Merely teaching our students to “be good” is not enough; even a “good” student may in reality be very immoral. Rather, we must teach them to be godly. According to our standard, Scripture, godliness is nothing less than perfection [“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16)]. That is God’s standard, not man’s. Lest we excuse ourselves that it is an impossible standard, we have as our living role model Jesus Christ, who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). The degree of our students’ morality, then, is limited only by their perception of God’s holiness. Therefore, if we want moral students, we must continually emphasize God’s holiness.
In short, this view holds that what one does is an indication of one’s relationship to the Lord and an understanding of who God is. But it also operates fully aware of the true condition of one’s heart. A true Christian is not one who is one outwardly but who is one of the heart. (See Romans 2:28-29.) Godliness, then, is knowing what God knows, viewing things as He views them, thinking as He thinks, and then acting according to His understanding.
In Christian education, the issue is how teachers can educate students such that they accept God’s Word as their own personal standard and act consistently with its principles. The educator must teach, as John Stott wrote, both “micro-ethics” (personal morality) and “macro-ethics” (social responsibility), and both must be based on the principle of godliness.
[Excerpt from Teacher: Teaching and Being Taught, Dennis L. Peterson, 2017, p. 81. Available at http://www.amazon.com.]
Copyright (c) 2017, Dennis L. Peterson