1. Christian Education and
the Great Commission of Christ
The enterprise of Christian education must be understood within the context of the mission of the Church in the world. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 gives the church the three-fold mandate of discipling the nations by the Gospel, planting the church throughout the nations, and educating those who are discipled by the Gospel. “Teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you…” This makes Christian education essential to the Great Commission, not a project to be undertaken alongside the Great Commission. If the church is not involved in Christian education it is being unfaithful to the mandate of her Lord and Savior.
2. Christian Education and the Covenant of Grace
The business of Christian education must also be understood within the context of the covenant-bond of eternal friendship which God has established with His people in Christ, wherein God is our Sovereign-Friend, and we are His faithful servant-friends, Genesis 17:7. Deuteronomy 5-7, which is the immediate Biblical context of our text, gives us important information concerning the nature of this gracious covenant-bond. Deuteronomy 7 points out that our existence and mission as the church are rooted in God’s TOTAL CLAIM on us in His covenant. Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that, because of God’s claim, we have the responsibility to TOTAL OBEDIENCE to Him, motivated by faith in Christ. And Deuteronomy 7 spells out the nature of our obedience to Him in terms of SEPARATION from evil and CONQUEST of the earth by the Word of God.
It is within this covenant context that Christian education must be viewed as an essential part of the total obedience which God’s grace calls us to give Him in Christ. In education ourselves, our friends and our families, we learn how to live and think in terms of God’s revealed will, and thereby become equipped to advance His Kingdom in ourselves and throughout all the earth, Genesis 1:28.
3. Christian Education and the Family
Because children are a gift from God given to parents as a sacred trust, the authority and responsibility for the education and training of children is given by God to parents, Deuteronomy 6:7. Rolland Barnes has written: “The duty of education is therefore a family responsibility. The family is the fundamental unit of society under God and it is the duty of parents as led by the father to prepare their children to function righteously under God’s rule in all spheres of life…”-The Responsibility for Education.
The Goals of Christian Education (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)
Our ultimate goal in education is to know God, to glorify him, and enjoy him forever, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ecclesiastes 11:7f. To reach that chief end, that ultimate goal of human existence, we educate our families in order to achieve the following objectives.
1. The Development of a Christian Life (Deut. 6:1,2)
Believing parents and their children are God’s covenant family, Deuteronomy 29:10-13. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, the visible church of God “consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children,”-XXV:ii. God promised to be our God and the God of our children down through thteir generations in an everlasting covenant, Genesis 17:7, Acts 16:31; therefore we are to teach them and train them in the way of life and laws of God’s covenant revealed in His Word. They must be carefully instructed in how to be faithful members of God’s covenant.
2. The Development of a Christian Mind (Deut. 6:8)
Children, who belong to God body and soul, must learn to think about everything from a distinctively Christian/Biblical perspective, 2 Corinthians 10:5. “The Christian mind is a mind trained, informed, equipped to handle every secular controversy within a framework of reference which is constructed of Christian presuppositions. The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking. And Christian thinking is the prerequisite of Christian action.”-William Blamires, The Christian Mind.
Deuteronomy 6:8 has been taken literally by Orthodox Judaism, but its figurative nature is obvious. (1) The context does not lead us to think that this is to taken literally; (2) “These commandments” in verse 6 refers not only to 6:6-9, but also to all that Moses taught Israel, 6:1-2, which makes a literal application of verses 8-9 impossible. Moreover the Bible elsewhere says that the Law of God is to be written on our eyes and tongues, Proverbs 3:3, 7:3. The point is that the Word of God is to govern all we do with our hands, all we think with our minds, and all that is down in our homes.
3. The Development of a Christian Culture and Civilization
Because the Kingdom of Jesus Christ embraces, governs, and transforms every area of life, Daniel 7:13-14, He calls His disciples to press the claims of His Kingdom in every of life, until “The knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters covers the sea.”
The Kingdom of Christ is the manifestation of the Sovereign rule of God in power and grave, which established a new order (civilization) of righteousness and blessedness in history in Jesus Christ in fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. We are to teach our children to see themselves as the ones who will protect, perfect and advance that Christian civilization into the future.
“The Christian educator, parent or teacher, must always have this goal in mind. It will determine his attitude, goal, method and standard in the classroom. Whatever subject he teaches, it will be his goal to teach the Christian student to use that knowledge to glorify God and build Christian culture. He wants to the student to know how to use that knowledge to further the cause of Christ on earth.”-Chris Strevel, Christ and the transformation of Culture.
The enterprise of Christian education must be understood within the context of the mission of the Church in the world. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 gives the church the three-fold mandate of discipling the nations by the Gospel, planting the church throughout the nations, and educating those who are discipled by the Gospel. “Teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you…” This makes Christian education essential to the Great Commission, not a project to be undertaken alongside the Great Commission. If the church is not involved in Christian education it is being unfaithful to the mandate of her Lord and Savior.
2. Christian Education and the Covenant of Grace
The business of Christian education must also be understood within the context of the covenant-bond of eternal friendship which God has established with His people in Christ, wherein God is our Sovereign-Friend, and we are His faithful servant-friends, Genesis 17:7. Deuteronomy 5-7, which is the immediate Biblical context of our text, gives us important information concerning the nature of this gracious covenant-bond. Deuteronomy 7 points out that our existence and mission as the church are rooted in God’s TOTAL CLAIM on us in His covenant. Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that, because of God’s claim, we have the responsibility to TOTAL OBEDIENCE to Him, motivated by faith in Christ. And Deuteronomy 7 spells out the nature of our obedience to Him in terms of SEPARATION from evil and CONQUEST of the earth by the Word of God.
It is within this covenant context that Christian education must be viewed as an essential part of the total obedience which God’s grace calls us to give Him in Christ. In education ourselves, our friends and our families, we learn how to live and think in terms of God’s revealed will, and thereby become equipped to advance His Kingdom in ourselves and throughout all the earth, Genesis 1:28.
3. Christian Education and the Family
Because children are a gift from God given to parents as a sacred trust, the authority and responsibility for the education and training of children is given by God to parents, Deuteronomy 6:7. Rolland Barnes has written: “The duty of education is therefore a family responsibility. The family is the fundamental unit of society under God and it is the duty of parents as led by the father to prepare their children to function righteously under God’s rule in all spheres of life…”-The Responsibility for Education.
The Goals of Christian Education (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)
Our ultimate goal in education is to know God, to glorify him, and enjoy him forever, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ecclesiastes 11:7f. To reach that chief end, that ultimate goal of human existence, we educate our families in order to achieve the following objectives.
1. The Development of a Christian Life (Deut. 6:1,2)
Believing parents and their children are God’s covenant family, Deuteronomy 29:10-13. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, the visible church of God “consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children,”-XXV:ii. God promised to be our God and the God of our children down through thteir generations in an everlasting covenant, Genesis 17:7, Acts 16:31; therefore we are to teach them and train them in the way of life and laws of God’s covenant revealed in His Word. They must be carefully instructed in how to be faithful members of God’s covenant.
2. The Development of a Christian Mind (Deut. 6:8)
Children, who belong to God body and soul, must learn to think about everything from a distinctively Christian/Biblical perspective, 2 Corinthians 10:5. “The Christian mind is a mind trained, informed, equipped to handle every secular controversy within a framework of reference which is constructed of Christian presuppositions. The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking. And Christian thinking is the prerequisite of Christian action.”-William Blamires, The Christian Mind.
Deuteronomy 6:8 has been taken literally by Orthodox Judaism, but its figurative nature is obvious. (1) The context does not lead us to think that this is to taken literally; (2) “These commandments” in verse 6 refers not only to 6:6-9, but also to all that Moses taught Israel, 6:1-2, which makes a literal application of verses 8-9 impossible. Moreover the Bible elsewhere says that the Law of God is to be written on our eyes and tongues, Proverbs 3:3, 7:3. The point is that the Word of God is to govern all we do with our hands, all we think with our minds, and all that is down in our homes.
3. The Development of a Christian Culture and Civilization
Because the Kingdom of Jesus Christ embraces, governs, and transforms every area of life, Daniel 7:13-14, He calls His disciples to press the claims of His Kingdom in every of life, until “The knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters covers the sea.”
The Kingdom of Christ is the manifestation of the Sovereign rule of God in power and grave, which established a new order (civilization) of righteousness and blessedness in history in Jesus Christ in fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. We are to teach our children to see themselves as the ones who will protect, perfect and advance that Christian civilization into the future.
“The Christian educator, parent or teacher, must always have this goal in mind. It will determine his attitude, goal, method and standard in the classroom. Whatever subject he teaches, it will be his goal to teach the Christian student to use that knowledge to glorify God and build Christian culture. He wants to the student to know how to use that knowledge to further the cause of Christ on earth.”-Chris Strevel, Christ and the transformation of Culture.
