1999 issue 4 - educational philosophy, goals, and emphasis of the rpcus - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1999 Issue 4 - Educational Philosophy, Goals, And Emphasis of the RPCUS - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The educational function of together

in

covenant with each

the

church is

at

the very heart

of

other through lawful oaths and

its

re son

d'

tre.Explic itly vows (Isa. 19:21

w

Eccl. 5:4,5).

observe all His ordinances within

the context of

the

worship and

covenant life of

the

church.

stated

in

the Lord Jesus Christ's Two vows in particular ate The corttext

of

Christian

parting commission

to

His germane to a discussion

of

the education having been stated, we

apostles is

the

command to educational function of the now tunt to the phiiosophic and

'make disciples

of

all thena- church.

At

the baptism

of

each necessary presuppositions that

tions, baptizing them

in

the name covenant child, the parents vow form the bedrock

for

all "educa-

of

the

Father and the Son and that they will "umeservedly tional" endeavors, properly so-

the

Holy

Spirit, tcaching them

to

dediCate [their]

childto

God, and called. Upon three faith presup-

observe all

that

I commanded promise to set before hiin a positions rests all education,

you

(Matt. 28:19-20). This godly example, that [they] will even education among those who

educational function exists within pray with and for him, that [they] self-consciously deny them.

the

context

of

the worship and will teach him the doctrines

of

Their deilial

is

simply a "suppres-

covenant life of Christ 's church.

our

holy religion, and that [they] sion" of the truth that they must

And,

it

cannot be understood will strive,

by

all the means

of

believe in order

to

make any

apart from that context. God's appointment, to bring him rational propositional statement

Jesus made it clear that God

up in

the nurture andalilnoilition about anything whatsoev.er. They

the Father is seeking a , sit in their Father 's hip

people to worship him

in

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 7 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j I

(supported

by

a rational

spir it arid truth (John

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY, GOALS,

personal creation that

4:23),

to

glorify im and AND

EMPHASIS

OF

THE REFORMED

gives their statements

enjoy him (Rom. 11:37). PRESBYTERIAI I CHURCH validity) as they slap

Worship is

man's re son IN THE UNITED

STATES their Father's face

d etre

his highest good,

i ROBERT LESTER

(denying the existence

of

his

chief

ertd (WCF, a rational personal

Shorter

Catechism Creator).

Question #1; hereafter, SCQ).

Worship here is broader

than

the

formal cultus

of

the iiIstitutional

church.

It

encompasses all of life

(psalm

3 : 2 4 ~ 2 8 )

The Christian

worships God

at

all times, being

and reflecting His image (John

17:21-23), acknowledging His

sovereign lordship (Prov. 3:6), .

being humbled before His will

(John 4:34),

aM

serving His

purposes (Heb. 10:7).

The

Christian's

Hfeof

wor

ship

is

not lived as a solitary

individual {Rom. 12: 12ff.).

The

.

Christian lives as a member

of

Christ 's kingdom

(1

Pet. 2:9), the

house

and family of God (Heb.

2:11),

out of

which there is no

ordinary possibility

of

salvation"

(WCF

25:2).

The

church is

Christ 's body bound together

in

covenant with

God

through

Christ (Eph. 2: 19-22) and bound

of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). The

language of this vow

is

implicitly

educational in character and

properly fulfilled through the

directives given

in

Deuteronomy

6:1-10:

Not only does each parent

dedicate "t/leir" child

to

God, but

also the re >ponsibility for the

education and sanctification

of

that child belongs to the entire

congregation. This. s .expressed

in

a second vow

that

the congre

gation makes before God on

behalf of

the covenant child. "Do

you as a congregation undertake

the.responsibility of assisting the

parents

in

the Chri.stian nurture

of

this child?" These vows are at

the heart

of

the life

of

the

church. The covenant commu

nity e l f ~ i n s i o

u s l y

tllkes up the

commission

of our

Lord to make

disciples and te.

a ;h

them

to

18 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon -June/July, 1999

The firSt presupposition is

creation. "The work

of

creation

is, God's making all

thihgsof

nothihg; by the word

of

his

power,

in

the space

of

six days,

and all very good" (WCF,:SCQ

#9). God; as the creator,

is

the

source of all truth'.

He

is the

creator

Of

all fJctliality. What He

has made has meaning and

purpose. He has interpreted the

uiliverse. Therefore,

if

man is to

know truly, he

must

think ana

logicitlly. He must

t ink

God's

thoughts after

Him.

He must

have God's opinion and interpre

tation of the created universe as

a whole and in its particular

details. Any educational en

deavor that falls short of that

go;U f l i ~ short of edn


2/4

redemption. God's perfect

creation was corrupted by the

sinfulness of Adam (Rom.

8:20).

God sent another Adam" in the

Lord Jesus Christ, the Last

Adam 1 Cor. 15

:45),

to be the

savior of his creation, which

includes individual men (2 Cor.

5:17), corporate man

1

Tim. 2:3-

6), and the universe

as

a whole

(Rom.

8:21,22).

Jesus is the redeemer of his

elect. God having, out of his

mere good pleasure, from all

eternity, elected some to ever

lasting life, did enter into a

covenant of grace,

to

deliver

them out of the estate of sin and

misery, and to bring them into an

estate of salvation by a Re

deemer" (WCF, SCQ #20).

Every area of the individual's

person has been affected by sin,

his mind, will , and body (Tit.

1:15;

Ge.

6;5;

Rom.

3:10-18).

Jesus provides a remedy for the

noetic ravages of sin (Eph.

4:23).

His spirit renews the mind and

quickens

the

will (Phil.

2: 13).

His redemptive provisiOns also

heal the body (Rom. 8: 11; James

5:14-16).

Beyond personal individual

redemption, Jesus is a social and

cultural redeemer. He provides

for the restoration of relation

ships by giving His Word and

Spirit to unilaterally deal with our

sinfulness and the sinfulness of

others (Matt.

5:24; 18:15-20).

He has given his law and Spirit

to the nations (Rev.

22:1-5),

to

heal the nations. His redemptive

masterplan includes nothing less

than all the nations of the earth

being disci pled and taught to

obey, paying homage to the Son,

and receiving His covenantal

blessing (psa. 2). "Blessed is

the nation whose God is the Lord

(Psa.

33: 12).

The redemption Jesus brings

is also cosmic in scope. At the

Fall, the very earth was cursed

(Ge.

3:17-18).

The blessings of

God's universal redemption

include the inanimate as well

as

the animate universe (Joel 2:

15-

25). t

is the world, the cosmos,

that God loves (John 3:16).

He

is the savior of the world

1

John

4:

14).

His redemption covers

the earth as far as the curse if

found. Joy to the world The

earth is the Lord's and the

fullness thereof, and they that

dwell therein" (Psa.

24: 1).

History itself is one of God's

redemptive provisions.

It

was

purchased typologically with the

blood of Noah's sacrifice, and

purchased truly

by

the blood

of

God's sacrifice to guarantee an

arena for the salvation of tlle

universe (Gen. 8:20-22).

God has created. God has

redeemed. The last presupposi

tion undergirding a Christian

philosophy of education is God's

revelation. God has not left man

in the dark. He has revealed

himselfto man in nature (Rom.

1:20). All that

God has

made

declares the glory of the Lord

(psa.

19:1-6).

13ut this general

revelation is not sufficient to

enlighten the sin-cursed mind of

man to a redemptive understand

ing of God. God has

propositionally revealed himself

in

a book, the Bible. In

it

he has

revealed himself and his design

for all he has made.

t

is the

inscripturated complete account

of

Jesus, God's perfect revela

tion to man (Heb.

1:1-3).

Natu

ral

man

could not atta in a saving

knowledge

of

God wi thout this

special revelation from God.

Without a saving knowledge of

God, no true knowledge of

creation would be possible

1 Cor.

2:10-16).

All knowledge,

rightly so called,

is therefore

revelational in character.

God's revelation is self-

authenticating,

not subject to

man 's rational categories, but

held in faith to

be

what

it

claims

to be, God's infallible, inerrant,

Word 1 Tim. 3;16).

God's revelation is sufficient.

It does not reveal everything we

may want to know,

but

certainly

and truly everything

we

need to

know about God (2 Tim.

3:15).

God's

revelation is clear,

capable of being understood

by

even uneducated men (psa.

119:105,130).

Having outlined the presuppo-

sitions for a thoroughly Chr istian

education. we

now look

at

what

the educational endeavors of

the

church should produce.

The first goal of a Christian

education is a Christi an

he

.art

and mind. A Christi an mind is

one that recognizes the epistemic

Lordship of Jesus (Matt. 22:37;

Mark

12:30).

A Christian mind

looks first

to

Christ and

his Bible

as its interpretive

guide to every

area of human experience (2

Cor.

10:5).

The second goal of a Chris

tian education is a

Christian

culture. Properly understood, a

culture is the elltemalization of

the deepest religious values of a

people. Every man possesses a

personal culture that expresses

his values. The way he dresses,

conducts business,

spends his

money, speaks to

and

treats

his

peers, his superiors, and subordi-

nates are all expressions of his

personal culture (Psa.

1:1-3).

A

Christian education must

not

settle for a fragmented collection

of information. The truths

taught

June/July,

1999. THE

COUNSEL of Chalcedon 19


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must impact the lifestyle of the

student

in

its moSt seemingly

insignificant details. Christ's

lordship is all encompassing and

a Christian disciple must observe

whatsoever Christ has com

manded in the minutia of his

everyday dealings (Luke 6: 10).

The third goal of a Christian

education is an extension of the

first two, a personal stake in

God

's redemptive plan (Psa.

78 :1ff.). A Christian education

is

not

messianic in character.

Christian education is his com

mand, his tool, his means, and

totally inconsequential without

His

bleSSing (psa. 127:1). The

Lord delivered to man a creation

mandate to be God's vice-regent,

ruling and subduing the created

universe in his name, filling it and

making it fruitful (Gen. 1:26-28).

A truly educated disciple like

wise endeavors to spend his life

and influence having dominion

over his small stewardship

of

creation.

Jesus restates this creation

mandate intedemptive terms

with the Great Commission

(Matt. 28:19,20). Thetruly

educated disciple takes up his

part in

the discipling

of

the

nations. Faithfully suppor1ing the

worship and work of the church

and discharging his parental

responsibility to teach his chil

dren the true religion, having

them haptized and catechized.

n this way, the truiy educated

disciple takeS his effectual place

in

the flow of redemptive history.

He has played a small but vital

role

in the

fulfillment

of

God's

redemptive plan, transmitting

from previous generations to the

next a Christian heritage. fIe has

established and preserved his

name and the name of his God

(Gen. 12:2; Provo 22:

;

Deut.

12:5). He thus secures his stake

in the future.

Moving from the presupposi

tions and goals of Christian

education, e look now at

several of the particular empha

ses among RPCUS churches

with regard to the education

of

children. Unequivocally the most

significant emphasis is the

recognition of the role of the

family in educational endeavors.

The principle responsibility for

the education of children rests

upon the family. Children have

been given to parents as a

sacred trust. Neither church nor

state can truly stand

en

loco

parentis (in the place

of

the

parent).

As

an educational

resource for the parent, the

church may not usurp parental

responsibilities nor allow parents

to abdicate their educational

responsibilities. Therefore the

church and home milst he self- .

conscious partuers. The church

maintains an open line of com

munication' keeping the parents

informed of the progress of their

child with all diligence. Parents

keep close watch on the educa

tion offered hy the church. Both

church and home stroke together

toward a common goal.

Along the same line, the civil

govermnent's involvement in

education needs to he addressed.

The scriptures make no provision

for the civil govermnent to be

involved in health, education or

welfare. These are usurpations

of the responsibilities of the

family and church. Granted,

these usurpations are principally

the result

of

the church's failure

to fulfill its responsibility. None

theless, Christian families that

look to the secular state to

provide a religiously neutral

20 -

THECOUNSEL ofChalcedon

- June/July, 1999

education for their children

commit a grievous error. Among

the elements in Jesus' summary

of the first table of the l.aw was

to love God with our entire mind.

To

entertain any fact n e p e n ~

dent of the God who created it is

immoral, a violation ofGod's

Law. To foster in our children

any way of thinking that places

them at odds with God's re

vealed truth is to have their

minds raped. Such willful neglect

of

the vows made to God and the

covenant community warrants .

the corrective action of the

church.

A second educational empha

sis for the RPCUS is a develop

mental awareness. A complete

education must embrace the

whole

of

the child's humanity.

God created man, as exemplified

by the child Jesus, as an intellec

tual, physical, spiritual, and social

being that develops towards

maturity over time (Luke 2:40).

A full orbed Christian education

must make plans for the instruc

tional exercise

of

each

of

these

aspects of a child's humanity.

The mind must be stimulated

towards maturity from sub-skill

brain function to the highest

levels ofanalytic thought.

Programs should be developed

and implemented that address

the neurological development

of

the brain's capacity to perceive

and process information in an

efficient manner. Poslmodem

culture, with its steady diet of

video, instant

everything,

better education through chem

iStry, rubber standards

of

behavior, self centered happi

ness,

self-esteem, nutrition-

ally void food, and a plethora of

other manifestations

of

an anti

Christian lifestyle, has released

an

epidemic

of

neurological


4/4

inefficiencies on its young. excites a love of learning and a

These neurological inefficiencies, love of God (Matt. 11 :29).

often labeled as learning dis- The physical body of the

abilities or variant learning student will be considered as

styles, should not be labeled at genuinely important

as

their

all, rather identified and fixed. minds (James 2:16). Good

The

elasticity of the brain

and

nutrition, plenty of rest,

and

its regenerative capacity is a appropriate exercise are encour-

part

of

the redemptive plan of aged and provided

to

support

God to redeem the noetic conse- healthy life-long development

quences of the Fall. Recon- and change. Physical education

structing our parenting skills will teach the child that his body

along Biblical values, rather than is in Christ and not to be

the self-destructive values of our divorced from, nor made less

culture, help redeem the very important than, his spirit. He is

young child at home. Appropri- human, body and soul, the image

ate classroom methodologies that of God (1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Cor.

are sensitive

to

the developmen- 6:19-21; 7:34).

tal capacities

of the child

are

The child is a spiritual being.

part of a thoroughly Christian The emphasis here is upon the

curriculum that bring cognitive heart out of which flow the

redemption to school age chil- issues of his life (prov. 4:23).

dren (1 Cor.

13:11).

The child The moral development will not

should memorize when memoriz- be the behaviorism of the secu-

ing is easy and fun

2

Tim. lar classroom. As Christians we

3:14,15). Newly developed seek more than perfunctory

critical thinking skills

among

obedience, outward conformity

middlers should be thorougbly to rules and procedures. The

exercised

in

the classroom child is a spiritual being that

through an effective use of needs his heart shepherded to

questions (Luke 2:46). Older . Christ. He needs

to

have his

high school students should

be

attention directed

to

his heart to

The child is a social being

(Gen. 2:18). As a bearer of

God's image, the child must

come to understand that his

social life reflects the Trinitarian

God who made him. God is one

God

in three persons, Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit. He has

unity and diversity within him

self. His unity and diversity are

equally ultimate. Neither is

more important tllan the other.

Within God's creation, the child

as

individual and the child as part

of

the

classroom are also

equally ultimate. The group is

not more important than the

child. And, the child is not more

important than the group. The

teacher must keep tilis relation

ship in mind as the class is

taught and as the individual

student learns. The student may

express his individuality, but

never at tlle expense of the

class, and vice versa, The social

relationships of teacher-student

parent-administration are from

first to last, from top to bottom,

regulated by Christ through His

all-embracing Law, the Bible

(Matt.

28:18).

made to add polish to their assess its godward orientation

thoughts by organizing them

and

(Psa. 139:23). Is Christ the In summary, a truly educated

expressing them in clear, gram- object of the heart's desires or man

is one who reflects the

matically correct prose (Eccl. the idol

self'?

A child must be mediatorial offices of Christ as

12: 10). The learning process will taught

to

examine his motives as prophet, priest and king/queen as

be work, but a joyous labor that well

as

correct his behavior, outlined in the following chart.

Office

Prophet

Priest

King/Queen

he C h r i s c i a r i s

O f f i c e s

in C h r i s t :

Relationship

to

God

To Know God

To

Worship

God

To Serve

God

Relationship In Self

RelationShip

to Creation

.

To Understand

Self

Biblically

tro Know

n t ~ ~ r e t All

Facets

of

Life

BIblically

To

Surrender

and Devo e

EntireLife

to

God

To

Dedicate

All ofLife to

God's Glory and

to

In ercede for Men

dD

. lin S lf To Exercise Godly omin-

To Control an ISCIP e e . 0 tl Earth b

b God'

W

d dS Ion

ver Ie

y

y s or an

pmt Serviog

Men

June/July, 1999 THE COUNSEL of

Chalcedon

21

1999 issue 4 - educational philosophy, goals, and emphasis of the rpcus - counsel of chalcedon

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