The Riches OF GRACE
“hath appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11
Robert W. Reed
August 1996
Home Schooling
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
+ Biblical Training +
Christian education is of utmost importance in the development of children. The ultimate goal in education is to produce a Godly generation, not a degree. God’s way is always the best way and anything less than the best is sin.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”
There are three institutions in which God uses to carry out His plan; the home, the government, and church. As each of these have a particular ministry and purpose, all three are under attack by Satan in order to undermine God’s authority. Our focus in this article will be on the home and its purpose in the education of children.
The Command of Christian Education
According to Proverbs 22:6, God has placed the responsibility of training children solely in the hands of parents. The home was the first divine institution established by the Creator (Genesis 2:18-25). Neither the government nor the church are to usurp this God given authority. We should take seriously the command of Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “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.”
In Jeremiah 10:2, we are told to “…Learn not the way of the heathen, …” In America, we send missionaries around the world to convert the heathen and at the same time we send our children to government (public) schools to learn the ways of the heathen (Psalms 106:35-37). Christians cannot remain faithful to God and at the same time send their children to someone else to be trained (Psalms 78:2-8). Government schools have proven the very gates of hell. If God is not welcome in the classroom, why should we send our helpless children there to be educated? (Hosea 4:6)
Even when we send our children to private or Christian school, they are out of our care most of the day. This is contrary to the teaching of God’s Word (Deuteronomy 6:5-6). Also, the Christian school movement in our nation has taken many mothers out of the home and into the work place under the guise of “it is a ministry.” Again, this is a direct violation of God’s Word (Titus 2:3-4, I Timothy 5:14). A woman’s ministry is at home, training her own children. No one will have the exact same convictions as you do. To whomever you send your children to be educated, you are giving up your God given authority and your children are being taught the convictions of someone else. Before there was a school, church or government, there was a family and God said it was good.
It is estimated that more than 80 percent of families
who home school do it for religious reasons.
The Advantage of Christian Education
In Psalms 128:3, the Scriptures speak of children as tender plants. Home schooling serves the same purpose for children as a greenhouse does for young plants. It provides a protective environment for them during their tender years. Plants in a greenhouse do better than plants outside. It is designed to give them a head start in life. Our children need to be protected spiritually, emotionally, and physically. A greenhouse protects the young plants from the destructive elements during their early growing season. It will cause them to be stronger and larger as they come to maturity so they will be able to stand on their own better (Proverbs 6:20-23). As one person once said, “when my son is as strong as Daniel, then will I let him go to Babylon and not a minute before.” Let us not forget the wisdom of a Scottish sheep herder who said, “a wolf will never take an old sheep so long as he can get a lamb.”
Just think of the time parents can invest in their children by home schooling them (Colossians 4:5). It provides an environment where spiritual development can take place. The one-on-one tutoring is the most effective method of teaching. Parents can avoid the promotion of humanistic philosophies such as evolution, sex education, and new age teaching. As each subject is taught to the child, parents can apply Biblical principles (Isaiah 58:12). It is a way for parents to control the influences to which their children are exposed. The critics of home schooling say it limits children from the opportunity of socialization, but this is the very reason most parents choose to educate their children at home in the first place.
“...on Standard Achievement tests home schoolers scored
18-20 percent higher than the public school students…”
The Benefits of Christian Education
The academic and spiritual benefits are tremendous. Parents are able to put a good foundation under their children based on the principles of God’s Word and at the same time accomplish more academically by the one-on-one training they receive (Psalms 112:1-2).
Please consider the following facts taken from a Christian publication called Balance (vol. 13, no. 3, March 1994) “In 1991 the Home School Legal Defense Association working in cooperation with the Psychological Corporation Publishers of the Stanford Achievement Test compiled one of the largest known studies on standardized test scores for home schoolers. The achievement test was administered to 5,124 home schooled students from every state, ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. According to the results, the composite scores on the basic battery of tests indicated that home schooled children scored 18-20 percent higher than the public school students in the areas of reading, language arts, and math.”
The Bible says in Ephesians 6:4, “and ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Any parent is qualified to teach their child. Remember, you were their first teacher. You taught them to walk, talk, eat, have manners, etc. You are qualified to continue their training until they are grown. Parents know their children better than anyone. Besides, you don’t have to know everything in order to teach, you can learn as they learn. There are many teachers teaching in our public and private schools who are no more qualified than you (Psalms 127:3-5).
The curriculum is tailor made for the home schooled student. The material used will suit the student instead of the student having to change to fit the curriculum. You can keep what works for your child and change what does not. The curriculum can be designed to meet the individual grade level as well as the individual needs of each child.
“…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:25
It is legal to home school in all 50 states,
but the laws regulating home education vary from state to state.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
Victory Baptist Church
Pastor Robert W. Reed
14473 Bellingrath Road
P.O. Box 257
Coden, Alabama 36523
(251) 873-4422