Why do so many Christian parents claim that public school is neutral when Scripture teaches that all instruction is discipleship? The myth that government education can be separated from the fear of the Lord has shaped the modern church more than the Bible has. The question is simple. Who is forming your children?
The Claim
Scripture commands parents to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. God did not hand this task to the state. He gave it to fathers and mothers. Public school is clearly not a neutral environment. It is an institution built on unbelief that teaches children to interpret the world without God, without His law, and without His truth.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” - Ephesians 6:4
To give your child to a system that rejects Christ is to place them under a rival teacher. Discipleship shapes affections, loyalties, habits, and identity. Scripture gives no category for handing children to those who despise wisdom.
“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.” - Deuteronomy 6:6–7
Obedience requires more than occasional correction or weekend devotionals. It requires daily instruction. Public school replaces this with a curriculum built on the fear of man instead of the fear of God.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” - Proverbs 1:7
Every subject begins with a worldview. When God is excluded, all knowledge is twisted. When parents choose public education, they hand the formation of their children to a worldview that opposes the very foundation of wisdom.
Christian parents must repent of believing that they can delegate the discipleship of their children to unbelievers. The Christian home is a sanctuary. God holds fathers responsible for the teachers they appoint over their sons and daughters.
Semper Reformanda
Objection: “We want them to be a light.”
Response: Children are not missionaries. They are disciples. Scripture never instructs parents to expose their sons and daughters to false teaching in the hope that they might influence unbelievers. Light is cultivated through formation in righteousness, not immersion in darkness.
Objection: “Our school is different.”
Response: If Christ is not Lord over the curriculum, the school is not different. Good teachers cannot undo a system that is designed to disciple children without the fear of God. A kindly environment built on unbelief is still unbelief.
Objection: “We cannot afford alternatives.”
Response: Scripture never treats financial hardship as permission to hand children over to unbelieving instruction. God commands fathers to raise their children in His discipline, and His commands do not shift with circumstance. Hardship calls for dependence, prayer, and sacrifice, not surrender of parental duty.
Truth That Withstands
God gave children to their parents, not the state. Education is discipleship, and discipleship must be rooted in the fear of the Lord. Public school cannot provide what God requires. Christian parents must obey His Word, protect their children, and give their sons and daughters to teachers who honor Christ.
Shortlink: reformlet.com/school