A BIBLICAL LOOK AT HOMESCHOOLING
By Elder
David M. Green
INTRODUCTION
First of all, let me say this I
experienced home school but I also experienced public school. Unlike
most people, I can honestly say I have been there and done that in
regards to both issues of this subject. May the Lord bless us as we
study His word!
1. A
LITTLE BAD IS STILL BAD.
Recently, I have heard some
arguments that the public school system has some good points to it,
in spite of the decay in morals we have seen in the past few years.
The public school system teaches evolution, immorality, homosexuality
(called "alternate lifestyle"), etc.
The Bible
teaches that a "little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." (I
Corinthians 5:6). God does not have varying degrees of bad in His
Word. Bad is bad, and good is good. Period.
2.
HOMESCHOOLING WAS GOD'S ORIGINAL DESIGN
God's original design was for the children to be taught at home.
"Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your
heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that
they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them
your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and
when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou
risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine
house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the
days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your
fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."
(Deuteronomy 11:18-21).
"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." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
A parent
cannot teach the things of God to his children like the Bible says we
are supposed to if they are sent away for several hours a day. It is
supposed to be an all day thing!
3.
GOVERNMENT HAS NO BUSINESS OF EDUCATING CHILDREN
The Bible teaches a very limited role of government in Romans 13:1-7. "Let
every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but
of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that
resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of
the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the
same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do
that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:
for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him
that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for
wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute
also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this
very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute
is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom
honour."
Education
was never intended to be a part of the government. By the fact that
they are public is against God's Word in the first place. That does
not even take into account what they teach. The fact the government
teaches at all is wrong and rebellious.
4.
HOMESCHOOLING BETTER PREPARES CHILDREN FOR THE
WORLD
Like I said at the beginning, I have experienced both home education
and public education. Looking back on it, I wish I had never gone
through the public school system. Some have claimed that by sending
their children into the public school system, they are better prepared
for the "real world." I do not need to know what the "real world" is
like by experiencing the sin of it. Children of God's people who are in
the public school system, most of whom are unsaved do get to see what
the "real world" is like and they enjoy every minute of it. They will
say curse words, smoke cigarettes, try other drugs, date ungodly
people, and other things most parents never know about. I not only
experienced some of these things (to my shame), but I also witnessed
other children doing similar things who went to church with their
parents faithfully every Sunday.
The problem is children
should not be put into the "real world" because they are
children. They are not disciplined enough to say no to peer pressure.
They cannot make correct decisions by themselves. That is why you do
not send them out on their own. That is why they still live under
your roof.
In the public school system, children are
bombarded by errors that are very convincingly taught as fact. They
spend almost seven hours in a classroom per day, five days per week.
This goes on for nine months out of the year. That means they spend
more time learning at the public school system than they spend
learning at home or in church. When the kids come home, there is
homework to do, plus any extra curricular activities that are done on
top of that. And how long is the TV on? What about video games? Very
little time is left for instruction, and the sad fact is, the parent
not only must teach but also "unlearn" the error that is
taught at school.
And evolution is only one part of it. The
public school system curriculum is packed full of wickedness and
evilness. And we are only talking about what they are learning from
their teachers. What of the peers? I can tell you, the kids they play
with on the playground are not good examples to learn from!
On
the other hand, if you home school them, then you are preparing them
for the world. But you are not putting them into it! When a home
schooled person has been properly prepared, that young adult will be
well-prepared:
"Train up a child in the way he
should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
(Proverbs 22:6).
That word "train" is a word
that means in the original "to initiate or discipline."
Homeschooling trains much better than public schooling does. With the
public school, your children are available for you to teach a little
every evening and on the weekend. But you also have to defend the
truth.
With homeschooling, on the other hand, your children
are available to you all the time to train. You discipline them in
the things of God, and prepare them for the world. When I was home
schooled, we learned all about Creation, but we also learned the
evils of evolution. We learned about marriage, but we were also
taught about the evils of sodomy. Etc. Etc.
Think of it this
way. How utterly ridiculous would it be for a king to put untrained
soldiers on the battlefield for their training? Why should the anyone
criticize his decision to keep them sheltered from the enemy? Nay,
but all the time, the soldiers might not be in the enemy's
battlefield, but they are being prepared for battle.
An
untrained soldier in the world is an unfit soldier indeed. Yet, Paul,
when he wrote to the Corinthians said, "When I was a child,
I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (I
Corinthians 13:11)
I graduated from home school prepared for
the world. Sure, I had missed out on some things that the world had
to offer. But so what? I am a better man because of the education I
received. And I'm thankful to the Lord that my Mom realized I needed
it.
5. HOMESCHOOLED
CHILDREN ARE BETTER PREPARED SOCIALLY.
"And
the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the
dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?" (Exodus 4:11).
It is amazing that I even need to address this. But, I have been around
churches the last 10 years preaching in Baptist pulpits and this and
quite a few of God's people are afraid of home school because of social
skills. Well, first off, I do not want my child to learn the social
skills of the world! The world does not speak my language, nor do they
know the first thing about being Christian.
My social skills were not damaged at all by home school. And any of you
who know me will agree with that. In fact, home schooled children are
better prepared socially to be among adults than children who are in
today's public schools. In the home, they are taught proper Biblical
respect. They are taught how to act as adults. How adults expect them
to act. Public schools do not adequately do this.
CONCLUSION.
Homeschooling is not for everyone. Some are not able to do it for
various reasons, and I respect that. However, this is an option that
should be prayerfully considered. If you cannot do it, then look for a
good Christian school. I hope this study has been a blessing to all who
read. May the Lord bless!