This article is a continuation of a series from “Teaching with Truth” about the purpose and power of Christian education.
As stated in the first article, the foundation and primary purpose of Christian school educators is and has always been to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children in their schools and make disciples. This should not be a surprise to Christians who are reading this article. God has commanded us to make disciples!
We do many important things in Christian schools – academics, the arts, athletics, and other enrichment activities. However, most paramount is making disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christian schools are ministries of the Church. A Christian school may not be affiliated with a specific church, but even if it is not, that school is still a ministry of the Church universal, and therefore, the school’s primary ministry is to make disciples, following the command of Christ.
We see the command of Christ to make disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:
And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
This is the resurrected Jesus Christ commanding His disciples to go into all the world to proclaim the gospel and make disciples. This command Jesus gave His first disciples was obeyed and has been handed down from generation to generation to the disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the centuries. If you are truly a Christian, born again into the family of God as a child of God, then you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and are to obey God’s Word. This is God’s ordained plan to further His Kingdom through His people. As Christians, we are commanded through God’s Word to carry on this “Great Commission” of making disciples.
Therefore, Christian educators, being disciples of Christ and part of the body of Christ, are to make disciples and then “teaching them (these disciples) to observe all things that (Christ has) commanded.” What has Christ commanded? First and foremost, to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord (Matthew 22:37-39) and believe the truth of God’s Word – the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
This is foundational for Christian schools and Christian teachers. Every morning as we start the school day, making disciples and teaching the truth of God’s Word to our students should guide everything we plan to accomplish in the classroom, art center, or athletic arena. Without Christ and the truth of God’s Word, education is void of meaning. Listen to Matthew 16:26:
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In other words, what if a man goes to the best schools in the country, earns a Ph.D. from Harvard, gets a great job and becomes a multi-millionaire? What has he gained if he loses his very soul? The answer is nothing. If he gains all these things, even the whole world, but doesn’t have abundant and eternal life through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and the truth and wisdom from God’s Word – he has gained nothing. But, if he believes in Jesus Christ and is born again into the family of God as a child of God (1 John 3:1), he has everything.
The purpose of life is to glorify God by loving Jesus Christ and obeying His Word. It is the truth and meaning of life and the reason why Christian schools are to make disciples.
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12