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Last week I shared with you some of the lessons that God has taught me since I began teaching middle school history classes for the remainder of the year.  History is very important to God and our relationship with Him.  I shared two important lessons I learned in last week’s blog.  They were:

God is always working in history to fulfill one major purpose.  God wants the whole world to know that He is God!

History is a record of God’s works!

There was a third lesson that I learned in this past week’s history classes.

History reminds us of God’s standards!

As image bearers of God, we are to represent Him in all we do.  However, we live in a world where His standards are no longer known, much less obeyed.  When people forget God’s standards, moral decline is always the result.  Paul told the Corinthian Christians that the history lessons found in the Old Testament are there as examples for how we should live our lives.

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.  For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.  Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.  (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)

In this passage, Paul taught a history lesson to the church in Corinth.  In teaching this lesson, Paul reminded the people that the Israelites forgot one of God’s very important standards — obedience.  They had disobeyed God by not going in to take possession of the Promised Land.  The result of forgetting God’s standard was that a whole generation had to die in the wilderness; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

As we study history, we should try to see if people suffered because they failed to uphold some of God’s standards.  When we do this, we can avoid some serious consequences by not living our lives in line with His standards.

A final lesson I learned about history is this.

History is a record of God’s judgment!

All history is a study of the past and how God dealt with people in relation to how the people worshiped and obeyed Him.  This truth is clearly evident throughout God’s Word.  Consider the following passage of Scripture.

So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.  “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.  And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. Ezekiel 36:19-23

The prophet, Ezekiel, writes that God will judge people according to their ways and deeds.  If people profane His holy name by acting contrary to His precepts, God will always bring judgement on those people.  He does so for the sake of His holy name.  God will never allow His name, which represents His character, to be defiled.  When God brings judgement, He does so in order to sanctify My great name.

As I shared these four reasons why history is important to God, some of the students responded that they knew that God worked in history during the times of the Old and New Testament.  However, did He continue to work in the same way after the Bible was written and is He still doing this today?

This is when I referred back to the Six Essential Truths of a Biblical Worldview that we had covered earlier.  The first truth is that God is eternal in both His person and His nature.  I reminded the students that since God and His character are eternal, He cannot change.  If He worked in certain ways to make Himself known in the history found in the Bible, He must be doing the same today.  If not, He has changed and, therefore, He cannot be eternal.

History becomes very important when it is studied in light of these four lessons.  This is the only way to fully understand history and, therefore, accurately interpret current conditions in the world and/or one’s country.  What is even more fascinating is that God works for the same purpose and in the same ways in our personal histories. 

 

What would happen if our students not only viewed the history of the world from this perspective but also their own history and where they are today?  I believe it would transform lives like we haven’t seen in quite some time.  I pray that you and I will never see history as simply a body of facts about people, places and events.  History is a record of God’s amazing plan for mankind!

As I shared in last week’s post, I am teaching 6-9th grade history at our local Christian school for the remainder of the year.  It has been exciting to be back in the classroom and sharing truth with the students.  If you haven’t read last week’s article, I encourage you to do so.  You can access it HERE.  It is my desire to show the students how to study and interpret history through the lens of a biblical worldview.  I shared the 6 Essential Truths of a Biblical Worldview in all my classes as we began to see how one’s worldview shapes one’s understanding of the past.

After doing this, I wanted to make sure that they understood how important it is for them to study history.  In the process of doing this, God taught me some very valuable lessons.  In fact, how I view history today has changed drastically and I don’t ever want to fall back into the mundane pursuit of knowing names, places, dates and events when studying any area of history.  Here are some of the lessons I have learned this past week when it comes to looking at history through a biblical worldview lens.

Lesson #1

It is important to know that behind all history there is a cosmic battle being waged.  This battle is between good and evil; God and Satan.  I was aware of the fact that there has been a cosmic battle going on throughout all the world ever since the Fall.  However, I never actually applied that reality to my study of history.

Lesson #2

When a person suffers amnesia, he/she suffers the loss of memories, such as facts, information, and experiences.  It is important to understand that when someone forgets the past or history, he/she has difficulty understanding the present.  This is because history helps us interpret the present and it can shape the future.  I realize that we are suffering from historical amnesia in our country today.  Because this is happening, the present doesn’t make sense and the future is being shaped in the vacuum of correct history.

Lesson #3

There are always people who are trying to redefine history.  By doing this, they can then explain the purpose of the present and shape the future to make it what they want it to be.  This is referred to historical revisionism.  This is defined as,

The distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear to have occurred and/or impacted history in a way that is in drastic disagreement with the historical record and/or consensus, and usually meant to advance a socio-political view or agenda.

It was eye-opening to help the students understand that each one of us is guilty of doing this at one time or another.  We have done something wrong and when asked if we did it, we change the actual history and present it from a distorted perspective for the purpose of trying to avoid certain consequences that we deserved because of our wrong actions.

Lesson #4

History is important to God!  That is a very simple statement to make.  But, can I support this from a biblical worldview and if I can, how does that impact my understanding of history?  In my study, I found that the word remember is found in 43 of the 66 books of the Bible.  In fact, this term is mentioned 178 times in the Old Testament alone.  This relates to the importance of history because the only thing one can remember is something that took place in the past (history).  You and I cannot remember something in the future.

In order to help the students understand that history is important to God, I searched the Scripture and discovered some amazing truths.  Let me share two of these truths with you in this post and I will share two more with you next week.

The first thing God showed me was this.

God works in history for one main purpose.  God wants the whole world to know that He is God!

Here are just a few times when this truth is made clear in Scripture.

• When God led Israel through the Red Sea and caused the Egyptian army to follow them, He destroyed the entire army when the Red Sea returned to normal.  In Exodus 14:16-18, we find why God did this.  God states that He did this so that the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.
• David stood before the giant Goliath.  By all human measures there was no way that David could defeat this giant warrior.  However, David was confident that he would be victorious.  Why?  We find the answer in 1 Samuel 17:46.  David said, This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
• We also looked at the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.  Elijah prepared the altar, soaked it with water and then prayed to God to send fire from heaven.  What did Elijah say that caused God to act?  Here is what he prayed.  Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God (1 Kings 18:36-38)
• Another example of this truth is found in Isaiah 45:1-6.  I encourage you to read this passage and see this same truth emphasized.

The next truth we studied about why history is important to God is summed up in this statement.

History is a record of God’s works!

Throughout Scripture I have read that problems always arise when God’s people forgot His works.  That is why we must try to see God’s works any time we study history.  Joshua made this clear when he spoke to Israel after God had brought them through the Jordan River.  His words are found in Joshua 4:20-24.

And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’, then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

Joshua not only taught that a memorial pile of stones was established as a record of the work of God that allowed Israel to cross the Jordan on dry ground.  He also tied this history lesson to an earlier historical record of God’s mighty handiwork that occurred at the Red Sea.  Today we don’t have a pile of rocks like Joshua set up in his day.  However, we have written records of history that should serve this very same purpose. Every record of history should be a memorial stone that reminds us of God’s works.

Over the next couple of weeks, the students will be studying different aspects of history.  Some will study Ancient History.  Another class will be studying South Carolina History.  Yet, another grade level is learning about United States History. Finally, one class will be engaged in World History.  Regardless of the specific course they will be studying, we are going to take every event and look for the following things.

1. Can they see the cosmic battle between good and evil; God and Satan taking place in this event?
2. Is there an effort to cause them to experience historical amnesia by distorting the actual historical record to further an agenda?
3. How did God make Himself known as the true God in this historical event?
4. What works of God are evident in what took place in this given time of history?

This week has been a powerful learning experience for me.  Middle school history classes have taught me some very important lessons that helps me navigate through the difficult times we find ourselves in right now.  I am more convinced than ever before that God is sovereign and in complete control of His entire creation.  I confident that He is working His perfect plan to completion right on schedule.  I pray my students will see history from a totally different perspective as we study the past with these truths in mind.

 

Several years ago I was at an event and heard Josh McDowell describe what has happened in our culture over the years.  He said that in the early days of our country there was a Judeo-Christian culture.  This was marked by the culture actually supporting the beliefs and values of Christianity.  Unfortunately, we drifted into a post-Christian culture.  McDowell explained that this type of culture was one that merely tolerated Christianity.  Then, he said we are now living in an anti-Christian culture.  An anti-Christian culture is marked by society attacking every belief and value of the Christian faith.

This became very evident to me this past week.  There wasn’t a day go by when I didn’t read an article of how Christianity was under full assault by a totally secularized culture.  Let me share a couple of examples of what came across my desk in just the last few days.

Did you know that if you teach your children a view of history from a biblical perspective that you are giving your children a skewed view of history and a sense that the country is experiencing an urgent moral decline?  In fact, if your children are studying history from textbooks written in the context of a biblical worldview they are being taught with overtones of nativism, militarism and racism?

This is what was presented in an article published by the Huffington Post.  The article tried to attach biblical worldview textbooks to a political ideology.  The title and subtitle of the article made this clear.  They read,

These Textbooks In Thousands of K-12 Schools Echo Trump’s Talking Points.

Their religion-centered, anti-Democrat, anti-science, anti-multicultural message mirrors the Christian nationalism seen at the U.S. Capitol riot.

As I read the article, it was apparent that if you try to look at life through a biblical worldview and not a secular one, you are a danger to society and democracy.  Of course, that means that if I teach students from a biblical worldview and use textbooks written from that perspective, I am an even a greater danger to society because I could possibly be influencing the next generation to become, what the article referred to as, Christian nationalists.  The article inferred that teaching from textbooks written from a biblical worldview leads to the anti-science culture, anti-elite, the identification of Christianity with the military culture.

After reading this article, I was bombarded by reports of what happened when Christians stood for biblical truth and opposed the President’s recent executive orders related to transgenderism.  Two professors at Christian universities were banned from a social media site because they disagreed with the President’s policy on transgenders in the military.  The reason given for such a ban was that their posts violated the site’s Community Standards on violence and incitement.

Then came an article about what happened to a lecturer at another Christian university when she stood on biblical truth when it comes to moral values.  This instructor publicly asked the question, what about parents who don’t want a biological male in their biological daughter’s restrooms?  Such a question was reason for students at the university to report this instructor to various “equity” and “diversity” departments at the university.  The article quoted one of the students who made these reports as being upset because it eliminates another professor as one of our allies, because we have been searching for potential allies and professors for the past 10 years.  

These are just a few examples of articles that I came across over a period of a few days.  There is no doubt about it; we are living in Babylon.  We may not be in bondage geographically but we are in spiritual and moral bondage to a secular, pagan culture.  If you publicly take a stand for God, His Word and absolute moral values, you will be attacked.  If you stand against such ideologies as CRT, you may be called a racist, white supremacist, etc.  If you believe that God created man in His image and He did so as either male or female, you are homophobic and/or transphobic.

Living in Babylon means that we are living in a culture where the only public discourse allowed is that which goes along with the religion of secular humanism.  This becomes even a greater problem when you consider how the secular culture has taken over the meaning of words.  Words such as unity, diversity, science, and equity must be defined according to secular thought.  If anyone dares define them in accordance to God’s Word, he/she is anti-science, a bigot, ignorant, offensive, and/or counterfactual.  The goal is to shame that person to such a degree that it will silence him/her.

This is the same strategy that the late, postmodern professor, Dr. Richard Rorty, suggested when he addressed a group of university professors.

Secular professors in the universities ought to arrange things so that students who enter as bigoted, homophobic religious fundamentalists will leave college with views more like our own.  Students are fortunate to find themselves under…people like me, and to have escaped the grip of their frightening, vicious, dangerous parents.  We are going to go right on trying to discredit you [parents] in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable.

This shouldn’t surprise any of us.  In the early 1900s, Italian socialist, Antonio Gramsci, wrote,

Socialism is precisely the religion that must overwhelm Christianity.  Socialism will triumph by first capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches and the media by transforming the consciousness of society.

The question confronting Christians today is not how to get out of Babylon but how does God want us to live while we are here?  Erwin Lutzer in his book, The Church in Babylon, rightly states that there are three options for how Christians can choose to live in a pagan, anti-Christian culture.  They are:

• assimilate with the secular culture
• isolate from the secular culture
• engage the secular culture

The reality is that it is impossible to isolate ourselves from today’s secular culture.  It is all around us and escape is not possible.  This means that Christians will either assimilate into the culture or engage it.  Lutzer explained what happened when Israel was taken captive by the Babylonian king.  Most of the Jews just drifted with the cultural flow, not making waves but living lives that were indistinguishable from the people around them.  

Unfortunately, today’s church seems to be following the example of these Jews.  Lutzer goes on to explain why this is so common when he wrote,

Spiritual assimilation is always the path of least resistance; it is the most natural and cowardly way to life. It allows the culture to exploit our natural tendency to get all the world has to offer with only a nod in the direction of the God we say we love.

God wants us to engage the secular culture in which we find ourselves.  However, it is evident that, by doing this, we will face persecution.  Jeremiah was a prophet who obeyed God and engaged the culture of his day.  When engaging the culture, he started by doing so with God’s people.  Jeremiah poured his heart out to the Israelites.  He spoke only what God told him to say.  What was the result?  Again, Lutzer explains what was Jeremiah’s reward for his faithfulness.

He was rewarded with slander, mockery, and condemnation by false prophets.

Just like today, secular leaders tried to shame Jeremiah into silence.  Of course, we know that Jeremiah didn’t bend under the pressure, and neither can we.  Over the next couple of weeks I want to share with you some things that God has been laying on my heart as to what He wants from His children today as we find ourselves in Babylon.

Last week I shared my concerns about the consequences we are experiencing because we have become a people who has forgotten God.  Since posting the blog, I have been asking myself several questions about what the future might hold if we continue in the downward spiral that will lead us further into moral bankruptcy.

I have been wrestling with several things that may be just around the corner.

1. What will my response be if our religious liberties continue to be taken away?
2. What will I do when speaking truth about God’s moral absolutes will be illegal under the guise of social justice and/or critical race theory?
3. What will happen when the Equality Act passes and Christian organizations are not allowed to discriminate in their hiring practices based on sexual orientation?
4. What will be the results when school choice efforts are done away with?
5. What will Christian schools do if they are denied accreditation due to their stand on biblical lifestyle morality?
6. What consequences will we face if God’s design for the family is attacked with greater intensity by groups, like BLM, whose mission is to destroy the nuclear family?
7. What will I do and how will church leaders react when the government says that church is not essential and it is unlawful to meet for worship services?
8. Are we ready for the persecution that appears to be on the horizon?

These possibilities have been racing through my mind ever since posting last week’s post.  Please know that I am not discouraged even though I am concerned.  In fact, I find myself even more committed to what God has called me to be and do.  I believe that there are two things that every Christian must know in order to face the future with confidence and boldness.  Once we deepen our knowledge of these two things, we must also do three things.  First, let’s look at what we must know in preparing for the future.

#1 — We Must Know God!

I am convinced that all of the problems that we are facing in our homes, churches and communities are because there is a lack of the knowledge of God on the part of God’s people.  God wants to be known and this has and continues to be His motivation in everything He does.  For example:

• God created this world so that He would be known
• Man was created in God’s image so that he can know Him
• God performed miracles throughout the Bible so that the world would know that there is a God
• Redemption brings eternal life which Jesus defined as regaining the ability to know God (John 17:3)

The bottom line is God wants to be known by the people He has created.  God charged Israel through the prophet Hosea with these sins.

If we are going to face the future with courage and conviction we must know these two things—God and Truth!  Next week I want to share with you some things we must do as we move into the future.

Here is a song that I came across this week as I prepared this post.  I hope the words will bring you hope, joy and peace.  You can click here to listen to it live.

It was the summer of 1978.  I was a young administrator at Lynchburg Christian Academy and had the opportunity to attend the International Institute of Christian School Educators in Winona Lake, IN.  It was at this week-long event that I was first introduced to Dr. Paul Kienel.

That year’s Institute was also when three Christian school organizations merged to form the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).  Two men who had significant influences on my life and ministry were Dr. Roy Lowrie, Jr and Dr. Paul Kienel.  These two men were tasked with leading this new organization.

Little did I know that 10 years later I would be sitting in Dr. Kienel’s office at the ACSI headquarters in LaHabra, California interviewing to become the Southeast Regional Director.  For the next seven years I was privileged to serve the Southeast Region under the leadership of Dr. Kienel.

Dr. Kienel was a servant leader in the truest sense of the term.  He had sacrificed so much as he served as the head of the California Association of Christian Schools.  Then, he expanded the scope of that ministry to form the Western Association of Christian Schools before merging it into ACSI.  He and his faithful wife, Annie, worked out of their home in the early years before additional office staff and facilities were possible.

There were four things that were dear to Dr. Kienel and his life reflected his convictions about each of these.  They were his love for the Lord, His conviction about the truth of God’s Word, the necessity for Christian education and his family.  If you ever spent time with him, you would have heard about each of these important aspects of life.

Paul was a very quiet leader who led by example and served others.  He was soft spoken but was a man of deep convictions.  ACSI’s theme verse was Colossians 1:18 and it served as the driving force behind all it did — especially the last part of this verse.

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.  Colossians 1:18 (NKJV)

Dr. Kienel always challenged the leadership team of ACSI to make sure that Christ had the preeminence in every thing we did.  He also drilled a statement into our hearts and minds whenever we met as a team to plan for the future.  I can still hear him challenging us to keep the main thing the main thing!

I can vividly remember how Dr. Kienel challenged Christian educators to filter everything through the lens of Scripture.  He would take something that man had written and explain how there were three ways to interpret a man’s writing.  You could use a man’s writing as a lens to interpret the Bible.  Or you could compare the Bible with a man’s book side by side and pick and choose what you like.  However, the only way to understand what a person had written was to look at it through the Bible.

Since Paul believed so much in the family, it was no coincidence that he treated the ACSI staff as one big family.  In many ways, Dr. Kienel was like a father to me and others who served with him.

I will be forever grateful that he allowed us to bring our spouses to our summer staff meetings.  My wife developed lifelong friendships with the wives of other regional directors during those special summer meetings.

Dr. Kienel modeled Christlikeness to all of us as we worked together as a family to advance God’s kingdom through Christian school education.  He epitomized the teaching of Jesus that is found in several of the gospel accounts.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:42-45  (NKJV)

When I think back over my years of ministry, I find myself indebted to Dr. Kienel for believing in me and investing in me so much.  He was the one person who challenged me to speak and write on a biblical philosophy of education.  I went to him for advice when LifeWay Christian Resources contacted me and asked me to come and head up their Christian school section.

Dr. Kienel encouraged me to take this position because he believed it could impact the Christian school movement in a major way.  It was because of his counsel and my leaving ACSI to go to LifeWay that eventually led to the publishing of Kingdom Education: God’s Plan for Educating Future Generations.  Words cannot express my gratitude for Paul’s faith in me that continues to challenge me each and every day to imitate him just like he imitated Jesus Christ.

Many people didn’t realize that Dr. Kienel was an excellent craftsman when it came to woodworking. In fact, he built many of the cabinets and the conference table in ACSI’s headquarters when it moved to Colorado Springs.  At a recent gathering of former staff members in Branson, MO, Dr. Kienel presented each of us that were there with a beautiful gift.  He had handmade a wood pen holder that is still on my desk today.

When I think of Dr. Paul Kienel, the words of the prophet Samuel come to my mind.  Samuel was being replaced by a king that the people were demanding.  Samuel showed godly humility as he addressed the people he had served for so many years.  He said,

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.  Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.  1 Samuel 12:23-24 (NKJV)

I knew that Dr. Kienel was always praying for me as was the case with everyone that he influenced.  I could follow his advice and direction because I knew that he always taught me the “good and the right way”.  He will be missed for certain.  Only eternity will show how many thousands of lives were impacted for Christ because of his service to his Lord and Savior.  There is no doubt in my mind that he heard the words that all of us should strive to hear when we enter God’s presence.

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’  Matthew 25:23  (NKJV)

Thank you Dr. and Mrs. Kienel for your friendship and faithfulness to God and His Word.  My prayers are with Annie and the family during this time of loss.  May God’s richest blessing be with the family in the days ahead.

It is time for those of us who were influenced by Dr. Kienel to rise to the occasion and strive to impact young hearts and minds through biblically based education.  May his legacy continue until the coming of the Lord.

In the mid-1900s there was a battle taking place among Christians concerning the Bible.  I remember reading Harold Lindsell’s book, The Battle for the Bible, in 1978.  Lindsell’s book addressed the issue that was at the heart of the battle at the time – the inerrancy of Scripture.  Bible scholar, J. Otis Yoder, summed up the importance of inerrancy this way.

Biblical inerrancy means the Bible contains no error. It is without error in faith and fact. If we have the self-disclosure of the holy God, it cannot be mixed with error. Error and truth cannot be contained in the same document which claims to be a self-disclosure of a holy, righteous God. If error is mixed with truth, then that is deception which violates the character of God.

The reason this was so important is that there were those in Christianity who claimed that the Bible was infallible but not necessarily inerrant.  The Bible was believed to be true and without error when it speaks to spiritual matters, but may contain mistakes in other matters such as geology, history, or science.

Lindsell argued that if the Bible was inspired by God it had to be inerrant.  He wrote,

However limited may have been their knowledge, and however much they erred when they were not writing sacred Scripture, the authors of Scripture, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, were preserved from making factual, historical, scientific, or other errors . . . God the Holy Spirit by nature cannot lie or be the author of untruth. If the Scripture is inspired at all it must be infallible.

Over the past couple of decades, I have witnessed another battle over the Bible slowly percolating among many Christians.  This battle is not over inerrancy but over the sufficiency of Scripture.  Sufficiency of Scripture is primarily based on these two passages.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 (KJV)

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Jude 1:3 (KJV)

Piper puts it this way.

In other words, the Scriptures are sufficient in the sense that they are the only (“once for all”) inspired and (therefore) inerrant words of God that we need, in order to know the way of salvation (“make you wise unto salvation”) and the way of obedience (“equipped for every good work”).

When one believes that the Bible is sufficient, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to read anything else to live our lives.  It means that we don’t and can’t find any more special revelation.  Again, John Piper sums it up by writing,

We don’t need any more inspired, inerrant words. In the Bible God has given us, we have the perfect standard for judging all other knowledge.

It is Piper’s last statement that I see at the crux of this battle over the sufficiency of Scripture.  God’s Word is the perfect, final standard for judging all other knowledge.  This means that we must look at all other knowledge through the lens of the inspired, inerrant Word of God.

A subtle shift has taken place in Christianity here in North America that I am very concerned about.  It is very similar to the shift that took place in American education over the years.  This shift was captured in a chart that I included in my book, Kingdom Education.  You will find a portion of that chart below.

In the early days of American education, ultimate truth was found in the Bible.  Any human reasoning that was taught was always in subjection to God’s Word.  Then, a subtle shift started taking place.  The Bible and human reason became equally important in determining truth.  Later, human reasoning became the primary source of finding truth and the Bible was seen as a secondary source.  Today, truth is determined by the individual and his/her experience.  If it isn’t experienced by the individual, then it isn’t true!

This same thing is happening in today’s church.  The Bible, on its own, is no longer being seen as what is needed to understand life and how to live it.  God’s Word is not sufficient; we must look to other sources in order to really understand truth.

Again, I am not proposing that we don’t need to read and study other books.  I am saying that the Bible must be seen as the only perfect standard for judging all other knowledge.  Any other books must always be interpreted through the truth of Scripture.  We should never use man’s wisdom to interpret the Bible.

However, there are growing instances taking place that indicate that the church does not really believe that the Bible is sufficient.  In order to understand the physical universe’s origin, we have to add evolution to the biblical account of creation.  One organization says its mission is to invite the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God’s creation.

There is a growing tendency to turn to such things as Critical Theory and books like, White Fragility, to deal with the sin of prejudice.  However, God’s Word is sufficient to teach us that God has created each and every person as an image bearer of Himself.  One’s gender, color of skin, family, etc. are all an act of a sovereign God, who is not a respecter of persons.

Even in Christian education, the temptation is to take research, or the latest methodology and then add the Bible to it in an effort to justify it.  Instead, we should build our educational philosophy and practice on the truth of God’s Word.  Then, we can evaluate data, best practices and curriculum through the lens of the sufficiency of Scripture.

If I really believe that the Bible is the inspired infallible, inerrant, sufficient Word of God, it, alone, provides me with everything I need to love God and love other people as I live to glorify Him in all I think, say and do.  Again, let me refer what Paul wrote to young Timothy.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 (KJV)

Warren Wiersbe explains this so well when he wrote that the Bible is profitable for what is right (doctrine), what is wrong (reproof), how to get right (correction), and how to stay right (instruction in righteousness).  If I believe this, then I can go to God’s Word and address any and every issue that I might face in this sinful world I live in.

It is not enough to believe that the Bible is inspired and, therefore, inerrant.  We must be convinced that it is sufficient and all we need to equip us for a life of faith and service.  The question for each of us is this.  Is the Bible enough?

I have never lived through a time when evil is more evident than I have seen over the past few years. Society is under attack like never before in my lifetime.  Consider what we are witnessing each and every day in our country.

• Anarchy
• Rebellion
• Political partisanship at an all-time high
• Destruction of private and government property
• Defunding of police
• Threatening, harming and even killing innocent people because of the color of their skin
• Rioting and looting without any accountability and consequence
• Child sexual exploitation as seen in “Cuties”. People are supporting this vileness as being good and moral.
• Religious freedom is eroding each and every day

When I shared this with KEM’s senior associates, Luke Bowers reminded me that this shouldn’t surprise us considering what Paul wrote to young Timothy.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)

We are definitely witnessing these verses becoming a reality.  Because of this increase in evil, Paul challenged Timothy to,

…continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of…which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NKJV)

In times like these, we must follow this same counsel.  We must continue in the things that we have learned from Scripture.  Paul went on to make sure his son in the faith understood the complete sufficiency of God’s Word.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

God’s Word is sufficient as it instructs us as to what is right, what is wrong, how to get right and how to stay right.  Therefore, I continue to be optimistic because I know that God IS at work.  Notice I didn’t say that I believe God is starting to work.  No, God IS at work and He always has been, fulfilling His plan for mankind.

What I am excited about is seeing how God IS at work –- especially in the education of future generations.  Through all of the chaos and confusion I am seeing certain points of light beginning to shine on the horizon.  These include:

• An awakening by many parents of the dangerous things that have happened and are increasingly happening in secular education.
• Parents are more interested in and demanding more school choice be made available to them.
• An increase in the number of parents who have chosen to homeschool their children this year.
• Renewanation launched its virtual school, IlumenEd, with over 100 students. This virtual school is very intentional in making sure all instruction is from a biblical worldview foundation.
• Christian publishers such as BJ Press developing quality, biblically integrated textbooks to support biblical worldview education.
• ACSI is preparing to launch a new model for professional staff development in Christian schools through its Flourishing School Institutes.

God IS AT WORK!  I have been sharing with you in recent blogs how God has been leading Kingdom Education Ministries to be more intentional in equipping the body of Christ to disciple future generations through kingdom education.

I have been so excited about the fresh mission that God has given KEM to TRANSFORM individuals, EMPOWER the home, ENGAGE the church and TRANSFORM schools.  As KEM pushes forward to achieve this mission, I envision seeing future generations equipped to create a kingdom culture in their homes, churches and communities so that life will be viewed through lens of Scripture and, thus, bring glory to God.

This is why I am thrilled to announce an upcoming event for Christians who want to see God raise up a new generation of Christ-followers who will turn their world upside down for Him.  July 7-9, 2021 are the dates for the first Kingdom Education Summit.  This event will be hosted by Word of God Ministries in Shreveport, LA.

I am praying that a group of church and Christian school leaders will gather together around the theme, Teaching the Next Generation to Know God.  It is time for the home, church and school to rethink education from a totally biblical perspective.

If you have ever had the experience of climbing to the summit of a mountain, you were no doubt taken in by the majestic view of God’s creation from this high vantage point.  From a summit, one can see all the pieces that make up the big picture.  This is goal of the Kingdom Education Summit.

Pastors, church leaders, school administrators, board members and individual Christians who want to catch a glimpse of God’s plan for educating future generations will dig into Scripture and address the issue of education biblically.  This will be a time to not only see God’s big picture for education future generations but also the role that individuals, parents, church leaders and educators need to play.

Together, we will dissect the 14 biblical principles of kingdom education to see how these apply to the education that takes place at home, church and school.  The goal of the Summit is to begin to develop strategies that parents, church leaders and educators can embrace to be more intentional in making disciples of all nations.

So, mark your calendars and pray about being part of this historical event.  I will be sharing more details about the Kingdom Education Summit over the next several weeks.  Registration will begin with the start of the new year.  Join me in praying for a reformation to take place as we rethink education from a biblical perspective.

I have been sharing a fresh mission statement that God laid on my heart several weeks ago.  This mission statement provides Kingdom Education Ministries with a focus for what God wants to accomplish through KEM in the future.  The focus of KEM is to:

RESTORE individuals, EMPOWER the home, ENGAGE the church and TRANSFORM the school through Kingdom Education

This week I want to explain what KEM will strive to accomplish with Christian schools.  First, it is important to understand that when I use the term education, I am not equating it with schooling.  Education is a multi-faceted process that primarily takes place in three institutions, the home, church and school.  This process is future-focused as it strives to prepare children and youth for life and eternity.

In today’s culture, the school plays a significant role in the educational process.  Young people will spend more than 14,000 hours in school during their K-12 years.  This greatly exceeds the number of hours that they will spend at church during these same years.  Therefore, there needs to be an intentional, ongoing effort to make sure the schools our children and youth attend are grounded in kingdom education.

What are some of the specific things that KEM wants to do in its effort to TRANSFORM schools?  When one thinks about the word TRANSFORM, a familiar verse in Scripture comes to mind.

And be not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

In the original language, the term TRANSFORM means to “change from one condition to a new form.”  In this verse, it speaks to the need to TRANSFORM one’s mind, the way one thinks.  This is the burden that God has laid on my heart concerning Christian schools.  It is my desire to see a change in how Christian educators think about education.

However, the effort can’t be to change their thinking about education in a lot of different ways.  It must be aimed at “rethinking” education from a biblical perspective.  This is why KEM’s focus is on TRANSFORMING schools through kingdom education.

Why did Paul urge Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds?  It was to prove what God’s will was for their lives.  I believe this must be the motivation KEM has in its effort to TRANSFORM schools.  The primary goal is to see schools develop a strong, biblical philosophy of education that determines all that takes place at a school.  It is my desire to equip the next generation of Christian teachers to be able to answer the question, why schooling?, biblically.  I want to see Christian schools know and fulfill God’s will for their existence.

 

It has been exciting to see how many Christian school leaders and teachers have embraced the phrase kingdom education since the release of my book in 1998.  I often read about a school stating that it is a kingdom education school.  Individuals identify themselves as proponents and leaders of kingdom education.  My fear has always been that kingdom education would merely become a buzz word with little thought to its true meaning.  When someone states a commitment to kingdom education, then others will define the phrase for themselves by what they see the individual or the school, making such a claim, is and does.

True kingdom education is not so much about methodology as it is about a specific philosophy.  The foundation of my book is based on the biblical principles that I have found in Scripture that tell Christians why God wants them to educate their children and youth biblically.

If anyone or any school claims to believe in and support kingdom education, that person or school must live out the biblical principles from which the phrase gets its meaning.  Otherwise they are just stating platitudes with no real substance.

KEM’s efforts to TRANSFORM schools is to guide school leaders to change from merely using the term, kingdom education, to embodying the 14 biblical principles in their schools’ DNA.  As we fleshed out this fresh mission, we explained that we strive to TRANSFORM Christian schools by challenging educators to know, understand and embrace kingdom education (14 biblical principles).

It is KEM’s conviction that when this happens, along with RESTORING individuals, EMPOWERING the home, and ENGAGING the church, we will see future generations equipped to create a kingdom culture that views life through the lens of Scripture and, thus, bring glory to God.  I will soon be sharing an exciting event that we are planning where we will launch this effort to rethink education from a biblical perspective.  

Over the past few weeks I have been sharing with you the fresh vision God has given me for Kingdom Education Ministries.  With each passing day I become more convinced that God is calling KEM to:

RESTORE individuals, EMPOWER the home, ENGAGE the church and TRANSFORM schools through kingdom education.

One of the burdens on my heart is to see pastors and church leaders ENGAGED through kingdom education.  The truth is that the vast majority of pastors have been disengaged when it comes to how God wants His people to educate future generations.  It is time that we must get them ENGAGED.

Webster defines the term engage as to gain; to win and attache; to draw to; to unite.  It is vital that we ENGAGE the church in the battle that is raging for the hearts and the minds of the next generation.  It is my prayer to see pastors drawn to and united in the cause of providing our children and youth with a biblical worldview education.

Unfortunately, I have witnessed parents and educators ignore the church when it comes to Christian education.  The argument has been that since pastors don’t support and promote our Christian school or our efforts to home school, we will just bypass them completely.  We forget that the church is the bride of Christ and it is ordained as God’s institution to take the gospel into a lost and dying world.

When I have encouraged parents and school leaders to try and get pastors ENGAGED in kingdom education, they usually try to “market” their school to the pastors of the area.  Pastors are asked to support a certain school or allow information about a school to be given out to church members.

This puts pastors in a very challenging position because there are church members who teach in secular schools and there are those who home school their children.  The pastor feels like he is in between a rock and a hard place.  If he supports one type of schooling, will he automatically offend everyone else who wants him to support another type of schooling.

This is why we carefully worded this fresh mission statement.  It is my desire to ENGAGE the church through kingdom education.  Allow me to remind you that kingdom education only takes place when God reigns as king in the entire educational process of young people.  It is not merely about where a child goes to school.  This is because education takes place in the home, church and school.  God wants to reign in the entire process whether it takes place at home or church or school.

This is why I believe that there are two ways that the church can be ENGAGED.  The first way is to encourage pastors and church leaders to address the issue of education biblically.  Church leaders need to be ENGAGED in studying God’s Word and see what it has to say about educating children.

Passages like Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, Psalm 127, Ephesians 6 need to be studied and applied consistently to the entire educational process of leading our children to the Lord and then discipling them in the Lord.  As I have studied Scripture, God has shown me 14 biblical principles that tell parents, church leaders and teachers how He wants them to educate future generations.  You may click HERE to see these principles.

 

The second way that pastors can be ENGAGED through kingdom education is to help them understand that parents have been given a mandate from God to educate their children in the Lord.  However, most parents are not equipped to fulfill their God-mandated assignment.  The church must step up to the plate and help parents understand that God holds them accountable for how their children are educated. Then the church must partner with parents in equipping them for the task.

I am convinced that the biggest obstacle to ENGAGING the church through kingdom education is the fact that so many pastors have developed a dualistic worldview.  They have divided life up into the secular and sacred compartments; most of the time this has taken place subconsciously.

One evidence of this reality is seen by what church leaders would and would not allow taught in their churches to young people.  Most pastors would not allow such things as evolution or gender dysphoria taught in their children and youth programs. However, they are silent about this being taught in the schools these same young people attend.  We must ENGAGE the church to understand that Christianity is a complete worldview that addresses all of life as a whole.  Nancy Pearcey says it this way.

We have to insist on presenting Christianity as a comprehensive, unified worldview that addresses all of life and reality.  It is not just religious truth but total truth.  Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey

If we are going to be successful in raising future generations to know God and think and act from a biblical worldview, we must ENGAGE the church.  I will be announcing an effort that God has laid on our hearts here at KEM to do exactly this in the very near future.  Stay tuned!

July was a challenging time for me as I took some time off from writing my weekly blog.  It was a month when I spent a great deal of time alone with the Lord and in His Word.  During my quiet time, I began a study of the Old Testament prophets.  Every day I poured over the books of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi.  It is challenging to read about what these men of God were called to do and the persecution that they encountered by being obedient to God’s call on their lives.

As I read through each of the these books, I saw several key themes repeated over and over again.

1. God’s lovingkindness is everlasting.
2. God is patient and long-suffering, not wanting anyone to perish.
3. God constantly pursues His children and warns them repeatedly when judgement is coming.

In the writings of the prophets, I saw many parallels to what we are facing in our country today.  I must admit that as I read through this portion of Scripture, I did so with fear and trembling.  The realization that God is immutable and He will judge His people today if they are unfaithful captivated my thinking throughout the month.

Through all of this, God led me to do three things: reflect, remember and repent.  During times of reflection, my mind went back to the day when God called me out of secular education into Christian education.  Those were some interesting and challenging days.

Reflecting back on those first days in Christian education, I focused on remembering what God did in my life and how He began to guide me into what would eventually become Kingdom Education Ministries.  I must admit, things were very different in Christian schools then than they are now.

There were two characteristics that were commonly found in Christian schools back then.  One was an excitement to be involved in this ministry and an anticipation of what God was going to do in our lives and the lives of our students.  The second characteristic I remember seeing was a spirit of total dependency on God concerning every aspect of the work we had been called into.

Some of the challenges facing us in the early days of the movement included:

• poor facilities
• lack of resources
• no technology
• teacher certification and school accreditation programs weren’t in place
• low wages

Because of these conditions, along with other equally challenging obstacles, we were required to depend daily on God’s presence, provision and power.  There was an every-day awareness that if God didn’t work on our behalf, we would not only fail but, most likely, cease to exist.

One of the first books I read when I went into Christian education was Dr. Roy Zuck’s, Spiritual Power in Your Teaching.  God used that book to remind me that without Him I could do absolutely nothing.  I needed God’s Spirit to guide me when planning a lesson, presenting it to the students and giving the lesson its God-intended meaning.

One of the blessings of being involved in Christian education in those early years was how the entire staff started each day in a time of Bible study and prayer.  Early each morning the staff gathered for devotions.  This time was not one when someone merely shared a passage of Scripture and we prayed and asked God to bless our day.

These were times when we earnestly sought God’s presence.  We knew that we were incapable of fulfilling His calling on our lives if His Spirit didn’t fill us afresh each and every morning.  We didn’t have anything to rely on other than Him.

As I reflected on and remembered these things, God also reminded me of a warning He gave to the Israelites as they were preparing to go in and possess the Promised Land.

So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (NKJV)

As I meditated on these verses, I became burdened for today’s generation of Christian educators.  There is no doubt in my mind that they love the Lord and believe that God has called them into Christian education.  However, I am fearful that they work in modern facilities that they did not build and classrooms that are full of all good things.  They have resources that are from wells they did not dig and they harvest grapes and olives off of plants that they did not plant.

With all that God has given to Christian educators today, have we forgotten Him?  I don’t mean that we don’t think about God but have we lost that sense of dependency that was the driving force in Christian schools back in the early 1970s?  Have we taken for granted all of the blessings that are ours today as we begin the start of a new school year?  Will staffs meet with God every morning and seek Him with all their hearts and souls?  Or are we dependent on our facilities, programs, technology, advanced degrees, certification, accreditation etc. to get us through each day?  Will we enter each day with the realization that without abiding fully in Christ we can and will accomplish absolutely nothing?

Through this season of reflecting and remembering, God has called me to repent.  I have had to turn from my self-sufficiency and confess that I have not depended fully on God to lead me each and every day.

When I see all that is going on in the world today, I am burdened for God’s people to return to Him.  The book of Amos had a particular impact on me as I recently studied it.  In chapter 4, God rehearses the things that He did to wake up His people.  He brought famine, drought, pestilence, fire and the sword to shake His people out of the spiritual lethargy.  However, I found these sad words repeated again and again.

Yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord.

Then, in chapter 5, God makes three statements that I believe are applicable to each of us today.

Seek Me and live (verse 4)

Seek the Lord and live (verse 5)

Seek good and not evil that you may live (verse 14)

Over the past four to five months what have we have sought the most?  Have we sought a cure for COVID?  Have we sought how to do virtual school better?  Have we sought the answer to rioting, murder and destruction?  Have we sought a political answer to the chaos?  How often have we sought God with all of our hearts, souls and minds?

As a new school year is fast approaching, will we seek the Lord so that we will live.  I want to encourage you to take some time, get alone with God and  reflect and remember.  When you do, you may find that, like me, you will need to repent.

Note to Christian School Educators:

I put together a short form to help Christian educators evaluate whom or what they have sought and will seek as a new school year begins. To access this form, simply click HERE.  I hope you will find this helpful.