tion.” You can almost hear the hiss of the snake in his words
as he claims education to be the answer to all of society’s
problems. Better education will ease racial tension, reduce
poverty, and help everyone achieve the American Dream.
This is what we are being told each and every day.
In fact, we were recently told that the way to defeat ISIS
is to provide these people with a good education so they
can have good jobs. The Tree of Education will perfect all
of mankind. If everyone could have free access to the fruit
from this tree, utopia would be here in a heartbeat.
Those of us involved in Christian education must be care-
ful of this deceitful temptation by Satan. He would love to
get us to believe the lie and reach for this forbidden fruit.
We can begin thinking that a Christian education is what
will change our students’ hearts and eventually change the
culture. The better “education” we can offer in our Chris-
tian schools is the answer to the current condition we find
ourselves in.
I can remember reading Philip May’s book, Which Way
to Educate, over 20 years ago. Listen to what May says about
what education cannot do. “Education is not the source of
man’s salvation… For education cannot prevent man from
breaking the law of God and of his own nature. It cannot
force its pupils to choose the right course and reject the
wrong one at every stage.” The ignorance that once students
are more knowledgeable they will behave more responsibly
is just not true.
Another writer who influenced me years ago was Dr. Roy
Zuck. He wrote the following. “Christian education demands
the Word of God and born-again instructors, but even these
do not guarantee that Christian teaching will be spiritually
effective. The Holy Spirit working through the Word of God
is the spiritual dynamic for Christian living. If the Holy Spirit
is not at work through the teacher and the written Word of
God, then Christian education remains virtually ineffective
and is little different from secular teaching.”
The bottom line is this: Education cannot perfect one
single person. Only the Holy Spirit can transform a life
through the gospel of Christ. Yes, it is important that we
provide our children with a biblical worldview education.
This is necessary because they need to be taught truth. Truth
is what will set them free from being taken captive by false
ideas (Colossians 2:8).
However, we must teach in the power of God’s Spirit so
that we can present each of our students more mature in
Christ through all of our teaching (Colossians 1:28-29).
While we strive to be and do our best for God’s glory, let’s
be careful not to reach for that forbidden fruit. Even the
best Bible-based, Christ-centered education cannot perfect
a person, much less society. We are to be obedient to God’s
plan for educating future generations and leave the results
up to Him.
Dr. Glen Schultz has given the past 47 years of his life to educat-
ing future generations according to God’s plan. After five years
in public education, he entered the field of Christian education,
where he has been a teacher, coach, principal, and superinten-
dent. Dr. Schultz just completed nine years as an associate pastor
at Sherwood Baptist Church and Headmaster of Sherwood Chris-
tian Academy. Before this, he directed the Christian school work
at LifeWay Christian Resources for nine years, served as the As-
sociation of Christian Schools International Southeast Regional Director for seven years,
and was Superintendent of Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia for 16
years. Currently, Dr. Schultz is giving his full-time attention to training the next generation
of Christian educators on a biblical philosophy of education as founder and director of
Kingdom Education Ministries. Glen is the author of Kingdom Education: God’s Plan
for Educating Future Generations and several parenting booklets. He has been married
to his wife, Sharon, for 46 years and has three children and six grandchildren. He is a
member of the Renewanation Board of Directors.