This article is written by Prof. Barrett Gritters and will be published in the September 1, 2020 issue of the Standard Bearer. Click to read pdf as printed in the September 1, 2020 issue. ________________ Preserving our good Christian schools We can truly say about our good Christian schools, “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad!” (Ps. 126:3). The more I think about what God has given us, I want to say this. Even the heathen, if they would look at our...
As a new school year begins, it is good to meditate on the reason for Christian education. We make sacrifices to support Christian schools, but why? Reformed Education lays out the “why”—God’s covenant of grace with believers and their children. This book also reminds us what Christian instruction looks like: lessons based on scripture and the creeds, and a biblical perspective on culture in every subject. Other topics include the qualifications and calling of the Christian school teacher and the goal of...
Christian Education and the Reformed Baptism Form (10): Instruction with a Goal The instruction of covenant children is the rearing of royal children of King Jesus. In this blog, we have treated several passages of the baptism form that deal directly with Christian education. Now we come to the goal of that education. Wielenga concludes his commentary on the form with a section on the glorious prayer of thanksgiving. The prayer in the form is that our Triune God will govern...
Christian Education and the Reformed Baptism Form (8): Instruction that is Governed The instruction of covenant children is governed by God himself. In the thanksgiving prayer of the form for baptism we pray for the covenant children “that they may be piously and religiously educated.” This rearing was first mentioned in the form at “the end of the doctrinal part, where it was said, ‘parents are in duty bound to instruct their children further herein while they grow up.’ This was...
Christian Education and the Reformed Baptism Form (8): Govern this Child Our covenant children are royal children of King Jesus and as such we ask God to govern them. The prayer at the end of the baptism form explains all of our instruction as flowing out of this governance: “We beseech thee, through the same Son of thy love, that thou wilt be pleased always to govern these baptized children by thy Holy Spirit.” In The Reformed Baptism Form: A Commentary,...
The book entitled The Reformed Baptism Form: A Commentary by Bastiaan Wielenga, is clear that the establishment of Reformed Christian schools is deeply rooted in the Reformed tradition. In the past few blog articles, we have treated this commentary in connection with the third question of the Reformed baptism form. In this installment, we will treat the words “to the utmost of your power.” These are such powerful words—“to the utmost of your power.” When Reformed parents vow at baptism to...
The third question of the Reformed baptism form states that parents are called to “instruct” their children in the “aforesaid doctrine” to “the utmost” of their power. The aforesaid doctrine is comprised of the teachings of the Bible and the Reformed Confessions. This year we celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of the great Reformation. One of the five “solas” of the Reformation was sola scriptura or “Scripture alone.” Glory to God alone (soli Deo Gloria) that at this late date in history...
Friday Deals will run from October through early November. Today's Friday Deal is Reformed Education. Use code RE13 to get 30% off the retail price! Reformed Education The Christian School as Demand of the Covenant by David J. Engelsma Reformed Education is an explanation for the people of God of the fundamentals of Christian day-school education. The book demonstrates that the basis of the Christian school is God's covenant of grace with believers and their children. Treating such vital subjects as the place of...
What is a world view? It is an overall guide for life. However, a world view is particularly interested in our life on earth before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, our view of the creation. Prof. David J. Engelsma picks up on this point when he writes, "By world view, I understand a comprehensive, unified view of the whole of creation and its history, including the creation's origin, meaning, and goal and including my own life, in...
The Christian instruction of covenant children is a duty that is bound upon the Reformed parent. We read this in the third question asked of the parents in the Reformed Baptism Form. We now turn to this second section in the form that speaks of Christian education. In previous posts we have discussed that parents stand in the office of prophet, priest, and king with regard to their children. In this post, we look at the vow that parents take...
Our covenant children are royal children. Once they come to years of discretion we are called to hold before them, “Do you know, my child, that when you were very small something solemn, something holy happened to you? You were baptized in the name of the triune God. You are not a heathen child, but a child of the covenant” (Wielenga, Reformed Baptism Form: A Commentary, 182). All instruction in the home and at school has that at its core: our...
Picture a glorious king seated on a throne in a royal palace with watchful advisors standing at attention and waiting for the bidding of the sovereign. Then in comes the royal children. They need not stand at attention, but they run joyfully into the lap of the king and are received with familial love. We as children of God are also received in God’s favor and love! The children of godly parents are heirs of the kingdom of God. In the...
We are excited to announce another writer who is joining the existing pool of writers for the RFPA blog. Mike Feenstra is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church in Crete, Illinois, and also teaches fifth grade at the Protestant Reformed School in Dyer, Indiana. This is his first blog post. _________________________ The existence of the Protestant Reformed Christian Schools is a testament to the covenant faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. As an educator in these schools, I thank God for godly...
