September 25, 2011
Christian Education Sunday
Guest Preacher: Rev. David Naumann
1Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3the signs he performed and things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them. 5It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place, 6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.
65 years ago a man by the name of Oscar Naumann had opportunity to teach the truths of God’s Word to a gathering of believers here in Le Sueur while he served as a professor at Dr. Martin Luther College. He faithfully taught this congregation the truths of God’s Word, but he also faithfully taught those same truths to his son. He in turn taught them to his son. And because of that faithful teaching of God’s Word and works to his family, I stand before you today, a fellow brother in Christ. This is the importance of Christian Education, my dear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is why Moses spoke these words in his time, and why we continue to teach them to our children today. Yes,
We Are Students in God’s Classroom
- God teaches us…
- …so that we can teach our children.
1. As Moses stood on the precipice of the Land of Canaan, he knew that it was the land that the LORD had promised. It was the land that the LORD was about to give to his people, the Children of Israel. Moses speaks to the children who were under age 20 before coming to Canaan the first time. They are now all under 60, some weren’t even alive to see what God had done for them in Egypt. A family of 70 went down, a nation of more than a million came out, and now they stand on the precipice of Canaan again, and the LORD reminds them to love him and follow his commands. That can only happen with the proper motivation, to see God’s love for them first. So Moses, for thirty-four chapters of his last will and testament known as Deuteronomy, implored the Israelites again and again to be fervent in Christian Education.
Who was it that taught the Israelites that the LORD is majestic and mighty? Who is it that taught Israel that their God loved them very much, so much that he would take on the gods of the greatest nation on earth at the time, and Pharaoh himself? Who taught Israel of God’s great love as plague after plague swept across Egypt? And who taught Israel of God’s protecting hand as it swept away the entire nation of Egypt, horse and chariot and all, into the Red Sea? What was it that taught Israel about the holiness of the LORD’s chosen priesthood in the family line of Aaron when Dathan and Abiram wanted to claim that glory for themselves? It was the LORD himself that taught all of these things. The children of Israel were students in God’s classroom, as he showed them by event after great event what a powerful, loving, and just God he is.
God himself taught Israel about the mighty deeds, his strong arm, and his great love for his people as he demonstrated this might and this love by leading them out of slavery from Egypt. He led them to experience the discipline of the LORD. “To see and experience the discipline of the LORD your God”—what does that mean? When we think of discipline we often think of it in a negative connotation. That means we’re in trouble. That means we’ve done something wrong, and now we are getting the punishment we deserve for our actions. We’re in trouble.
Such a negative connotation was not the intent in the original word. Look at the root. What familiar Bible word do you see present there? “Disciple.” The disciples were not always in trouble with Jesus. No, they were his followers, who listened to his words and were taught by him. That is the meaning that is at the heart of this word, discipline. When the Israelites “saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD their God,” they were being taught by him. They were learning from him. It involved correction, but always it resulted in education. The discipline of the LORD is the mighty activity in covenant history by which he revealed himself.
In Deuteronomy 4 Moses speaks of this “teaching” again: “You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose there descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance as it is today” (Deut. 4:35-38). Such discipline from the LORD was not punishment, but teaching. So it is today.
When we receive this discipline of the LORD, it is not because we are in trouble, though that is what we deserve. We have sinned. We deserve to be punished by God. But he does not give us what we deserve. Rather, he teaches us about his loving activity whereby he ultimately accomplished our salvation for us. Yes, he did not give us punishment, but he punished his own Son instead. To learn about this loving activity, to be educated in these works of God, this is “discipline.” And we are disciples in the school of our God.
2. God taught all of these things to that nation of Israel, but their children did not see it. This was Moses’ message to those Israelites as they stood on the border of the Promised Land right before he died. They knew firsthand of God’s great love and his mighty acts. But their children did not.
The entire book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ last will and testament, his final word to the people that he had led for all those years through the desert. And his last words essentially were, “Don’t forget who brought you here. The LORD has taught you all these things thus far. Don’t forget what he has done for you. And teach them to your children, because they will not know unless you tell them.”
God taught the Israelites, and now he wanted them to teach their children. “Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.” He reminded them how their children had not witnessed these events; they had not left a lasting impression on their children the way that firsthand experience had left on them. Imagine being in that classroom. Seeing the waters of the Red Sea stand on end. Fleeing for life and limb as a young child, below the age of 20, running for your life with your family and the entire nation. The entire Egyptian army with its mighty horses and terrifying chariots fast on your heels. And as you walk by with your parents through what was once the vast sea, now dry land, with water on the left and water on the right, you no more than reach the other side and the waters go crashing down upon the might of Egypt, drowning every last warrior and horse. That is a lesson one would not soon forget.
It was a lesson their children would not receive. It was the classroom their children would never be in. And Moses was finishing his race; he would not be around to tell the tales again. “Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God.” This responsibility would fall squarely on the shoulders of those Israelites that day—the parents who would one day have opportunity to share with their children the great things the LORD their God had done. Moses would not be around to teach these things. The job was not his.
Dear friends, so it is with us. Christian Education begins in the home. It is imperative for you to understand that the responsibility for educating your children about the truths of what God has done for you is not the responsibility of your pastor. It is not the responsibility of your Sunday School teachers or your Vacation Bible School teachers. It isn’t the responsibility of your catechism teachers or of anyone else. The responsibility of your child’s Christian education lies with you, the parents. If your son does not know what his Savior has done for him, you are to blame. If your daughter does not know that God accomplished her salvation long before she was born, it is your failings. If your toddler does not know Christ’s tender embrace, you have failed your job.
But for all our misappropriated priorities for our children—the great interest and expense paid for the best athletic training, the best music teachers, the best schools for worldly trades—we are greatly comforted in the wonderful Christian education that we ourselves have received from God. In his classroom we have seen our own failures. They are just as our fathers’ past. And yet the greatest act of God that has been passed to us, and God-willing we have passed on to the next generation, is the gracious and all-forgiving love of our God. Such a love drove him to perform the greatest act of all—self-sacrifice. He bore all our sins in the cross so that we only look to him and be saved. Just as Moses turned the gaze of the snake-venom-infested Israelites to the bronze serpent lifted up, so God the Holy Spirit has turned the gaze of our sin-infested hearts to Jesus Christ who was lifted up in our place. His blood was shed for our misspent moments. His life was given for our misguided lives. That is what has been taught us at God’s school.
And that is the lesson we will continue to teach to the next generation. And it doesn’t matter how old you are or how old your children are. Even if they have families of their own, they are never beyond hearing the wonderful works of God for them from their parents. Christian education begins in the home, on a father’s knee and in a mother’s warm embrace, but Christian education does not end there.
Someone once taught you the truths of God’s wonderful works, his mighty acts on your behalf. You have been a student in God’s classroom. And in an effort to band together with like-minded Christians who share this same classroom of our God, you have called this pastor to work with you in teaching the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD. Thank God for that partnership. Thank God for that opportunity. You have called Christian men and women to serve as Sunday School teachers and childcare providers to assist you in helping your own children to grow in grace. Pray for their work to be a blessing. Assist them in their work, recognizing that they are only here because you have asked them to assist in your work. Christian Education is your responsibility; but you don’t have to do it alone. Bring them to God’s classroom. Share with them the mighty works of our God. So that they can teach their children as well. Amen.
