Education Matters: Why Education Needs to Be Part of Your Church’s Ministry to the
Next Generation
By Rod Dreher
Rawlings School of Divinity
CLED 720: Biblical & Theological Foundations of Education
Genevieve Hamer
July 5, 2022
Education matters. That’s a phrase that just about every Christian agrees with. Education
matters because it influences what children believe, who they become, the choices they make,
the friends they choose, and it demands thirty-five hours a week of a child’s time for eight
months of the year.
What Does the Bible Say about Education?
Many people believe the Bible has little or nothing to say about education because the
term never appears in Scripture. We only find a single reference to the word school in Scripture,
Samuel’s school of the prophets. 3 Despite this reality, the Bible has a lot to say about
education.
Here is a sample of what Scripture says about education:
Knowledge: The core task of education is to lead a child from ignorance to knowledge.
The Bible’s chief concern in education is the knowledge of God, which is contrasted with
foolishness (Prov. 1:7). Apart from God, knowledge cannot be properly understood, and
foolishness abounds. The Bible provides guidance regarding how to navigate godless
knowledge. We are told, “Have nothing to do with godless myths” (1 Tim. 4:7). “Avoid the
irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge,’ for by professing it
some have swerved from the faith” (1 Tim. 6:20-21). Knowledge is never neutral; it is for or
against God. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of
God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Teach: The Hebrew language is rich in words that have to do with instruction; at least
thirty-four root words imply the idea of teaching, and the words teach and teacher are used in
the Bible over 350 times. Biblical education is focused on teaching the knowledge of God and
obedience to His law to the next generation. The Bible is prescriptive regarding what children
are to be taught.
Here is a sampling of what God commands:
God’s law: “Teach them [God’s laws] to your children and children’s children” (Deut.
4:9). “Teach them diligently to your children” (Deut. 6:7).
God’s work and character: “One generation shall commend your works to another, and
shall declare your mighty acts” (Ps. 145:4). “Tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of
the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. . . . which he commanded our
fathers to teach to their children . . . so that they set their hope in God and not forget the works
of God” (Ps. 78:4-7).
God’s Word: “How from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings
[the Bible], which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching” (2 Tim. 3:15-16). “Command and
teach them these things” (1 Tim. 4:11).
The fear of God: “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord”
(Ps. 34:11).
Learn: The words learn, learned, and learning appear in the Bible over 100 times. The
Bible is concerned with what we learn. Christians are to learn to revere God (Deut. 14:23), to
fear God (Deut. 31:12), to serve God (2 Chron. 12:8), what is good (Job 34:4; Titus 3:14), God’s
righteous laws (Ps. 119:7), His decrees and commands (Ps. 119:71-73), prudence (Prov. 19:25),
to do right (Isa. 1:17), to control one’s body (1 Thess. 4:4), to praise God (Ps. 89:15), wisdom
(Prov. 30:3), the meaning and purpose of life (Eccles. 1:17), contentment (Phil. 4:11), and to
learn the gospel (2 Tim. 3:14-16). If God commands His followers to learn these things, doesn’t
it make sense to educate our children so that they learn these truths?
Instruct: The Bible provides guidance about who is to instruct a child. Jesus states, “A
student [disciple] when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). The biblical
principle to recognize is that teachers reproduce themselves in their students. Children absorb
the beliefs, values, and views of the teacher.
Think: The Bible teaches, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). What a
child thinks about, he or she becomes. What does the Bible want us to think about? Here is how
the Bible answers that question: “Meditate on God’s word day and night” (Josh. 1:8).
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). Lastly, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).
The biblical vision for a child’s education is centered on and saturated with God’s Word,
God’s laws, God’s works, God’s character, the fear of God, and godly living. Many parents
believe the fallacy that they can obey these passages of Scripture by teaching their children at
home on the evenings and weekends, despite sending their children to a school that teaches
God is irrelevant, even non-existent, and instructs children in secular morality and unbiblical
ideas. Individuals who do this compartmentalize education in a way the Bible never does and
fail to understand there is no distinction between faith and learning. When education is viewed
as reading, writing, and math while discipleship is seen as character formation, spiritual
disciplines, and sharing faith, we create a false dichotomy the Bible never does and provide our
children with an education that is foreign to Scripture.
Why Include Education in Your Ministry to the Next Generation?
More than ever, Christians need to know what the Bible teaches about the education of
children and put it into practice. Unfortunately, many Christians have adopted a cultural
perspective on the purpose and practice of education. The Christian community needs a
renewed biblical vision for the education of the next generation. The Bible reminds us, “Where
there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18). Christians must capture a biblical vision for a
child’s education. Parents need guidance from church leaders on how to think biblically about
education.
