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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is education nessecary? | Jer 9:23 | The Cow | 186763 | ||
Maybe I should have rephrased it differently. Does a formal education hold value in God's eyes in terms for everyone that's saved? I completely agree with you about how he uses education to convey his Word, but is it actually needed to serve effectively? I understand that if you want to serve God through a certain skill like engineering, you need an education in engineering. But suppose someone has no skill, only a deep love for Christ. Is any kind of education required of him to serve his Lord? | ||||||
2 | Is education nessecary? | Jer 9:23 | DocTrinsograce | 186770 | ||
Dear TC, Wow, I hardly know where to start. Our uniquely postmodern world-view is what causes people to ask this kind of question, when in other times the value of education was such that it wouldn't have entered into our minds. The Roman Church, when it should have been about the business of teaching the people, allowed them to languish in ignorance, in order to maintain its power. The great struggle of the Reformers was to build sufficient education in the people to allow them to begin to understand, and study -- note the word -- the Word of God itself. America's founding fathers emphasized the importance of education for this purpose, plus the firm belief that an ignorant people cannot long remain a free people -- a notion that was clearly understood by the ancient Greeks. All truth is rooted ultimately in God. He created us with the ability to learn. He took great pains to provide us with text that must be studied in order to understand. He provided the Holy Spirit to "bring to remembrance" what we learn. Whole books of the Bible (e.g., Proverbs and Colossians) are predominantly about learning. There all kinds of practical reasons for an education if you are to minister in the Kingdom. Your objective in any kind of ministry is building the Kingdom of God. Preaching and teaching are coequal in the Scripture. An educated person can communicate with a broader set of people, than an ignorant person can do. An educated person will have far more opportunities of venues in which to minister. Most churches recognize this, seeking out ordained ministers who have at least a minimal seminary degree. One of the documents of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church states the importance of education in ministry in this fashion: "It is highly reproachful to religion and dangerous to the church to entrust the preaching of the gospel to weak and ignorant men." See the trouble we are in today, because of a deemphasis of education. Young man, a formal education is merely a way to make learning optimal, maximizing our effort and time. With proper training we understand the limits of our own understanding. We will be able to understand what God has taught men of long ago. If you are in a position to choose, then choose an education. Learn the discipline of study -- both academic and personal. In Him, Doc |
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3 | Is education nessecary? | Jer 9:23 | The Cow | 186803 | ||
Thanks for all the greetings. The way i see this...delima is like this: It's clear we were not meant to live ignorantly through scripture. There are various proverbs that praise the attribute of scholars and it is of high value. But God uses uneducated people all the time in some cases more so then educated ones. I don't mean the this justifies any kind of laziness towards learning...but its evidently not required for us to serve the Kingdom. And while, like you said, generations that date back to the ancient Greeks held education in high value, it's constantly evolved and changed. Theres no absolution to it.....what I learn today is useless tomorrow. Even the second to wisest man that ever lived called it "Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless!" Only the kind of education that the individual can benefit Christ with is profitable. And while God can use anything, there are people without any sort of peticular talent in this world, I am one of them. But even if you educate yourself in this talent that God has graced you with, is all the "general" education needed also? All this so God can use you to your highest potential? Your highest potential is when your trust completely in God. That is what puts you in the position to serve. 1 Corinthians says this in verses 26-29: 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him.-Faith makes us a servant of God, not education, training, discipline- all those are part of faith. But not formal/secular education,training discipline. I'm often told that what I said above is dangerous, that even God himself is going to strike me with lightning. heh. I'm ignorant and the only reason I post this is for either correction or encouragement from wise, God fearing people. What brought me to this way of thinking is when I decided I wanted to be a missionary when I was 15. I was desperate to know what was required of a missionary, and I came to this answer: all I need is Christs love and approval and I'll be a useful for Him. |
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4 | Is education nessecary? | Jer 9:23 | DocTrinsograce | 186821 | ||
Dear TC, The fact that God can use us the way we are is more a matter of credit to God in working His will with such inadequate materials. However, no where in Scripture are we told to remain inadequate materials. Missiology is the study of missions. Can you name half a dozen great missionaries? It will be unlikely that you can, without the education. What did God require them to know in order to serve? What did God teach them about preparation to service? You'll never know without study! Read about the lives of David Brainerd, William Carey, Mary Slessor, Hudson Taylor, Lottie Moon, Adoniram Johnson, John Paton, and Jim Elliot. You'll find that every one of them had formal educations -- at least to the extent that such education was possible in their day. They translated the Bible and other teaching materials into their host people's languages. Could that be done without a thorough understanding of the Scriptures, linguistics, etc.? No, don't sit around piously in the hopes that God will do something wonderful with inadequate materials -- that is slothful man's way out. Instead, use His grace to employ the resources at hand so that you can be the best possible material for the Lord, fit for His use, at the appropriate time. If God placed the desire in your heart to be a missionary, He will also place a desire in your heart to use all of the natural means properly and for His glory. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy MIND" (Luke 10:27) STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) In Him, Doc |
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