A Heritage from God

“Children are a heritage from God.” Very few Christian parents would disagree with that statement from Proverbs. In fact even parents of other religions or with no religious background will agree that children are “a heritage.” In most cultures of the world, parents consider their children to be their most important “possession”. Parents are willing to sacrifice almost anything for their children. They try to give the best of everything they have to their children.

There also is widespread agreement on what is the most important thing that parents can give their children. In most societies parents would put “a good education” at, or near, the top of the list of things they want their children to have. Parents have been willing to make great sacrifices to provide a good education for their children. In the U.S., as in most civilized countries of the world, education is a top concern of the citizens of the nation.

Christian parents, as well, have made education a primary goal for their children. The Bible teaches that providing for their children’s training is one of the primary responsibilities of parents. This training includes providing for the child’s formal education. The question is not whether or not Christian parents should provide a good education for their children. The question is what constitutes a “good” education. There is a lot of disagreement, even among Christians, over what should be the goal and content of formal education.

What constitutes a good education for the Christian? The Bible makes it very clear what God considers good. The Bible states that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. Christ is to be the foundation on which education is to be built. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Apart from God and His Word you cannot arrive at truth. He is the author and sustainer of truth. God is Truth.

It is interesting that on secular college campuses you will often find the phrase “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” etched somewhere on a building or in a college publication. It has become a slogan for many schools. Yet the rest of that phrase states “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The phrase comes from the Bible and its author is Jesus Christ.

Many people want to have truth but deny that its source is God. The Bible describes them this way, “Ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Apart from God and His Word you cannot arrive at truth. Romans chapter 1 and II Timothy chapter 2 accurately describe what has happened in educational circles today. People professing themselves to be wise have become fools because they have rejected God who is the very origin and epitome of truth. All knowledge and truth points to God as the creator and sustainer of the world. If people would just honestly and objectively look at creation then they would see God’s handprint all over it. But if they are blind and refuse to acknowledge God’s authorship, then God will let them believe whatever their finite, sinful minds can imagine.

The theory of evolution is a good example. God created the heavens, earth, and everything in them. But if you don’t believe this, then you must come up with some other explanation for how things came into being. Thus man came up with evolution. Evolution must be accepted by faith. The faith is just not in God. It is in man. Scientifically evolution defies all logic. It cannot be proven and the scientific facts do not support it. But because natural man will not accept creation by God, then he must accept evolution or some other explanation.

The same thing is true of all other fields of study. Either you accept the biblical position or you must accept man’s explanation. True facts will never contradict the Bible. The issue is how are the facts going to be interpreted. What is the grid or paradigm through which the facts are viewed? The belief system we have determines how we view the facts. People viewing the same set of facts can come to totally different conclusions. Their belief system influences the way they interpret the facts.

The thing that is so troubling is not the fact that non-Christians are looking to the Bible for their belief system. The troubling thing is the fact that so many professing Christians don’t have a biblical belief system. While many Christians may be personally uncomfortable with things like evolution, they are quite willing to accept a humanistic view in most other areas of study. Evolution is only the tip of the iceberg. So many things taught today are contrary to biblical truth. Many Christians are inconsistent. While they may accept a biblical view in one area, they reject it in other areas.

For example, most evangelical Christian parents would not consider staying in a church where the pastor or Sunday school teachers were not Christians. Nor would they want any non-Christian philosophies or instruction to be taught in their church. Most Christians strongly believe that what is taught in church or Sunday school should be in agreement with the Bible. Yet many of these same parents send their children to schools that cannot legally allow instruction to be based on the Word of God. At these schools there is no requirement that the teacher believe in God at all. In fact if a teacher says too much about God at school, he or she will probably be reprimanded for it. The standards for church and school are completely different. No wonder teenagers often lose interest in church. They have learned that the ideals and instruction of the church are not important enough to be held to in the “real world” of school.

The truth is that God doesn’t change from Sunday to Monday. He doesn’t change from church to school. He is equally Lord of the sanctuary and the classroom. He is Lord of all. The Word of God is relevant every day and everywhere.

Assisting Christian parents in fulfilling their biblical responsibility to train their children.
Christian Family Academy
PO Box 5353
Hickory, NC 28603
(828) 256-8474