WHY DON'T YOU HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER IN A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL?

That question comes to me frequently from many different people; some are friends, and some are not so friendly. A few years ago, a very well known preacher accused me of sacrificing my daughter to Moloch by allowing her to attend a public school. Over the years, I have had little to say about this issue in private, and nothing to say about it in public. But I believe the time has come for a public statement, for the benefit of those who are interested.

To this date, I have never seen, or even heard of a "christian school", that is a school where every teacher solidly believes and teaches the doctrines of the gospel: Divine sovereignty, effectual substitution, and efficacious grace. There is no grounds in the New Testament for a local church to become involved in education, neither by precept nor example. Our mission is to preach the gospel. That's all, and that's enough! And most religious schools had their start, and greatest boom, during the turbulent years of racial tension in our country. They were segregational in their inception, not Christian. Most white folks send their children to religious schools, not because they are fine Christians, but because they are white. But the problem goes far deeper than racism, bad as that is.

The basic philosophy of the "Christian school movement" is contrary to the gospel of the grace of God. That philosophy is that children can be educated into the kingdom of God; they can be trained to be Christians; and the problem with our children is their educational environment. But those things simply are not so. The problem with our children is that they are depraved sinners. They need more than a profession of faith; or an education with a religious; not to mention self-righteous, bias. They need a new heart! Salvation, regeneration, and faith in Christ are the free gifts of God's grace, sovereignly bestowed upon sinful people. And the place for a child to learn the gospel is at home on mom's lap, and at the house of worship under the sound of a gospel preacher' s voice.

Another problem is that of isolation. Children isolated in a religious school are much like children at church camp. They are very good, moral, and even religious. They do not have to face the problems of living in this world. But, sooner or later, those barriers of isolation will be broken down. And the child who has grown up in isolation will have to face the shocking reality of life in this world, unequipped to do so. It would be much like turning an adult deer loose in the wild that was raised in a zoo. You know the tragedy that is sure to follow.

Do not fret and worry about your children's school environment. Teach them the gospel, live it before them, and commit