Although the term Christian education does not occur in the Bible, the Bible speaks of the moral and spiritual instruction of believers in general and of children in particular. It places a high value upon knowledge, both of God and of His works. It describes the moral and spiritual fruits of this knowledge and defines its ultimate purpose.
The present Christian school movement can be understood only as a part—certainly in these times a very significant and necessary part—of the total endeavor of Christian education. A full understanding of this movement requires an examination of the basis upon which its educational theory and practices rest: its philosophy of education. Accordingly there follows, first, a presentation of the basic beliefs of Christian education and, second, an application of these beliefs to the specific mission of the Christian school.
Definitions
Biblical Christianity
The God of the Bible is not a god of man’s own making or choosing. The eternal Creator of all things existed before man and exists independently of man. God, however, has revealed Himself to man, speaking through His Word (the inerrant, divinely inspired and preserved sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments) and His works. His self-revelation is the substance of Christian belief. What we call biblical Christianity is a system of certain basic truths that God has revealed. Among these truths, the following are fundamental to Christian education.
God Created Man in His Own Image
Of all created beings, only man is spoken of in the Scriptures as being created in God’s image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26–27). This creation of man was instantaneous—by a direct act and not by an evolutionary process. Possessing the divine image, man reflects God not only in his moral, intellectual, and emotional capacities but also in his aesthetic sensibility, social inclinations, and other qualities of his personality. To acknowledge this correspondency is not to claim a degree of deity for man but to recognize that man, the creature, uniquely bears the stamp of his Creator.
The Image of God in Man Was Marred When Man Fell Through Disobedience to His Creator
God created man for fellowship with Him. This fellowship was not to be forced but voluntary. Man, however, prompted by Satan, chose to rebel against God (Gen. 3). His rebellion, which we call “the fall of man,” brought all mankind and all creation under the dominion of sin.
All human beings, consequently, are born essentially evil, not essentially good, having inherited the evil nature of the first man, Adam (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12). All stand condemned before God because of their sin and are in need of a Savior (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Though the image of God in man was not entirely destroyed by the fall (Gen. 9:6; James 3:9), it was severely marred. The mind of the natural man, for example, is capable of intellectual but not of spiritual perception. He “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). On matters of the greatest importance to man, his mind is not to be trusted, for it has been impaired by sin.
God Has Provided for the Restoration of His Image in Man Through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ
This restoration is not accomplished by the fanning of a supposed inborn “spark of divinity” in the individual, as religious liberalism has traditionally maintained, but by the giving of a new nature. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [i.e., creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God, is the designer, creator, and preserver of all things and is to have preeminence in all things (Col. 1:16–19). He is the answer to those persistent questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Bible declares, “For of him [where I came from], and through him [why I am here], and to him [where I am going], are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).
In Jesus Christ, God became man (1 Tim. 3:16), and, as the unique God-man, Jesus Christ is completely God and completely man. Though no man has seen God at any time (John 1:18), man possesses in Jesus Christ the ultimate and complete revelation of God (John 1:1; Heb. 1:2). Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, came into the world to redeem mankind by His substitutionary death on the cross (1 Peter 2:24; Luke 19:10; Rom. 3:24–26). His bodily resurrection proved Him the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) with power to save all who come to God by Him (Heb. 7:25). When He ascended, He gave gifts to the Church “for the perfecting of the saints” in the image of God (Eph. 4:7–12).
Education
From the moment a child is born, certain forces are at work influencing his development. As his inherited powers and tendencies surface and interact with his environment and his will, he takes on the characteristics of his adulthood. Human growth, however, does not end with physical maturity. Some faculties of the personality are capable of expansion and refinement into old age. Education, whether of child or adult, is the directing of this total ongoing process of development toward specific objectives.
Purpose
The purpose of Christian education is the directing of the process of human development toward God’s objective for man: godliness of character and action. It bends its efforts to the end “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:17).
This goal of godliness presupposes the experience of regeneration. As education in general begins with physical birth, Christian education proper begins with spiritual rebirth, when the life of God is communicated to the soul. To say that Christian education proper begins with the new birth is not, however, to say that it is pointless before regeneration. The student can be provided with necessary awarenesses of God and responses to His Word so that when the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin he will readily and with full understanding accept Christ as his Savior. Timothy from childhood knew “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). To make children and even unregenerated adults “wise unto salvation” is no less a legitimate function of Christian education today.
Growth in godliness proceeds step by step from regeneration toward full maturity “in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5–8). This growth, like regeneration, is made possible by divine grace (Titus 2:11–13). It results from the emulation of Christ, who, as “the express image” of “the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), is the visible manifestation of the divine nature that God has ordained for man’s imitation. As regenerated man continues to occupy his mind with the truth of God revealed in Christ, he is “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). His full conformity to the image of God in Christ—his Christlikeness—is the goal of Christian education (Rom. 8:29). This goal is pursued with the recognition that its complete realization awaits the full view of Christ in the life to come, when “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Recipient
The focus of the educational process is, of course, the student, a unique individual created for a specific purpose in God’s plan. He must be properly qualified and motivated if he is to perform his cooperative role. Without a regenerated, willing student, Christian education cannot carry out its purpose. Regeneration does not eliminate the old nature—what the Apostle Paul called the “old man” or the “flesh”—and carnal attitudes and inclinations can hinder spiritual growth. It is the student’s responsibility to bring with him a pure heart and a willing mind. With these and the proper instruction, his success is assured, for “the pure in heart,” Christ promised, “shall see God,” and the diligent search for knowledge, as for silver and hid treasures, will be rewarded (Matt. 5:8; Prov. 2:3–5).
Source: BJU Press
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Genesis University.