FORMAL CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: When I was younger I fell into the trap of thinking a formal Christian education would please God. I was working toward those coveted graduate-level degrees (M.Div, Ph.D) when God spoke frankly to my heart: "If you go through with this ~ and add those letters to your name ~ it will change you." And He did not mean it would change me for the better! When I was just 12 units from graduating, I made the decision to obey God and dropped out of seminary. It was one of the best (and most difficult) decisions I've ever made. This page explains the internal process I followed.
There were many religious men in Jesus' day tenaciously holding to the inerrancy of scripture. Some of them devoted their lives to studying the ancient texts, and teaching them to others through the "church" (i.e. synagogue). How many of these men did Jesus choose for apostles? Not one. I recommend you pay close attention to this aspect of Jesus' ministry. The Scripture that changed the course of my life is Jn 5:38-47. I recommend you let it change yours. Listen to what Jesus said to the religious Jews.
(38) “And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.”
Keep in mind that many of these men had the Law memorized, yet Jesus says, “You do not have His word abiding in you.” He does not stop there.
(39-40) “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.”
The Pharisees believed knowing the Bible was the way to know God. Their approach did not work. Why? It should have. What went wrong? The next four verses tell us. Jesus said,
(41) “I do not receive glory from men; (42) but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. (43) I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. (44) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”
There you have it ~ the name game! What do men do to their names to bring them glory? They add initials, titles, and other credentials (like books, which compounds the effect). This is what drives enrollment in Bible schools and seminaries. “If another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another?” Once I understood what Jesus was getting at, I ran away from the system He’s talking about.
Men receive glory by making others dependent on them. There are many ways to do this, but formal education is one of the most powerful (especially when combined with money and position). Men love to “pat one another on the back,” taking titles like “The Bible Answer Man,” Senior Pastor Ph.D., Chaplain, Reverend, and on it goes. There is a bright light here. Don’t miss it. In the 1st century, the name tags were different, but they accomplished the same thing. Listen to Jesus in Mt 23:2-12:
(2)"The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; (5) But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. (6) They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, (7) and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. (8) But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. (9) Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. (10) Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. (11) But the greatest among you shall be your servant. (12) Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
This is the same problem Jesus is addressing in John 5. “If another shall come in his own name, you will receive him.” What does, “…you will receive him,” mean? In this age, I think it means, “You will buy his books, go to his schools, become his disciple, fawn over him, curry his favor, and ultimately prefer him over the Holy Spirit.” I hope you’re catching my drift. Jesus made four important points about people infected with religious pride:
They are not teachable (40, 43, 47)
They do not love God (42)
They do not understand the Scripture (38-39, 45-47)
They cannot understand Jesus (39, 40, 43, 46-47)
Please keep in mind that learning, loving God, understanding the Scripture and looking for the Messiah was the life-focus of this group! These are precisely the four areas they considered their greatest strengths. Was Jesus impressed? Listen:
(45) "Do not think I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. (46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. (47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Do you still want to go to Bible school and seminary? I hope not, but if you do, please look at the following two passages. They speak loud and clear about the false value of formal religious education.
Mt 11:25, At that time Jesus answered and said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You did hide these things from the wise and intelligent and did reveal them to babes. (26) Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Your sight.”
Acts 4:13, Now as they (the highly educated religious council) observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
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