"No Class"

I had only been preaching about two years when a military family moved to the area and began worshiping with us. They were wonderful people, but we observed that they did not attend Bible classes. After they had visited a couple weeks, she mentioned that they came from a "no class" congregation. That was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. I was picturing a congregation of rough, crude people in it when she explained further that they did not have any Bible classes. I asked the obvious question, "Why not?" I'm still not sure what the answer was, but I can remember thinking, "How can anyone object to studying the Bible?"

Twenty years later, in another congregation, one of the congregation's couples had a little girl, and even though they had always attended Bible classes, they would not let her come until she was two years of age. And her mother was a teacher! Of all people, she certainly knew the value of beginning the learning process at a young age. Their decision was incomprehensible, since there is so much children pick up by the age of two. Finally, the day came when they let her go to class. The youngster was enthralled. After class, she came running out with a paper in her hand, and with great exuberance she called, "Mommy! Mommy! Look!" Most of us never understood the reason for the delay.

Both of these were one-time occurrences, but we are reminded about them every time we run across the adage: "What is the difference between not believing in Bible classes and not attending them?" Hmm. Good question. Why don't some believe in them? It may be they have reasoned, "They are not mentioned in the Scriptures and were invented by a denominational person in the 19th century." Hold on just a minute. The concept of teaching children goes back 3,500 years when Moses commanded Israelite parents to diligently teach their children (Deut. 6:6-9). Christian fathers also have the charge to see to it that their children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). No one would argue that this is the obligation that the Lord gives parents. The Bible school does not seek to replace the task of the home; it only supplements and reinforces the work of parents.

Another objection might be, "They'll just be taught someone's opinion." Are preachers just offering up their opinions? If a preacher is doing what's right, he is preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27); the same goes for a teacher. Both have as their goal to teach the Word of God. The Bible school is simply an additional effort to bring everyone closer to God. We meet together for worship anyway; why not take a little extra time and have a classind develop? Judging from surveys that have been taken recently, we actually need additional information. Even the spiritual education of Christian College students appears to be woefully lacking. The world exerts a tremendous amount of influence on young people. The amount of time the church has to combat the world is small by comparison. Therefore, we should be grateful for every opportunity to learn the Wordand take advantage of it.