The battle for truth is a serious battle. It’s not a pillow fight, or a name calling contest. It’s the kind of battle where people live and die. It’s estimated that every day over 150,000 people die. Most of them die unexpectedly.
Some saw it coming, but the one thing they all have in common is that it ended too soon. We get on average 75 years or so on this earth. That’s not very long. In fact it’s described as a vapor, here for a little while and then gone. Case in point, how well do you remember your grandfather? How about your great grandfather? Mine died in the early 1970’s and I scarcely remember him.
Most people will leave very little legacy and therefore how important is it for you father’s to have a multi-generational vision for your families?
Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
This commandment will tell you a lot about your view of God and your view of yourself. Does God really give multi-generational curses and multi-generational blessings? The answer is a clear yes.
For unbeliever’s this causes them to hate God even more. It’s unfair they say, yet they are unwilling to turn from their evil ways. They won’t believe God, but judge Him as unjust and unloving, yet continue to live in willful disobedience, thumbing their noses at Him as though their opinion is all that matters, even though God has been crystal clear. Obey, be blessed. Disobey, be cursed.
For Believers this is a delight. We desire to walk in truth and we desire to seek to obey God’s laws. If not we should examine ourselves.
Today, I’m thinking about something that 90% of professing Christians willingly disobey. They send their children off to government schools to be educated. Is this something that is going to send them to hell? That’s really a big question isn’t it, and may seem somewhat judgmental on my part?
And when I ask that question who am I talking about? Will the parents be condemned, or will the children be condemned? You will object that I’m probably being a little extreme. I want you to consider today, where is the line? How far and how deep will you decide to expose your children to the world and all the diseases that can be caught and still hope everything will be okay? Is this something you are willing to risk? I use disease here metaphorically for sin.
Can your children stand against the world? Are they strong enough? Are you sure they are even in the faith, and how do you know?
I want to grow and nurture my children in my own home, where I know the exhortation and teaching they are getting is gospel saturated. I’m so intensely convinced of this that I will go so far as to say if the only thing my children know how to do is read the word of God that is good enough.
If they can’t perform high level math, or even low level algebra I’m convinced God will reward my diligence to teach them about Him, beyond my desire to have what most consider a “superior” education. Although the facts bear out that home educated children perform far better on average in all standardized testing. That does not matter to me.
When I consider a multi-generational vision for my family that begins at the house of the Lord. It begins with the salvation of my children. It begins with me educating them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It begins with me teaching them when they lie down, when they rise up, when we walk by the way. In short it means all the time. How can I do that if I commit them to 15,000 hours of time with others that are most likely unregenerate? Will not a student be like his teacher?
If you are objecting to this and you are a Believer I’ll encourage you to search the scriptures for the book, chapter or verse that tells you to turn your children over to others to be educated, you will not find it. You will however find the scripture has plenty to say about how you will educate your children.
Alas, if our children lose the crown of life, it will be but a small consolation that they have won the laurels of literature or art. —Charles Spurgeon
Here is a sermon you may wish to consider from Pastor Voddie Baucham called Whoever Controls the Schools Controls the World.
Kevin
Uncommon Faith 
I am encouraged to note that there are others whom the Lord has given understanding as to who is responsible for the education of our children entrusted to us by Him.
Nowhere in the Word will it be found that born again parents are to turn over their children to be trained up in the way they should go. It is so sad to watch many/most claiming to be born again do this.
The government schools of this world are filled with unregenerate teachers who are servants of the god of this world, 2 Cor 4:4. Why would one believe we should put our precious children into the hands of the heathen to train up for us?
I have one point you’ve made that I question though, and would like to comment on, apart from the school subject:
Those who have been born again of His Spirit have heard AND believed and are sealed with the Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”
Whether a child is born into a family of born again believers does not necessarily mean the child will respond to the conviction of sin in order to receive and believe the Gospel message in order to be born again.
The Lord has allowed for the Gospel to be spoken in that particular home but sadly, most love the darkness of sin and do not respond to the Gospel message,
John 3:16-21
vs 19,20 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Hi Sharon,
I appreciate your comments and I am mutually encouraged by our like-mindedness on this important subject.
I hope I’ve not given the impression that I believe children of believing parents are guaranteed to be believers. I realize that salvation is completely of the Lord.
In my home we believe our oldest daughter to be regenerate and our other three children are not.
We are certainly hopeful and trust in the Lord to do His good pleasure and as far as we are concerned we will continue to preach the gospel to them and bring them up to the best of our ability, but we also understand there are no guarantees.
I hope that clarifies. May the Lord bless you.
Kevin
Amen!
And thank you for this response. I understand your position is the same as my own. I should have added John 1:12,13 to my comment which I believe you’ll agree is important for our understanding.
John 1:12,13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Perhaps this article will bless you as it has me. Here is an excerpt from it:
A parent cannot convert, regenerate or save their child spiritually. God has allowed every individual the freedom to come to a personal relationship with Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. This cannot be engineered, orchestrated or coerced by the parent. Each child must avail himself/herself of the opportunity to decide to receive the person and life of the Spirit of Christ into his/her spirit (Rom. 8:9). Only God can spiritually renew our children, and proceed to sanctify them in holiness and righteousness as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
http://www.christinyou.net/pages/beingparent.html
Shannon,
I like the article, thanks for sharing.
Here is something I wrote when our daughter Grace was saved.
https://uncommonfaith.org/2012/10/05/a-new-birth/
I’m hopeful it blesses you.
Kevin
Thank you for the testimony of Grace’s salvation. Indeed it was a blessing for me to read. I most appreciate this sentence:
“Last Sunday I was able to experience a new birth that had the birth of all three of my girls pale in comparison.”
Yes, now that Grace is born again, the battle (as we can all testify to) between the flesh and the Spirit begins, as Paul testifies of his own struggles in Romans 6-8.
The Holy Spirit convicts us and gives us the desire to live holy lives, thus beginning sanctification through the transformation process.
Thank you for this thoughtful exchange.
Blessings in Him,
Shannon
Thanks for this article Kevin. I think it’s very important. I absolutely agree with you that it’s the parents responsibility to raise their children, rather than hand them over to others. Whilst I was born again about 8 years ago, this revelation has only been a very recent one to me. The HOly Spirit has just given my husband and I light on this subject in the last few months and we are absolutely willing to obey whatever He wants us to do now that we see it, which I do believe is pull our children out of public school at the end of this year. I don’t know why we have been convicted about this now, rather than a few years ago. I did know the scripture: “Fathers, bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord…” but I had no light on this in that it meant in every area, including schooling. That may sound strange but it’s just the truth.
You say: “Today, I’m thinking about something that 90% of professing Christians willingly disobey. They send their children off to government schools to be educated.”
Yes, I guess it is disobedience to God’s Word but I don’t think it is always willful disobedience. I think we need to pray for Christian parent’s eyes to be opened in this area. I just couldn’t see it. It wasn’t until He opened my eyes in His mercy that I was convicted of this, even though I knew the scripture. Hopefully these sort of articles will help to open others’ eyes to this, but ultimately it comes down to the Holy Spirit. God bless
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I agree that in most cases it is not willful, but very few churches would ever encourage their congregations to homeschool.
I think if you listen to the Voddie Baucham sermon you will see why I said this. In God’s providence He reveals things as we are ready for them. You were probably not ready to hear this truth a few years ago, but now you are.
Praise God for the conviction and revelation of His word. Please keep me posted as I’d love to hear about how it goes, and please don’t hesitate to write me personally via email if you are more comfortable with that. By God’s grace we are growing in a desire for more and more obedience to His word. My personal email is listed in the “About” link.