Parent Resources—Articles

On the Mandate For Christian Education
Letter from Plymouth Rock

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently,lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen,and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons, and thy son's sons."( Deut 4:9)

FOR THE GODLY Christian parent, that follower of Christ who seeks to know and obey The Word of God, the responsibility of educating his children is not a matter of debate or question: it is a matter of Biblical mandate.

"And thy children shall be taught of The Lord" ( Isa 54:13 ).

"Fathers, provoke not your children unto wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of The Lord" (Eph 6:4 ).

"Lo, children are a heritage of The Lord" (Ps 127:3 )

Parents are responsible, and accountable, unto The Lord God for the care and education of those children He has placed within our care.

As godly Christians, then, we cannot—we must not—relinquish the education of the child to any individual, institution, or system, that is not firmly and totally founded upon and committed to the word of God. God's word is the only acceptable guide for life; it is the only true foundation for right moral standards.

Any system of education that is not based squarely on His word, any curriculum that does not hold to and hold forth His truth, His commandments, His principles and precepts, must be held to be immoral. The godly Christian will not—must not—permit his children to be educated in schools or teachings that are immoral.

"Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves" (or, your children) "to obey, his servants ye are (and, are your children) "to whom you" (or your children) "obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" ( Rom 6:16 ).

GOD'S WORD ADMONISHES us, we who are His, to be a peculiar people, a distinctive people, zealous of good works in and for Him. We are not to be of the world; we are not to be yoked with the things or the ways of this world. We are to be His alone, separate and apart. And, we are to raise up our children so that they, too, are and will be separate and apart in lives that are consecrated to Him.

How can we expect the child to grow up and be distinctive, zealous for The Lord, if we do not train them to do so ? How can we expect them to stand firm in the faith, and to contend for the faith, if they are not trained in the faith ? And, how can we work toward that end if we submit them and their education to institutions, instructors, and systems not of the faith but rather surrogates and advocates of an ungodly world?

"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" ( 1 Cor. 15:33 ).

TO UNDERSTAND CLEARLY the task of educating our children in today's world, consider the avowed purposes of education as espoused by the competing powers:

• For the humanist, the purpose of education is to educate the child to be a servant of man—either self, or others.
• For the State, the purpose of education is to prepare the child to be a servant of the State.
• But, for the Christian, the purpose of education is to train up the child to be a servant of The Lord God!

There we see the vast—the diametric—difference; and, there we see the root and the reason of the conflict between the humanist and the State, on the one hand, and the Christian parent: it is a battle for the soul, the mind, and the body of the child. In that battle, the Christian can give no ground, can make no compromise.

Some, perhaps with good intention, may suggest that if the foundation of faith is built strong in the home, the child will withstand the onslaught in the State—controlled and humanistic school. Perhaps some will; but, many will not. And, The Bible makes it clear that the parent is not to take such risk with the spiritual well-being of the children God has placed within his care. The parent is accountable and may well be held culpable should the child be thus separated from The Lord.

"But whoso offend one of these little ones which believes in Me, it were better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" ( Mt 18:6 ).

Yet, some may insist that it is acceptable to educate the child—in the home and church—in the things of The Spirit while permitting the State to educate the child in the "dexterities" and "mechanics" of the world that while the parents and the pastor educate the soul, the State may educate the mind .

Surely the godly Christian must realize that soul and mind cannot—must not—be separated; that what educates the mind affects the soul; that that which conditions the soul influences the mind. To fail to train both the soul and the mind in the word of God is to fail in the task The Lord God has mandated.

Are we to accept the suggestion that the soul belongs to God but the mind belongs to the individual, or to the State? Shall we say to the child, "God may direct your heart but the State will control your mind; you should render your soul to Christ but you may give your mind to Caesar"? That, indeed, would be apostasy!

"Thou shalt love The Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind" ( Mt 22:37 ). "That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God ... that in all things He might have the pre-eminence " ( Col 1:9-18 ).

State-controlled education is by its nature stunted and distorted. No subject can truly be taught without recognition of God's sovereignty, law, order, and providence.

The State-controlled system of secular education is anti-Christian. That which ignores, or denies, The Lord God—or seeks to place Him on a level with the gods of man, must be seen for what it is: part and parcel of the anti-Christ.

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is The Christ? He is the anti--Christ that denieth The Father and the Son" ( 1 John 2:22 ). "He that is not with Me is against Me" ( Mt 12:30 ).

For the godly Christian parent who seeks to obey The Lord, the education of the child must be a total, all--encompassing spiritual process a complete and harmonious development of the soul, the mind, and the body. All, all must be founded on The Word of God; all must be purposed so that the child will mature into a faithful and competent servant of The Lord of Lords and The King of Kings.

THUS, OUR TASK is clear, arid the responsibilities unalterable. We are to train up our children in the nurture and admonition of The Lord. May we not, then, consider these as mandates?

• As parents we must zealously exercise our responsibilities for the spiritual, mental, and physical well-being and development of the children God has placed within our care . We are to help them build themselves in God, principle upon principle, precept upon precept, line upon line.
  
• We are to do this in the borne and in the truly Bible-based, Christ-centered church and school , working closely with the child, the pastor and the teacher so that the Christian education is a total effort and continuing process.
  
• We must resist any attempts by any agency—private or public—to usurp or weaken or intrude upon our God-mandated parental authority and responsibility to bring up the child according to God's Word and God's will.
  
• We must not submit the child, or ourselves, to the dictates of any education or system of education—private or public—that is not founded on the word of God or that seeks to separate any part of the child's heart, mind, or body from the will of God and a life for God.
  
• We must stand firm against any pressure or demand that we or our children lower our Christian standards to conform to the ways of this world, or that the child be subjected to any influence that denies, discredits, ignores, or in any way dishonors The Lord God or interferes with our freedom to worship Him.

Such a course of action—one that stands fast in The Lord and resists those powers that would place themselves above the authority of The Lord God— is indeed Biblical : it is a vital part of our covenant with Him. However, it must be taken in a godly manner through lawful means, as befits servants of Christ. Christians are not anarchists; we are not insurrectionists; we are loyalists—loyal in all things to Him who is King of Kings and Savior of mankind.

We are instructed to render unto Caesar that which is his and that we do willingly for that is God's will. But, He also teaches us to render unto Him that which is His and it is clear and unassailable: children belong not to the State, but to God !

THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION has the duty, the responsibility, to stand with the Christian parent in these matters of obedience concerning the godly education of the child. Thus, consider these to be essentials—and one of the great missions of the godly Christian church in America today:

• Every Bible-believing and God--obedient Christian church should seek to establish and operate a Christian school in conjunction with its ministry or strengthen and expand the school if it is already in being. If there is a truly Bible--based private Christian school in the area, parents may want to enroll their children there and the congregation might decide to help support that institution (through scholarships, grants, books, classroom equipment, faculty, etc.).
  
• In those locales and circumstances where a single church may find it impossible to operate a Christian school on its own, it should seek out and join with a like-minded sister church to do so. Members who cannot assist financially can help in many ways—tithing their time and talents as teacher's assistants, office workers, in building and grounds maintenance, as physical education supervisors, through car pools, assisting in various fund--raising activities, and prayer.
  
• In those remote locations where it is extremely difficult for the parent to take or send the child to a Christian school, enroll the child in a Christian home-study course of education , using the Bible-based materials provided.
  
• Should the Christian parent or church or school be challenged by the State, the congregation should be prepared to stand firmly behind the parents and/or the pastor, funding and employing every Biblical and legal means to seek the victory or The Lord.
  
• The Christian school should strive for academic excellence thus to thwart the challenges of the ungodly (1 Pet 2:15).

SOME MAY VIEW as sad and unfortunate the necessity to turn to the home and the church for the education of the child. Not So! That is where The Lord God means it to be . The ministry of the State is not education, not evangelism, but justice—and in the education the State now forces upon the people, there is little justice.

The excesses and the failures and, yes, the abominations of the State-controlled school system have awakened many of God's people to their responsibilities and brought them back to His will, His mandate, and His purpose for education. Thus, He is drawing firm and clear the line of separation; is that not so? Rejoice, then! Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. And, be sure: the victory and the glory shall be His!

Letter from PLYMOUTH ROCK is published by:
Plymouth Rock Foundation, Inc.,
P.O. Box 425, Marlborough, NH 03455.