What about
the children?
There is a great deal of biblical
support for the family to be the main educational unit in a child’s life and
for a child to receive an exclusively Christian education;
Deuteronomy 6:7, “Teach [My Words] unto your children talking of them when
you do your errands in town, rest in the evening, get ready for the day, and do
your day’s work.” (In other words; Every Waking Moment.)
Ephesians 6:4, “Parents, don’t frustrate your children to anger, but bring
them up in the education and culture of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself,
… And teach [My Laws] to your children and your grandchildren,”
Deuteronomy 11:19 “You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them
when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and
when you rise up.”
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is
old he will not depart from it.”
Jeremiah 10:2 “Thus says the LORD: “Do not learn the way of the
Gentiles;…” (Don’t even know about what goes on in the unsaved culture)
Psalm 1: 2 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law
he meditates DAY AND NIGHT.” (This includes school hours).
2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts
itself against the knowledge of God, bringing EVERY THOUGHT into captivity to
the obedience of Christ,” (Even math thoughts)
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is
perfectly trained (finished with his schooling) will be like his teacher.” (and
if his teacher isn’t a Christian…)
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, …
Matthew 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!
You are an offense to Me, for you are not MINDFUL OF THE THINGS OF GOD, but the
things of men.”
Colossians 3:1 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek THOSE THINGS
WHICH ARE ABOVE, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your
mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first
and great commandment.”
The
Effects of Non-Christian Associations
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
(Christian kids do not bring their unsaved peers to the Lord very often. Not
even in Sunday School, much less the God-free public schools.)
Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion
of fools will be destroyed.” (Remember that “the fool says in his heart there
is no God.” Ps 14:3-1 So anyone who walks with, or spends time with, someone
who doesn’t acknowledge God is on the path to destruction.)
The
Content of True Education
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.” (What more do you need from an education?)
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (True education BEGINS with the fear of
God; the fear of God is its foundation. But atheists despise true knowledge.)
Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good
understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures
forever.” (The foundation of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Our schools are
lacking the very foundation of wisdom or knowledge.)
Proverbs 2:6 “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge
and understanding;”
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives
to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Psalm 119:97-101 “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are
ever with me.” (The Bible is what makes us wiser, not degrees on the wall)
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Matthew 6:33 “But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and ALL THESE THINGS (including a good education) shall be added to you.”
Children
Belong to God
Ezekiel 16:21 “that you have slain MY CHILDREN and offered them up to
them by causing them to pass through the fire?”
When asked whose image is on the tax
coin, the people answer (Matthew 22:21)
“ ‘Caesar's.’ Then saith He unto
them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God
the things that are God's.”
Caesar’s image was carved on the
money. Render the tax coin to Caesar.
Our children are carved in the image
of God. Give them to God, not Caesar.
We cannot be surprised when we send
our children to Rome for their education and they come out Romans.
We cannot be surprised when we use
Rome’s methods in our Sunday Schools and we find our churches to be
ineffective.
God charges parents in these verses
with providing His children that He has entrusted to their care a Christian
education and culture.
Ephesians 6:4, “Parents, don’t frustrate your children to anger, but bring
them up in the education and culture of the Lord.”
The church is charged with helping
the parents, not taking their place with Sunday School and not ignoring them
when life prevents them from homeschooling. It is the church’s job to help the
parents achieve God’s commands in their lives.
Why?
1. God is capable of speaking to our
children without a Sunday School teacher’s help. We don’t need a High Priest
anymore. We can go straight to God ourselves and that holds true for our
children, too.
Children treated like adults by
being left with the adults to worship like adults will grow up with an adult
faith.
Children taught on a “child’s level”
will always have an immature faith, if they even stay in church.
2. When we do things different than
God’s plain spoken will, God will not bless it.
There was a time when every
believing family had devotions at breakfast and suppertime every day. The USA was
born in these households.
Then came TV. Now we “don’t have the
time.
And anyway, their youth
leader/Sunday school teacher is doing that stuff.”
It is the church’s responsibility to
teach the parents and the parent’s responsibility to teach the children.
Doing it God’s way makes the parents
learn better and faster, bonds the family together and has more lasting
results.
3. Children’s programs remove the
father from headship over the children. In fact, since most of these programs
are staffed by women, it feminizes them making our boys see religion as a “girl
thing.”
No wonder our churches are now
mostly women!
4. Age-segregation creates
adult-a-lecents; “children” who never grow up.
It creates its own subcultures
within each age group and looses the wisdom of the previous generations. This
is why the increase of people in their 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s still living
with Mommy.
How
Our Church Works
Everyone worships together (From our
94 year old grandma to the babies). Then someone gives a basic Bible lesson to
the children, but in the sanctuary with everyone else (many adults need these
lessons as much or more than the children).
The parents bring quiet toys or
books for the littlest ones to use during service and diligently teach them to
be still.
Older children are encouraged to
listen and take notes on the sermon.
Youngers learn from olders, olders
get perspective from youngers.
Singles, marrieds and retireds
aren't that different. They all are learning how to serve God to the best of
their ability with what they have, helping each other.
Regular fellowship outside the
church is encouraged (“I'm going out to eat and then the
park after church. Anyone want to come?” “I'm renting movies Friday. Why don't
you come over and watch them with me?” and of course “Sister Smith needs her
front lawn mowed and her house painted. Let's go do that Saturday.”)
The church is structured like a
family and functions like an extended family. This provides more cohesion in
the church and more accountability to individuals. There is more available
wisdom to all of us, and more security that we are loved and not just an
assignment.
It is the difference between a fast
food restaurant (TC) and a community (FIC).
Family devotions are encouraged.
It is the parent’s duty to teach
their children.
The church helps parents to learn to
teach their own children at home.
After all, even the best Sunday
school program can’t counter in one or two hours everything a child picks up
during thirty or more hours of school plus time in front of the TV, (though we
also strongly encourage parents to take full responsibility for their
children’s education through homeschooling.)
What about new converts who don’t
know enough to teach their children?
It doesn’t take a theology degree to
read a chapter out of the Bible and pray each evening. We teach new converts
that they should come to church regularly and tithe. We just need to add “read
your Bible to your children every day.”
The family can learn together.
What about children who come without
their unsaved parents?
They can be “adopted” during the
duration of the service by one of the established families in the church.
They can learn from the same sermons
and songs as everyone else and be encouraged to start reading the Bible daily
for themselves (as we all should anyway).
They are encouraged to ask questions
and are given resources as needed. Honestly, this makes us work even harder to
connect with the parents and get them to God.
Won't
Children Disturb the Service?
“Jesus said, Suffer little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
When we exclude the children from
“real” church, we are also excluding the Kingdom Of Heaven.
Very young children can be taught to
sit still in service. After all, they are expected to sit still for a whole
three-hour kindergarten class and often sit through two-hour movies. They are
capable of doing the same in church. They just have to be taught.
Additionally, the congregation needs
to become more tolerant. Children are part of God’s kingdom.
Conclusion
Children who grow up having family
devotions, learning the Word at the feet of their father and worshiping with
their families have a more realistic view of God’s relationship to the church.
When children grow up with a
Christian education, they grow up knowing that God is in every aspect of life.
When children grow up worshiping and
learning with adults, they grow up knowing that religion is for adults.
They also grow up knowing how
important God and the Bible is.
When
we follow God’s plan, we get godly children.
