When it comes to our young people, we often teach more books about the Bible that the Bible itself. That is a shame because if our young people are going to stay faithful, active, involved, and growing, they must have exegetical teaching. There are at least four reasons why:

First, it Honors God. No way honors God more than honoring His word through study of it. Doing so recognizes that He knows how and is powerful enough to give us something that can be understood on its own. His love and justice are seen in that He has done so. Teaching our children to study exegetically teaches them to look to the Lord rather than man for answers to life’s questions.

Second, it Trains Students. By teaching them exegetically, they learn the principles of proper Bible study and how to rely on God’s word for their answers. They learn to dig out of scripture what God’s will is, rather than rely on commentaries or any man. The last thing Satan wants is for our young people to trust God’s word and know how to use God’s word. Exegetical teaching causes both.

Third, it undermines false teachers. The religious world often will select a verse here, a passage there, a verse from somewhere else, and weave a tapestry of doctrines together. When they do, they almost always are taking these passages out of their context. When our young people know how to study the word correctly, they can dismiss those false ideas because they recognize the error and see the truth as the Bible says it. False teachers do not stand a chance against our young people when they know the Bible and how to use it better than the false teacher.

Fourth, it galvanizes faith. You know, the false teachers are not the only ones who topically take verses from their context and weave doctrines together. We often do the same thing. We may teach truth, and yet not teach it properly when we are ripping verses out of context. The problem multiplies when they are shown by someone that a particular verse they are using does not mean what they are claiming. This makes them question everything they have been taught, including the very truth. Teaching our youth exegetically keeps them from following the concordance preaching we often do. They learn to take a text, a pericope, a book, and explain it as God said it.

We sing the song to them, “The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” Then, after singing that the Bible is the only book for me, we tell them to open a different book. We inform them of all the commentaries and the like they must have to understand the Bible. We need to get back to teaching God’s word, in its context. If our children are going to make it for the long haul, we must teach them exegetically. The Psalmist said it this way in 119:9, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” Let’s stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!

Corey Sawyers