When You Rise Up: A Covenant Approach to Homeschooling

by R.C. Sproul Jr.

When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling

Genres: Education, Parenting, Family, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Theology

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2004

About the author

Robert Craig Sproul, better known as R.C. Sproul, Jr., is a Calvinist Christian minister and theologian and is the son of R.C. Sproul, a noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries.

Reviews

[Adriane Devries · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first began to homeschool our children, it was purely out of selfish goals: we love learning and having fun together all day long; we enjoy the freedom to study what we want, when we want, in whatever clothing we want, and in whatever comfy chairs we want; our kids will likely test well for college prep for reasons such as interest-driven learning and the low teacher-to-student ratio. However, increasingly I am realizing these reasons for homeschooling should not be even on my radar, if I am to call myself a Jesus-follower. If we are to obey Biblical instruction on child-rearing, we should teach our children for no other reason than that the Lord commands it. The rest is bonus. Deuteronomy 6 is one of many passages that make it clear who should teach “these things” to the children; and what are “these things?” The ways of the Lord. Yes, it’s nice if our kids know a metamorphic rock from a sedimentary one. But what if they know every element on the periodic table and don’t know how to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord?” Just as my children are learning each day to follow God, partly through a morning devotion time, but mostly through the conversations we have about life, the universe and everything; I, too, am learning to grow closer to my God by listening to instruction from His word and from the godly counsel of other believers such as R.C Sproul, Jr. Though I don’t agree with everything he espouses in this book (such as his girls-ought-to-sew-dresses-and-bake-bread-mentality…not everyone will have the same giftedness), I think largely he is on the right track in his Biblical focus and in his exhortation to take the “school” out of homeschool and make it more about the life-giving conversations we are having with our children. In a culture that values high scores and college preparedness above all other gods, even among the Christian homeschool subset, the Biblical mandate to homeschool needs more vocal proponents.

[Kelsie Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard pass. Preachy and prescriptive and very legalistic. While Deut 6 does certainly command us to be teaching our children the ways of the Lord with diligence and purpose, it does not command us to homeschool. I am so thankful that we are able to homeschool and that it is such a blessing to our family, but I have many Godly friends who have chosen different methods of education for their children, and feel peace about doing so. This comes down to Christian liberty, and prayerfully considering the best course of action for our individual families. This book was very condescending to that point, doggedly pursuing the same argument over and over and not considering any other views. And call me crazy, but I don't think a successful homeschool must teach girls how to bake bread and sew dresses. While I absolutely agree that men and women have different roles to play in the furthering of the Kingdom, the chapter on educating boys and girls was narrow minded and sexist.

[Mystie Winckler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Own, but not for long. :) It's only about a 90-120 minute read.

His one argument is that Deut. 6 commands parents -- and only parents -- to teach their children from the time they rise up until the time they lay down (thus excluding sending them to school). Therefore, if God has given you children, he has also called -- and commanded -- you to homeschool.

Every counter example against his own argument was a complete straw man. He never seriously engaged with any arguments against his own, and his conviction that God requires homeschooling means that every answer came down to, "We must believe God rather than man," leaving no room for disagreeing that God requires homeschooling.

I didn't actually disagree with so many of his statements as the way he presents them and argues for them. On fundamental principles, I would grant most of his points (except his fundamental principle and interpretation of Deut. 6), but I don't think this book really does homeschooling any favors. It will encourage and strengthen those who already agree with Sproul Jr.'s position, but I can't see it actually evangelizing non-homeschoolers (which he admits is his goal -- with the word 'evangelize').

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I was inspired to read it at a time I was already being led to changing the core of our homeschooling studies. Very serendipitous timing. I didn't agree on all of his points and some of the doctrine, but I whole-heartily agree on the premise of the book. I was already convicted in this covenantal approach to homeschooling, so when he was overcoming arguments at the end I found it redundant. Great book and one I highly recommend.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros of the book:
1. This is a short and easy read. I read it in two sittings (or standings, since I was on a treadmill).
2. Succinctly covers all the standard arguments for homeschooling.

Cons:
1. While there are good arguments for homeschooling, and it is a model to be taken seriously, there is no argument for the claim that all should homeschool (to be fair, I am not entire sure RC makes that specific claim).

2. Deut. 6 proof-text actually backfires: Moses is specifically speaking, not to the individual father, but to the collective people. Now, Deut. 6 does provide a good mode of education--certainly better than the classroom model, but it does not prove homeschooling.

[grllopez ~ with freedom and books · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most encouraging homeschool book I ever read. It really is totally simple. (Homeschooling, that is.)

My review: http://amightyfortresshomeschool.blog...

[Alli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved half of this book. Sproul reminded me that the goal of education is ultimately a relationship with Christ and that academic excellence is a natural product of that relationship when we seek to know God in every subject. Much of what he says, particularly in the first half, was just what I needed at a time when I was struggling with feeling burnt out and uncertain about our homeschool. In many ways this book was life giving and encouraging, and it pointed me straight to the Father and back to the real reason we do this very hard thing.

The problem with the other half of the book is that Mr. Sproul comes across as arrogant and asserts that all Christians who send their children to school- public or private, Christian or non Christian- are neglecting their God ordained parenting responsibilities as they relinquish their children to the state or other educators, and therefore live in disobedience whenever they do so. He cites many verses to support his case but I found them to be a weak support. He is definitely confusing universal truth with God's directives to him personally.

Mr. Sproul also fails to use any other parents as examples of excellence in parenting or homeschooling, using only himself and every so often as if an afterthought, his wife, as the example and bar to which we should aspire. He comes close to ridiculing everyone else. This was nauseating by the end.

He has a terribly idealistic view of parenting as well, and seems to suggest that if we just do it "right" we would never be anything but delighted with our precious children, that all is joy. I think he must not understand that life is simply not all joy, that parenting can be exhausting, homeschooling can be frustrating and full of obstacles, and that it is in those exhausting days of frustrations and obstacles that we learn to depend more fully on Christ rather than on ourselves. His position is naive and unfortunately seems to have spoiled a lot of the rest of what he says for me.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have this bad habit of picking up a book, reading almost to the end, and never finishing it. That's what happened with this book. I started it several years ago now, and finally knocked out the last chapter. Unfortunately my recollections of all the content are a bit fuzzy now, but I'll tell you what I remember.

This book is a call for Christian parents to take seriously their responsibility to teach their children diligently, and an argument for why that can't be done properly when children spend most of their days taught by other people in a school setting. Now, I know that sentence will cause a lot of people to bristle. It causes me to bristle a little bit, and I DO homeschool! But it is an idea that is worth considering if we care about training our children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and this book is a convincing argument for the author's viewpoint.

Personally, I didn't agree with everything he said in this book, and I wish he would have chosen different words here and there (especially when he uses the terms for unbelievers, calling them "lost" and "enemies" interchangeably - they are lost, but I didn't love his calling them "enemy", even though I believe he was referring to Jesus's call to love our enemies and was using it in that sense).

HOWEVER, even though I didn't completely agree with everything in this book, his arguments were really solid and gave me a lot to think about. If you are a Christian homeschooling family (or Christians who are strongly considering homeschooling), I highly recommend picking this one up - even if you aren't as zealous for home education as the author, this book will make you iron out your WHY for homeschooling, and challenge you to think of homeschooling biblically. My own "why" was greatly influenced by this book, and for that reason I definitely recommend it!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of what I read in this book coincided with thoughts I have had on my own as I have studied Scripture and prayed about homeschooling my children.
I am not sure I agree with all of his points. The author believes that everyone should homeschool. I am hesitant to tell anyone something unless Scripture explicitly states it, and nowhere in the Bible does it demand that I homeschool my children.
However, I do believe that we need to study the Bible with our children and have conversations with them about how we live in the world and remain in the vine- rooted and growing up in Him who is our head and foundation- Jesus Christ.
We also need to seek the Lord and be willing to be obedient to whatever He is calling us to do, no matter the cost. Homeschooling has required sacrifices for our family, but I believe that we will never regret sacrificing and submitting to God's call upon our lives, and walking in faith with Him on this journey together.

[Nancy Reads Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book every year before I start homeschool for the year. It is very inspiring in that it takes the "pressure" off to be perfect and do everything. It is about a covenental approach to homeschooling and how God directs our steps. Great book!

[Steve Hemmeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding. Homeschooling. Appears to say homeschooling is the ONLY way, which I'd disagree with, if you have a faithful Christian school...

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Millions of God's people throughout history have served him without being able to read. This does not mean that reading is not important, but that it is not of highest importance.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timely reminder of why I homeschool and renewed focus on the importance of raising Godly boys and girls into Godly men and women. Deut. 6!

[Richard Van den broek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book, very clear and easy to understand. It is a very controversial topic but R.C cuts to the basics in a very thoughtful and helpful way.

[Savannah Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning I thought there were some great arguments to homeschool in this book, many of which my husband and I had already spoken about. As a former homeschooled child that is homeschooling my own children, I did find a lot of the information very repetitive and a tad too black and white. The section on how boys and girls should be homeschooled differently was too simple. While I agree that they are very different and that should come out in schooling, I don't agree with the conclusion that that means girls have to know how to bake bread and sew dresses to be godly women. I also don't see how Deuteronomy 6 means it is better to homeschool than to send your child to a Christian school. Personally I believe there are many benefits to homeschooling your young children and laying a foundation at home, but I think there are great advantages to Christian schools as children grow older. And in general, I think this is largely a matter of Christian liberty up to the discretion of the parent.

All that to say, there were nuggets of good argument in this book that could have been stated in fewer sentences. But some of the conclusions at the end felt largely legalistic and would've probably turned me off to homeschooling if I wasn't already on board.

[Myersandburnsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each summer I try to read a book to encourage me as a homeschool mum. This was a quick read, maybe 2 hours or so.

I loved Jr’s focus on Deuteronomy 6 and his call for parental involvement in the education of their children. I appreciated his focus on the “three G’s” he tried to impart in his own school.

The rest of the book is quaint, overly simplistic, anecdotal and trite. An essay on Deuteronomy 6 would have sufficed.

[Momma Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can not determine what to teach your children by taking away what should not be taught to your children

When you rise up by R C Sproul is a good read, a worthwhile read. A fast read too, I could have one it in one day; the text is not deep and the references plain. No, there is not a lot of ‘new’ material in it; but the topics covered as looked at in detail.

It focuses Biblically mainly on Psalm 78:1 – 8 and on Deu 6: 1 – 9. the emphasis of the book is that God has given parent the responsibility to educate the children He gifts them with and that parents can not continue handing children over the state for education then trying to claim innocents when the children are not educated; or worse when the children are educated but not morally. Not a new idea, but one that people still need to hear: you can not send your children to a worldly indoctrination camp and then be surprised by what comes home. Secondly you can not “undue” 8 + hours a day, 5 day a week in a hour or some over dinner and a couple of hours on Sunday.

"If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education, we need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans." Voddie Baucham

Secondly the book repeatedly debunks the “I am not smart enough to teach physics” as a ‘reason’ parents cite for not home educating. The fallacy of the idea you have to meet worldly standards to educate you child in God is a repeated theme; and the question is repeated ‘what are you trying to teach’ advanced calculus or Godliness. There are tons of ways to find help teaching your children advanced subjects you do not feel comfortable covering, but there are limited ways to raise a moral and Godly child / young adult.

The best thesis of the book, the meatiest food for thought, finally comes on page 79-80. “The Trouble is, even when we succeed in getting rid of all the worldly stuff that offends our sensibilities, even when we get rid of the worldly worldview, we still have not answered the questions “what should teach”. You can not determine what to teach your children by taking away what should not be taught to your children”…Certainly what is left is not morally repugnant. But our goal isn’t simply to have a curriculum that isn’t morally repugnant”.

He advocate not home education in reaction to the schools, thus the schools are still in control, but home educating with our responsibility to God for our children as our guiding light.

A few quotes that struck home with me:

If we can not see God’s Glory in the study of astrophysics then we have no business studying it, or teaching it to our children. (33)

Because all education is inherently ‘moral’ every school will always pass able the moral convictions of the sponsors (37)

…teaching our children is our delight, our joy, our opportunity. When we see spending time with them as a burden; rather than a joy, we further see how encultured we have become [in the world]. (50)

…if it is not enough if our children are merely clean-cut…we want from these children, male and female, is a commitment to be Christian soldiers…we want warriors that understand Satan wants them to think as he does. (100)

Whenever parents teach history they are giving sermons (106)

I think the book is really worth reading for every Christian parent to really challenge their educational choices and really offer some meat for consideration.



Deuteronomy 6
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Psalm 78

1 My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

[Rachel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in less than a day (it's pretty short), and loved it!

The primary focus of this book is on answering three questions: What is the goal of education? Who should teach our children? What should our children be taught?

This book is written for parents, those who do and do not homeschool their children. Sproul takes a very strong position that all parents should homeschool, not merely send their child to a Christian school, and certainly not send their child to a state-run school where Christ's name can't even be mentioned. There is no doubt that many Christians will take offense at his strongly worded arguments, but I would encourage anyone in that boat to keep reading and pray to see the heart of the message; I don't even have children to homeschool, yet I was very encouraged and convicted by this book, because of the overarching theme of the goal of education, which can easily be applied to my life.

"The goal of education, biblically speaking, is the goal of everything."(pg 17) Sproul attests that we are called to live our lives serving the Lord, for His glory. "Education is discipleship." (pg 21)

Our goal for ourselves should be to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5), and this is the same goal we should desire for our children. So the goal of education is to raise and teach our children in such a way that they will love the Lord with all their heart and all their soul and all their strength.

I loved the point that "all education is inherently religious" (pg 15) - this hearkens back to the biblical concept that one cannot serve two masters. Either you teach your children to love God, or you teach your children to hate Him. There is no compromise, no in-between state. "Education cannot be 'neutral'." (pg 16)

Sproul's writing is very easy to understand, and I found his arguments engaging and easy to follow. I especially love that he doesn't approach the subject as an "expert" but, instead, is very humble and quick to admit his own failings. Because of this, I felt the book was quite grace-filled.

I was personally quite convicted of what I value - it is very easy to fall into the trap of valuing what the world values, and just slapping a "Christian" label onto it. This book continually kept bringing me back to acknowledging the fact that Jesus is all I need and my goal should be to live a life in obedience and service to Him. All additional education, be it history, math, reading, etc., all additional activity, whether tennis or washing dishes, is second to my ultimate goal of glorifying God. I can glorify God through these things, but they are not the end goal.

I would recommend this book to parents and non-parents alike. It is convicting, challenging, and encouraging - certainly worth the read!

[Jeremy Zilkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When You Rise Up" is a strong affirmation for Christian's to Home-school. Sproul does not pull any punches about his view, hopes and prayers for Christian parents to Home-school their children based on the biblical mandate for Christian children to be saturated in the knowledge of God, His Word, and His ways--and something that is impossible for children who attend public schools because God is illegal for 8 hours of their day 5 days a week.

Sproul's book is fairly short and simple. He does not cite many societal statistics, surveys or trends, but writes this book and established his position on a literal interpretation of Scripture with a broad application that is often minimized by America's Christian "compulsory school" culture.

Being a Homeschool parent who is trying to live out the word of God in any and all areas of life, I am encouraged and challenged by much of what Sproul says. There are aspects of his style and content that I did not think was of the best quality, but understand his objective and appreciate his effort.

I do have an issue with the way he addressed the gender differences between boys and girls. His simplistic style here along with his brevity, leave the reader wondering if he values the educating of girls as much as boys. I won't draw any conclusions therein, but felt this a little bit when reading chapter 5.

Overall, I think this is an IMPORTANT book for Christians to read and to be willing to hear and pray about the strong challenge that Sproul makes. If our children are God's greatest treasures entrusted to us as parents, then we as Christians should be willing to read other perspectives in difficult areas like how we are going to educate our children.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book won't necessarily make you want to homeschool, but it will probably make you appreciate why many people have chosen to do so.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great reminder that my children are entrusted to me, and that I am responsible for their upbringing. I don't necessarily agree that every Christian should be homeschooling, but I do wish every Christian could understand why someone would consider it. Obviously, you can send kids to public/private schools and still teach them faith at home. I think the most powerful reminder for me was that it is not the job of school or church to teach our faith to our children. It's the parents' responsibility, and the church/school can supplement it.
When we started homeschooling, it was not even for religious reasons, and I still wouldn't say that is why we do it. But this book was still quite convicting and I recommend it to any Christian who might be frustrated with homeschooling (or thinking about quitting), especially.

[Brian Algie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book Sproul Jr. does a good job of laying the groundwork for parents to recognize their God given duty to teach their children AND what they are to teach. The Christian worldview is not only not discussed in public schools (I know because I went from K-12th), but also in many (if not most) cases cannot be discussed. Both my wife and I went to public schools and would say we had a "good" experience. But good here is understood to be based on an appeal to pragmatism (see pp. 133-134). This is a book that the Christian who has been blessed with a child (or children) should pick up and read. You can do it!

[Dylan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book on holiday, and was excited to read it as we home school our kids. I was a bit disappointed by it if I'm honest. I didn't think it was a strong case for homeschooling and the author seemed at times to write in circles, never really answering the questions he posed. I did get some good things out of the book, but i think it would have made a better sermon than book. I agree with educating our kids around the bible and I was very convicted by this part of the book, but I don't think he presented his case against secular education well or properly.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reccomend this book simply because it gives you the "why" behind what you may already be doing. When we first started homeschooling our children in 2006, we didn't have all of the answers as to why we were choosing to homeschool. We simply knew that it was right and we were obedient to what we were being called to. We continued this way for many years and we were blessed for it, but we lacked vision. I lacked vision. This booked was instrumental in putting our education in perspective and facilitating a vision. I hope others "stumble across it" before they begin their own adventure.

[Adam Ross · Rating 1 out of 5]

A rather shallow, sectarian and partisan book advocating exclusive homeschooling as the only acceptable Christian method of education. His justification is that 'since God gave you the kids, He obviously meant this to say that they don't need anyone but you educating them.' More offensive was his glowing endorsement of a family that had not taught their daughter to read, but instead focused on domestic tasks since that was her "calling." Serious teaching error alert here.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm quite surprised that I did not really enjoy this book. I definitely agree with the author on his conclusion, but I can't say I agree with how he came to the conclusion. He seemed to ramble quite a bit, following rabbit trails that I didn't think pertained to the topic. The book is not at all what I expected. I think it is good encouragement for those who already homeschool, but that's about it.

[alwayss.rejoice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was filled with so much encouragement!!
Homeschool goal should not just be about academics. Education is discipleship. Rasing godly children.
R.C. Sproul Jr. goes through all the objectives of homeschooling.


Some of my favorite quotes:

“Are we trying to raise a Heisman winning quarterback or a godly man?”

“This is our goal;
rasing God-glorifying children rather than rasing responsible citizens who can manage to get along with the world around them.”

[Jey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an awesome, inspiring book. The premise, however, was not what I had expected. This book is about not only our Biblical mandate to homeschool our children, but more importantly about our mandate as Christians to teach the Bible, and only the Bible. Although I don't agree with everything I read, I was encouraged and uplifted by this book.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already homeschooling when I bought this, but this book really encouraged me not in the area of 'how to' but 'why to.'
Dr. Sproul Jr. really communicates his passion for homeschooling in thoughtful, biblical ways & I believe this book will be a vehicle to get that message out, particularly helping those parents who may be debating whether to homeschool or not. Highly recommend this book!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do we homeschool? Is it so we can have the smartest kids on the block? No! It's so that we can pass on our faith! We teach Jesus Christ and him crucified to our children so they can teach their children to teach their children to teach their children....