Making Disciples of Christ

Education is part of Christ's Great Commission to disciple the nations. The Bible tells parents that they have a moral responsibility before God to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). The word discipline means to train, and the word instruct means to teach. Education thus includes both instruction as well as discipline. Therefore as teachers labor to nurture, instruct, and discipline students, their central task is to make disciples of Christ.

For a biblical curriculum to be profitable, it is necessary for the teacher to practice a biblical method of teaching. Both the mind and the will of the student need to be trained and brought into subjection to God's authority. The teacher should pray and work to the end that the student's reasoning will submit to God's authority. The mind needs to be trained to submit to Scripture, and to resist the temptation of leaning on one's own understanding. False ways of thinking need to be rebuked and the mind brought to humility before God. The student must become a fool that he might become wise (1 Cor. 3: 18).

Not only should the student be taught to reason in a consistent, biblical, organized manner, but to exercise proper biblical discipline to reach the goal. By warning against unbelief, rebellion, and the spirit of this age, the teacher seeks to train the student to become a disciple of Christ. Parents should train their children morning, noon, and night, as they instruct them in biblical truth. Training includes regular discipline to help students stay on the right path and learn godly habits. Christian training should be the same at home, at school, at church, and at play. In this way, the student learns that God's Word is to be believed and obeyed consistently, everywhere, and at all times. Otherwise, he will learn to be inconsistent in his behavior before God and man. In short, he will grow to be a hypocrite.