All Australian Christian men have much to do. It is time for you to prayerfully determine the path your family will take. It is not up to the government or mum to decide on the how the children are to be educated. Remember the story of King David's son Adonijah.  1 Kings 1:5-6 states: "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)." This coup was short lived. But notice what is said in verse 6: "And his father had not rebuked him at any time." Notice that Adonijah had no moral compass, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and rebelled against his father. Why? Because his father failed to rebuke him and train him in righteousness. God has ordained teachers for our children; their parents and in particular the father. The Scriptures knows no School or Sunday School Teacher for the training of the mind and lifestyles of our children. Parents are to diligently and faithfully fulfilling this role. Yes, it seems easier in the short term to send the kids to school. Mum will have a free day. All the housework will be done with time for a latte and some sort of ministry activity in the afternoon. This is short term thinking, with disastrous long term effects. The Scriptural view is long term. Train your children now, when you rise up and while you walk by the way and in the over time they will generally not deviate from what you have taught them.

Listen to what God said of Abraham ( Gen 18:19); "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." It was Abraham's responsibility to instruct his children. Paul states in Ephesians 6:4; "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Of course the man's helper, his wife is to assist with this; "My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother" ( Prov. 1:8). Again, Proverbs 6:20 "My son, keep your father's command, and do not forsake the law of your mother." And at the climactic time before the Israelites enter the promise land Moses gives them the Shema of Israel and then immediately exhorts them in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says; "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

This mandate, for parents to teach their children is perpetual. Hear this from Psalm 78:5-6; "For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children " And Joel 1:3; "Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Philip Lancaster comments that; "[t]he teaching role of parents is central to the fulfilment of God's plan to create a people who are fully devoted to Hm."

Fathers, our objective in teaching our children is not simply to fill their minds with knowledge, for that will puff up ( 1 Cor. 8:1). The goal of educating our children is to reach their hearts. Our desire is to instil in them that only in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" ( Col. 2:3). You cannot account for maths, or science, or logic outside of the Biblical world and life philosophy. This does not mean we have a low view of academics. Rather we view academics in light of the Scriptures. Our faith establishes the basis for academics. Fathers we are to train our children to fear the Lord (Ps. 34:11, Ps. 1:7; 9:10) for it is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Remember that all teaching is moral teaching, even maths teachers of the order and logic of God's creation. Educating your children must extend to walking with them in the way and teaching them how to love God with all that they have. Fathers, we must want to have "Christ formed" in our Children ( Gal. 4:19). 

Fathers, according to Psalm 127:4, we must shape our children to be like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior. I am training my children to be shot out from under my care when they are married and can establish homes for themsleves, not before then. Note; arrows are weapons. They are designed to hurt the enemy, rather than hang on the mantle piece. An arrow is designed to penetrate the very flesh of the enemy with the warrior's intent to destroy the opposition. We must train our children to be sharpened arrows ready to be used in the war against the devil. 

Take courage fathers. Know that the Lord is good. Take responsibility for training your children and believe "the promises of God are for you and your children" ( Acts 2:39). God is after multi-generational faithfulness, which is accomplished through day by day obedience. The Lord seeks godly offspring ( Mal. 2:13). He is seeking Godly families to be obedient to His Word. And so He will bless to the 1000th generation.

I must make note here that in Old Testament Israel the Priests and Levites did teach the children. They taught "the men and women and those who could understand" in the context of the entire group ( Neh. 8:3-9).

Before I finish, there are three questions that most people ask of homeschoolers. As a homeschool dad I get these often:

Is it legal to homeschool?

Who oversees your curriculum? 

What about your children's socialization?

As Dr. Baucham exclaims..."these are the questions of sheep, slaves not free men!" These exact questions are asked because those asking have been discipled by the same teacher. Is it legal is rooted in the Marxist assumption that children are awards of the government and we are caretakers on behalf of the state. That question is asked because we have been discipled by the system, and it owns us. So the first question we are asked is "how can you educate your own children? Why?" Because the system wants you to be a slave. I am a free man. My children are not awards of the state, they are my responsibility...the government has no jurisdiction over my children. Everyone asks that exact same question because; "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher" ( Luke 6:40). All who have gone through our education system have had pounded through their heads that the state is the educator, dad and mum must ask permission. We must not live as sheep but free men. 

The other question stems from the same root, who gives or approves your curriculum? Who tests you and your children to see whether you are keeping up with your duties? Again, this is the slave mentality. Really the question is how is the state exercising its jurisdiction over the child that you and the government share?

The socialization question again roots in the same thing. We are thinking like sheep and not free men. Socialization, are you for real! Like I want a group of 6 year olds socialising or discipling my son. I think not. Are you kidding? Tell me when was the last time you were in a room with 25 people of the same age? School! It never ever happens thereafter. Thus it is false socialization to place our children with only their peers. That type of socialization produces skills that were never needed to be acquired in the first place. Take a look around at the social skills of most modern Australian youths.

Don't be discouraged by questions like these. They are fruits of an underlying problem. As Christians we have been trained to live like slaves instead of free men.

Fathers, I exhort you to take your God ordained responsibility to lead your household. Train your boys to be strong, courageous, chivalrous men of honour. Men who are willing to lead their families faithfully before the Lord. Teach your daughters to be strong, submissive, virtuous women of honour. Women who will not buy the lie that they can have it all, a career and family. Instil in your boys a vision of fatherhood and in your daughters a vision for motherhood. Train your boys to be men, not effeminate. Train your daughters to be women, not men with the biological capability to have children. 

For our land to experience true Biblical revival we don't simply need the homeschooling movement to increase and succeed. In Malachi 4:4-6 and Luke 1:16-17 we are told that two things need to occur for real revival:

God's people repent and then trust and obey the entire Law of God.

Fathers turn their hearts to their children and the children turn theirs to theirs fathers

May God bless our land with true revival. Fathers, turn your hearts towards your sons and daughters. Show your love for God in spending time with your children. Make wise educational decisions for the souls that you are responsible for.