Educating for Godly Policy (3)

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6.6, 7

The foundation of all learning
American education today operates from a different foundation than what is prescribed in God’s Law; thus, we should not be surprised that our society has taken a shape other than what is outlined in the Law of love.

In God’s mind, the Law of God is foundational to the education people require if they are to inherit and maintain a society based on justice and love. The Law of God is the cornerstone of all Scripture, the acorn to the oak of divine revelation. It is the “core curriculum” which the Holy Spirit works diligently to inscribe on our hearts (Ezek. 36.26, 27). Thus, it makes sense that God’s people must be instructed in His Law and in all the counsel of God (Acts 20.27). The Word of God—the Law, prophets, writings, gospels, Acts, epistles, and Revelation—must be the basis and guiding light for all other aspects of the curriculum in the instruction of the people of God.

For Americans to have allowed teaching of the Bible to be eradicated from their public-school curriculum is a measure of our communal failure as believers in affecting the shape of public policy. At the same time, it is an indicator of the foolishness which has spread throughout our society, and to which even Christians have grown accustomed. The meager efforts of churches and Christian homes to inculcate a Christian worldview in the children of the Church has not succeeded in the face of the constant barrage of materialism, utilitarianism, radical individualism, and pragmatism that comprises the curriculum of American public education.

We need to lay again the foundation of God’s Law and all His Word for our instruction and that of our children.

Getting back to God’s Word
As a society, we are not likely to realize the benefits of God’s Word as long as those to whom that Word has been entrusted evidence so little confidence in it as a curriculum for all of life. The teaching of God’s Law is neglected in churches today, and the state of instruction in all the counsel of God fares not much better. If we are ever to become again a segment of the citizenry able to affect public policy in this and all other areas of life, we shall need to become more soundly reared and firmly taught in the Scriptures of God.

Instruction in Scripture includes many things: teaching in Biblical theology, Biblical content and themes, hermeneutics, theology proper, the history of theology, ethics, and cultural criticism are only the most important components of a curriculum grounded in the Law and Word of God. Presumably, such instruction would also include developing the disciplines of personal reading and study, together with prayer and worship, which will continue to form the soul and shape the life throughout the course of a learner’s life.

That such a curriculum was foundational to early American education can be observed by even a cursory reading of a resource such as McGuffey’s Readers, which were in widespread use in the schools of early America. Education in colonial America produced leaders who, while they may not have all been Christians, understood the importance of spiritual and moral truths as the only proper foundation for civil order.

In the Christian community, we need to review, revise, and renew our efforts to teach Jesus to the people of God (Eph. 4.17-24). We need formal instruction at all levels and a more serious attitude toward the importance of it. To this point, education in God’s Word is regarded as optional. We have Bible study groups, Sunday schools, and more. Anyone who wants to participate can. Learning Jesus is an option. The Law of God teaches us to think otherwise.

The more we lay a Biblical foundation in our churches, the more teaching, instruction, and disciple-making will occur “as you are going” about our everyday tasks and responsibilities.

Toward a renewed consensus
Education in the Law and Word of God played a major role in early American education. This was the result of a consensus that was largely defined by a Christian worldview. That consensus no longer exists. The way back to education grounded in God’s Word is via a renewed consensus, brought about by the efforts of revived men and women and renewed churches.

Americans today have become accustomed to the idea that the Bible has no place in the public education of the children of the land. We see, moreover, where this has led us as a nation. The specious invoking of the “doctrine” of the “separation of Church and State” has contributed to the ruin of American education, and this situation will only begin to be corrected when believers attain sufficient status and respectability to insist on a moral and spiritual foundation for education based on all the counsel of God in His Word.

We will not be able to achieve this through the public schools, not at first. We must, therefore, begin in our churches, homes, and Christian schools to make sure that the Word of God, which is able to equip us for every good work, again serves as the foundation of all our curriculum and instruction, and that the Law of God comprises a prominent place in that foundation.

In this, as in so many other areas of public policy, Christians must take a long view. We must begin to strengthen the good things that remain within our midst and to recover that which we have lost in the way of a Christian worldview. Returning to the Law and testimonies of God is only one aspect of the kind of renewal we need if we are ever to be a force for public policy that lines up more consistently with the Law and Word of God.

For reflection
1. What is your present approach to being grounded in and guided by all the counsel of God in His Word, beginning with His Law?

2. What does your church do to lay a Biblical foundation of learning for each of its members? Are you contributing to this effort in any way?

3. What can believers do to encourage one another to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Next steps—Transformation: Review your present approach to growing in the Lord. Where might you improve in this effort?

T. M. Moore

Jesus is the beginning and end of all true learning. Our book, Know, Love, Serve, shows why this is so and can help you in laying again a foundation of Biblical instruction in your life, family, and church. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here (for the book) or here (for a free PDF).

Support for ReVision comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 103 Reynolds Lane, West Grove, PA 19390.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.