Suffer The Little Children....

Jesus welcomed the little ones, wanted them to come to Him, and blessed them, while the disciples had no time for them and thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered. He said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, [in NIV: "do not hinder them"] for such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14). Jesus rebuked them and told them that to such belong the kingdom of God. He also said that he who humbles himself like a little child shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Are children the enemies of God? Yes and No. James 4:4 says that he who is a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Children are born in sin, of course. "In sin did my mother conceive me," says Psalm 51:5. The Minnesota Crime Commission issued a report saying that little children are born to be criminals and if they are not civilized by the parents will grow up delinquent. The grace of God covers all children till the age of accountability (I don't want to get into an extensive proof of this doctrine here because most believers accept this) and children are to be welcomed into the church body and its fellowship, and not to be treated as outsiders. There will be no children in hell, and God loves all children and wants to bless them. If you make one of them stumble you will be better off with a millstone around your neck and cast into the sea. They have angels that always behold the face of God and take care of them.

Yes, children sin but they have not learned to discern good and evil and are innocent to a certain extent. Technically all unbelievers are children of Satan but children can be converted to Christ--the way of salvation is so simple even they can comprehend it. God can and sometimes does speak to us through the children, just like St. Augustine claimed happened to him. We were all enemies of God before salvation and the miracle is that God loved us in that while we were His enemies He sent Son to die for us. 

It is true that infants are completely self-centered and their world revolves around them, and it is the job of the parent to civilize them and bring them up in the training and nurture of the Lord ("Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it," says Proverbs 22:6, ESV). Responsible parents stand in loco Dei or in the place of God to teach concepts of authority, respect, and obedience.

Though children may have not accepted Christ yet, God is working on them and it is the job of the parents to teach them the truth and way of salvation. We should never treat them as if they are enemies of God--that is the logical outcome of believing they are. Only God knows and sees who His elect are and we are not to judge people prematurely or before the time. The wheat and chaff look similar when growing together and it is not the task of believers to separate them because they could be wrong.

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14, KJV). Jesus welcomed children with open arms and blessed them when his disciples thought to rebuke them that He had no time in a day when children were of little worth in a man's world. The kingdom of God belongs to them in the sense of being grandfathered in to be included in God's blessings until they reach the age of accountability and know good from evil (per Isaiah 7:16). We are to consider them in and treat them that way. Children have the faith of their parents and haven't really developed a personal relationship with Christ--they are just beginning to know Him through those who teach and their family members. You must have faith in Christ alone and that means not in Christ plus your parents or plus family ties--where would that faith be if the family fails. Children can even be confirmed in the faith and not be saved, just having gone through the motions and memorized the Dance of the Pious.

Children can comprehend a great deal of spiritual truth and be enlightened, and even taste of the heavenly gift, and share in the Holy Spirit per Hebrews 6 (but these matters do not prove salvation), and love of Bible stories or preaching without coming to a complete spiritual apprehension--which is pending their decision to follow Christ and deny themselves. Even having the ability to discuss Bible doctrine or knowing one's way around Scripture is no proof of salvation. They are incapable of making a decision to take up a cross at such an early age and their faith isn't confirmed until it is tested by God as if by fire, because it is more valuable than silver or gold. The gospel message must be presented clearly enough to be rejected, but not an easy-believism, which undermines it. You aren't saved until you get convicted, realize you are lost and are converted through saving faith and genuine repentance, and most children cannot adequately articulate how they met Jesus and it transformed their life--for giving public testimony of Jesus is part of salvation ("For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved," says Romans 10:10, ESV).

Just liking church, doing church, or loving Jesus (you aren't saved by loving Jesus or your idea of Him) and so forth are not salvation--they are responding to their own world as they know it, and would love Buddha or Confucius if they were Asian--our emotional experiences can be duplicated in other religions. Children are very impressionable and can be influenced even to be suicide bombers at that age of innocence. The point is that we should bring them up in the training and nurture of the Lord and in the fear of God and God promises that our efforts of teaching them will bear fruit some day. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," (cf. Prov. 22:6). This refers to exposure to the admonition of the Lord.

Don't be so quick to believe a superficial testimony of a child who is incapable of discerning true spiritual truth. What happens is that they have their parents faith and haven't developed their own until they get out on their own and in the real world and get tested. Just because Parents stand in loco Dei or in the place of God and represent His authority as authority figures don't mean they can lord it over them without biblical sanction. Children owe their parents due respect and affection just the same. In my estimation, it is next to impossible to "save" your children, however, you can lead them in the way of truth--and commend them to God and the Word of truth. They are just the first lesson of relationship that the children are exposed to and must pass this test to go on to know the Lord.

All you can hope is that your labor was not in vain and God will take care of them, as you submit to His nurture and providence. We instill truth in them as seeds that God will cause to grow and germinate someday unto salvation. We are to treat all children as if they belong to the kingdom, and woe unto him that causes one of these to stumble in whatever faith he has. But I believe that there comes a time to leave the bosom of the family, and they call it that because it's a sheltered environment, and then you must prove your faith is genuine and not just second-hand. Jesus said we must be willing to renounce our family ties and allegiance to all other loyalties, and even love Him more than father or mother. Remember, Christianity is not a way of life, but a vital, vibrant, and growing first-hand and personal relationship with the living God and Savior. And it is no easy step to leave the hearth and cut the umbilical cord to find one's true identity in God without the aid of the familiar domicile. Soli Deo Gloria!