Education

M10200

TITLE: Increasing degrees comes with fire and education

INTRODUCTION:

In many years of ministry I have heard some of the most absurd comments about higher education, as well as lesser education. It seems that the higher educated people tend to look down their noses from their high towers at the lower classes of education. I have heard some very foolish remarks aimed at demeaning the Bible Institute movement.

On the other hand I have heard some equally foolish statements from Bible Institute people looking up their note at the well educated about those that have sought higher education.

I would like to address both camps in this study.

I ran across a humorous evaluation of the disciples in the context of Christ having submitted their names for employment in his carpentry shop. The result was that none of them was to be hired due to their character flaws.

The point being that Christ took twelve losers and made eleven of them into world-shaking evangelists and preachers. They went out and turned their civilization upside down. And they only had a three-year education!

Indeed, we see in what the Lord did, a very good example of education being Biblical. He trained them for a specific purpose and turned them loose on the world. They did a fine job, we might add.

We forget that the Lord had the disciples full time and I think that if you do some simple mathematics that you will find hour wise of education with the Lord that the disciples probably had more time in instruction than a Doctor of Theology would.

Someone recently said, "The Lord didn't select the degreed people - the Pharisees, but chose the disciples - the ones without degrees. That is very true, but He then trained them extensively. The Lord also, might we add, chose Luke to record most of the New Testament. He was a doctor.

The Lord also, might we add, chose Paul - a Pharisee to do most of his church planting work in the world, plus write the majority of the rest of the New Testament. We might add the man Moses that was educated in the Pharaoh's court, and it was the most advanced education available in that day. Yet God used him in a mighty way.

The business world uses many tools to accomplish their purpose. They use job descriptions. They fit the man to the job that they want done. If he fits well, he will do well. If he does not have the qualifications, he will spin his wheels and become frustrated.

They use aptitude tests. They see what the person is capable of doing and use this in placing them. So, why do not Christian organizations do the same? Find out what those people are qualified for. Why put a man in a pastorate for 18 months to find out he can't preach, lead, or communicate? Why put a man in as teacher for a year to see if he can teach or not.

All these trials do is cost. The pastor will cause loss to the church and the teacher will cause loss to the student in knowledge not learned.

God has gifted His people. We need to see if those people we place have the proper gifts and qualifications.

The account of the disciples being evaluated was full of fun being poked at the business community for their ways of deciding on new workers. Do we not use resumes and personal interviews? Indeed, do we not weed out people that don't fit our standard? It is only wisdom to test, to know those we place in positions.

I am not sure what the writer was attempting to picture in his feeble attempt at humor.

I would like to just consider some men of Evangelical and Fundamental persuasion and their education. I apologize if there are any errors in this list or omissions in education. I use this list simply to illustrate that God uses differing amounts of education to equip his saints. The point is also to be seen that there are men that God has used that are well educated and others that have little education.

Warren Wiersbe, in "MAKING SENSE OF THE MINISTRY,” mentions that Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, D.L. Moody, and Ironside did not have formal education.

Moody left formal school at seventeen.

William Jennings Bryan/lawyer/Whipple Academy/Illinois College/Chicago Union College of Law.

J. Gresham Machen/John Hopkins/Princeton Univ./Princeton Theo. Sem./Univer of Marburg and Gottenberg/Taught at Princeton and Westminster Theo. Seminaries.

A.J. Gordon/Brown Univ./Newton Theo. Sem.

A.C. Dixon/Wake Forest College/Southern Bap. Sem.

R.A. Torrey/Yale Univ. & Div. School/Univ. of Leipzig & Erlangen.

A.B. Simpson/Knox College.

Adoniram Judson/Valedictorian Brown Univ./Andover Theo. Sem.

Donald Grey Barnhouse/Los Angeles Inst./Univ. of Chicago/ Princeton U./Princeton Theo. Sem./Univ. of Grenoble/Univ. of Pennsylvania/Eastern Theo. Sem./Dallas Theo. Sem./Aiz-en,Provence, France (Th.D.).

Lewis Sperry Chafer/New Lyme Acad./Oberlin College.

A.C. Gaebelein/privately taught.

Will H. Houghton (Pres. Moody Bible Institute)/D.D. Wheaton.

W.B. Riley (founded three schools)/three degrees from John Brown Univ.

Augustus Strong/Yale/Rochester Theo. Sem./Univ. of Berlin.

C.T. Studd (Miss. to China) /Eton College/Cambridge Univ.

G.W. Truett (Past pres. of South. Bap. Conv.) Three doctorates.

The Bible institute movement did not grow out of a disgust with all education. It grew out of a strong desire to educate a mighty army of the Lord's people with the basic tools needed to spread the Gospel. They did not reject education. They rejected the world's education and substituted Biblical education.

They did not reject all secular knowledge! They still realize all knowledge has value. They did not stop going to doctors because their doctor had a doctorate in medicine from a secular university. They did not stop going to lawyers because they had a secular education.

It is foolishness to condemn that which you may not have, or may not understand.

There are many jokes offered about seminaries, yet many of these jokes are more serious than funny. The seminary is often referred to as a cemetery, which is not much funnier really than referring to a Bible Institute as a Mental Institute. Neither alumni will appreciate the implications!

At the year end Bible conference where I taught one of the Chapel speakers mentioned that he had read an interview of one of the well-known Bible teachers of our day. In the interview the man said that it took him four years to get through seminary, but that it had taken forty years to get the seminary out of him.

May I suggest that is foolishness? Had he had no seminary training, I would venture that he would not be in the position that he was in.

It is foolishness to say that you don't need education to go into the ministry. If you are disciplined enough to make yourself read the proper books and do the proper study, yes you can be a self educated minister of the Gospel, yet if you don't follow the proper books, you can get into some serious trouble.

I have known several self educated men and they have ministered very effectively for their Lord. God chose to use them in a specific manner, yet the guidance of a formal education is designed to equip for other specific jobs. Neither is incorrect.

The Bible Institute was designed to put a person on the field with only the basics. There is no thought to that person going into college teaching, or into large church preaching etc.

The Bible College was designed to give more education than the three program so that the person could go into city churches and into other areas that require more education.

The Seminary is designed to train the secular college graduate in the ministry. It assumes that you have all basics in the secular education and the seminary emphasizes the spiritual end of things.

It is apparent from this that a secular college graduate could just as well go for a Bible Institute, Bible College or seminary education. It would depend on what his particular needs were and how God was leading him.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. God is not looking for educational fanatics. And of course God is not interested in knowledge nuts. Of course God is not interested in degree hounds.

Of course God is not interested in college collecting. Of course God is not interested in learning limbo.

It is however foolish to condemn a man of God that is lead of God to acquire a certain education for a certain ministry - even if it includes several schools and several degrees!

I trust that you will not be fool enough to condemn a man in any educational situation. You should realize that it is not the man you condemn, but the God that led him to take the education that he has.

2. INDEED, is not our own personal God all knowing! How can we then condemn seeking knowledge?

3. God does not desire mediocrity; He desires the best. A look at the tabernacle and fittings is proof of His desire for the best.

4. God calls us to complete holiness, not a partial holiness, so why would he call us to a partial preparation?

5. I fear that we have a Fundamentalist mindset that says: Sloppy is super. Get by is great. Mediocrity is magnificent. Ignorant is in. Disorganized is dandy. Uneducated is undeniably out of sight! It's no wonder that some people call us FUNNYMENDALISTS.

6. I am not saying that you need formal education. But, anyone that is to minister the word of God, must be trained either formally or informally. Those with no informal education today, have informally educated themselves. They dug into the Word and books to see how it was done, and we have some great men that preach the Word with great power.

No uneducated man can take the pulpit and be a successful feeder of the flock. There is education, one way or another!

7. "MEN ARE FOUR (An Arabic Apothegm)...a short, pithy saying

"He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not - He is a fool, shun him.

"He who knows not, and knows that he knows not - He is simple. Teach him.

"He who knows, and knows not that he knows - He is asleep, wake him.

"He who knows, and knows that he knows - He is wise, follow him."

This was given to me by one of the men that really seems to have an aversion to education above the Bible Institute level.

8. Might we submit that it is neither knowledge nor education that is wrong, but the lust and desires for it that is unnatural? It is that person that goes after degrees just to satisfy his own desires, and seeks the glory and pride that they can give.

A person that is lead of the Lord to seek a certain education ought not be condemned for doing as the Lord leads.

9. Prov. 1:5a, "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning...." Prov 1 7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Prov 1 22, "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge."

With these three references I would like to rest my case.

God sees value in knowledge and seems to be disgusted with those that are disgusted with knowledge.

Let us not reject knowledge, but let us reject the world's knowledge that contradicts God's knowledge. Let us not reject education, but let us reject the world's education that contradicts the precepts of God. Let us not reject Bible College and seminary training, but reject the intellectualism that it often brings.

Let us reject the world's philosophy.

Let us reject ignorance.

Let us reject foolishness.

Let us reject pride.

Let us reject institutional pride.

Let us reject arrogance.

Let us reject the thought that only we are correct.

Let us accept knowledge.

Let us accept what God leads others to gain.

Let us accept that which assists in proclaiming the Gospel.

Let us accept training.

Let us accept one another!