“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 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” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
No one should ever say that the commands for parents to educate their children are only found in the Old Testament and are no longer valid for “New Testament” Christians. I quoted commands from both the Old and New Testaments. Both Testaments teach that parents are responsible to educate their children. It is erroneous to say that the Old Testament is not for us today. When Jesus prayed, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17), He was referring to the Old Testament. When Paul told Timothy that all Scripture is given by God and is profitable for the Christian (2 Timothy 3:16) the New Testament had not been written yet. When the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if the words of Paul and Silas were solid, they searched the Old Testament.
I think Deuteronomy 6 is the most important chapter in the bible when it comes to Christian education. Deuteronomy 6 gives two very important principles on education:
- Education is to be centered on God.
- Education is the parents’ responsibility.
God is sovereign. He has the ultimate authority to rule and reign over the world. He delegates that authority to parents when it comes to ruling over their children.
Who is sovereign in the public schools?
The government schools are not centered on God. If you disagree, mention God’s name in the classroom (without cursing) and see what happens. Recently I heard of a teacher being ordered to get a bible off his desk and keep it off of school grounds. The schools center on man; collective man incarnated in the form of the state. The state is their god. The one true God has no place in the public schools. The teachers (priests of the state) cannot pray or teach in any other name but the state hidden under the guise of neutrality.
The education given in public schools is not centered on Christ. In fact, Christ isn’t even on the outskirts. Now I know that God is everywhere, including the public schools, but He certainly isn’t worshipped or honored there. The government schools are certainly not helping parents raise their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” The government schools are feeding students the slop of humanism instead of offering them the fresh Bread of Life.
The Public School Menu
As a kid, I remember picking up the local newspaper and reading the public school lunch menu for the week. I’m sure it’s online now. I guess it’s ok to know that students are getting beef stew and mashed potatoes at lunch so parents won’t feed them beef stew and mashed potatoes for dinner. It’s very convenient for the working mom, I suppose. That’s not bad. But what about the menu served up in the classroom? Is that in the newspaper? What’s being served up there? I bet it’s not the same meal that you give your kid at home. It won’t be the same meal that the pastor and Sunday school teacher provides on Sunday either. This is the food you should care about. Big deal if your kid gets chicken for lunch and dinner. The food served on your child’s lunch plate should not be your primary concern. What kind of food are they serving to your child’s heart and mind? I’ll tell you. It’s trash. Humanistic trash. And it’s bad for your child’s spiritual, mental, and physical health.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). God possesses all truth. All truth is His truth. If we don’t worship Christ, then we can’t know and understand truth. If we don’t fear God and give homage to the Son, we will not find wisdom. Jesus said that the devil is a liar and he is lying to countless children using the doctrines of humanism. Humanists deny Christ as God and King.
Christian parents cannot in good conscience send their child to a school that teaches humanism. It’s not just public schools that are humanistic, some private schools are as well. Humanism can be found in schools that call themselves Christian. But the government-ran public schools are humanistic to the core. This is the new established religion in America and the state school is the established church. The teachers have become the priests of this new religion.
You must find a school that will help you give your child a God-centered education or homeschool to that end. God must be at the center of everything in your child’s life, including education. That is one stipulation in the covenant that is made between you and God. God’s Word is the plumb line, not man’s word. We must teach our children that in order to know truth, they must begin with fear of the Author of Truth. Man cannot know anything he wants without God as his reference point. Man cannot know and understand reality if he does not begin with the God of the Bible.
