riches, greater treasures, than all else this world possesses. Lois the grandmother and Eunice the mother both had real faith, and we may be sure it was they who taught Timothy, while yet an infant, (for so the Greek word means) the Holy Scriptures, for his father was a Greek.

It is well to have the youthful mind well stored with the precious truth of Scripture, for even if for many years there may be no appearance of the quickening work of God, still when that does take place, all that has been learnt in childhood becomes a mine of wealth which can be used by the Spirit of God for enlightening and establishing the heart in the knowledge of the divine mind. The seed sown may take long to germinate, but the one who thus sows the precious seed in the youthful soul will not find in the day of the Lord that his labour has been in vain.