The Biblical Mandate for Christian Education Part 4
by Fred Di Lella
God commands His people to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. He also charges us to pray that His Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. The Lord also demands that we teach our children the truth in order that they may be godly people, preserve His truth, and, thus, serve Him all their days (e.g., Deut.6; 11; Pss.78:1-8; Mal.2:15). God’s Word also informs us, that children are an inheritance, a great blessing, a reward (Pss.127; 128). If we are truly seeking the Lords Kingdom and Righteousness; if we are genuinely longing for the knowledge of Christ to cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea; if we honestly desire to see God’s Word sound forth throughout the nations; and if we sincerely want our children to be a godly seed, then, we must be zealous for and totally committed to Christian education.
It is also critical to remember why educators began the U.S.A. Public School system. Always keep in mind that the godless educators started the U.S.A. Public School system in order to eradicate (TO GET RID OF) Biblical Christianity in America. The Christian must understand that unbelieving men, and thus haters-of-God, began the public school system in America. An education system that has such an evil goal could never be a legitimate choice for a Christian parent. The rotten fruit of the American public system is readily apparent. Christians need only look at the ignorance and hatred of the truth in our society. Tragically it is often the educators and the most highly educated in America, who are the most ardent opponents of Biblical Christianity and also the most passionate proponents of the godless philosophies and lifestyles of our age. How can a Christian send his children to a school system, which is striving to destroy Christianity? The Lord Jesus stated that those who were not with Him were against Him. How much more are His avowed enemies against Him! The Public School system is opposed to Christ by design, by intent, and in practice. A Christian MUST NOT send his children to the Public Schools. He MUST NOT place his children under the false teaching of an avowed antichristian educational system.
“The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them… Proverbs 12:26
Cease, my son to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.” …19:27
I will not grow weary of repeating the statements of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Matthew Henry. The commands and exhortations in the Word of God should definitely be enough to call us to obedience (2Timothy 3:16, 17). I will, however, reiterate the quotes of these godly teachers to pound the truth into our heads: “The Christian Education of our children is a Biblical mandate, and therefore, absolutely mandatory and essential.”
“I am much afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must be corrupt.” …Martin Luther
“God does not make known his will to us, that the knowledge of it may perish with us; but that we may be his witnesses to posterity, and that they may deliver the knowledge received through us to their descendants. Wherefore, it is the duty of parents to apply themselves diligently to the work of communicating what they have learned from the Lord to their children.” …John Calvin
“A great duty enjoined, particularly to those that are the parents and instructors of children, in order to the propagating of wisdom, that it may not die with them: Train up children in that age of vanity, to keep them from the sins and snares of it, in that learning age, to prepare them for what they are designed for. Catechise them; initiate them; keep them under discipline. Train them as soldiers, who are taught to handle their arms, keep rank, and observe the word of command. Train them up, not in the way they would go (the bias of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside), but in the way they should go, the way in which, if you love them, you would have them go.” …Matthew Henry
“The first period [i.e., before the public schools began]—from the colonial times to the 1840’s-saw the dominance of the Calvinistic ethic: God’s omnipotent sovereignty was the central reality of man’s existence. In the Calvinist scheme, the purpose of man’s life was to glorify God, and the attainment of Biblical literacy was considered the overriding spiritual and moral function of education. Latin, Greek and Hebrew were studied because they were original languages of the Bible and of the theological literature. Thus, this period in American education is characterized by a very high standard of literacy.” …Blumenthal, “The Messianic Character of Public Education.”
Rev. Fred Di Lella is pastor of Covenanted Reformation Church in TX which is part of The Biblical Reformed Synod of Christ the King.
