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What you are about to read won’t be popular in liberal circles: Secular accreditation has become nothing more than educational idolatry (Ex. 20:3). Today this intimidation is so polarizing, even Christians are afraid to attend a fundamentally sound Bible school the government hasn’t endorsed.[1] Please consider this question my friend: Is “Caesar’s” sanction the criteria necessary for God to tell us well done thou good and faithful servant Matt. 25:21), or is there something else?
Accreditation was an issue in Christ’s day, and His ministry was never fully legitimized because He refused to submit Himself to those in charge of granting it: When (Christ) was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority (Matthew 21:23)?What these self proclaimed authorities were saying is this: “Look here Jesus. Since you didn’t receive your training from a school we endorse, your education and your credentials are worthless.”
Oh, my dear friend. How much that is like today.
America: Foundation of Faith
America began as a Christian nation. [2] The Founders held faith in Christ foremost in their thinking, which motivated them to establish colleges to train pastors and missionaries to evangelize the Atlantic Seaboard. The Puritans first founded Harvard through a congressional act in 1638, followed by Yale (1701), Princeton (1746, Dartmouth (1754), and many others. Their only means of “accreditation” until the 1960s, was found in the mandate of the Great Commission (Matt: 28:19-20), evidenced by Harvard’s 1646 “Rules and Precepts” enrollment requirement: “Every one shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.”
So what happened to this vast lineup of Spirit sensitive institutions? Little by little they fell prey to the cancer of compromise and allowed liberals to attend, teach, and rule over them. And how have Christians responded to this ungodly movement? They pay the tuitions, attend the schools, drink the kool aid, and graduate with degrees [3] equipping them to devote their lives to attacking the Christian values their alma maters were all founded upon.
So, with both Scripture and history warning us about overarching secularism, you would think we would learn, right? Wrong! Many students continue swallowing their baloney: namely, that if a school isn’t recognized by one of the half dozen regional government stamping plants, the training, by default, is worthless.
No one is arguing that standards of excellence aren’t needed. You and I know they are, especially where the Bible and ministry for Christ is concerned.
Therefore, in response to this, Christians have established their own “policing” agencies for Bible school accreditation. And while secularists should applaud such a move, they are instead angry with these organizations for not allowing them and their ilk to determine the legitimacy of the Bible school education they are providing.
God or Government?
Well done good and faithful servant comes down to one choice: [4] Caesar, or Christ. On one side, you have secularists sanctioned by government that will make you feel illegitimate unless you have one of their Bible school degrees. On the other side, you have God, and the calling, unction, and blessing of the Holy Spirit, who needs no government recognition and will open doors of ministry for you through faith and obedience with or without a degree. If God leads you to a secularly accredited institution, that’s one thing. But to attend a Caesar-sanctioned Bible college because you fear man will reject you or condemn you, is wrong—or worse--idolatrous.
Let’s quit looking to the government for our endorsement, and let’s get back to looking to God.
Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. (Psalm 112:1).
[1] This paper is not a carte blanche condemnation of every accredited school. There are always exceptions.
[2] For a fuller discussion, please order my tract: The Founding of America.
[3] Do you have any idea how many ACLU members are alumni of these schools?
[4] The main thrust of this paper is against secularists determining the legitimacy of Christian education
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