Preface

Psalm 22:9-10 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God."

What does God say about our children? Too many times we are concerned with what other people say, what churches say, or what tradition has said. The ultimate issue has to do with what God says about children, and how God wants children to be treated in His church.

Introduction

The Bible rings with the theme of family all throughout its pages. God has a pattern of operating with and working through families. The Bible presents a picture of two types of families; those who belong to Him, and those who are part of the world.  To use terms from Genesis 3:15, people are either called the children of the woman or the children of the serpent.  There is no third category.

From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. ....  Genesis 3:15 (NLT)  

Using the categories mentioned above, who are those who belong to God? Are they just adults? Are those who are “children of the woman” just those who are old enough to profess faith in God? Of course not. His people have always included parents (adults) together with their children. His people have always included singles, babies, and grandparents.  God’s family always referred to those who were part of the nation of Israel or who are now part of the church.

  So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family.   Ephesians. 2:19 (NLT) 

This family theme has never changed since the dawn of history. But, what does it mean? Well, let's take a look. We’ll see in this brief study that God’s blessing is given to adults who believe, together with their children. This is the way God has always acted - parents together with their children, either in blessing or in judgment. Let's look at the way this pattern works itself out in biblical history.

Biblical Consistency

Parents Together With Their Children: Judgment According To Families

Consider the Garden of Eden at the dawn of history. Adam and Eve sinned against God and were punished for their rebellion. They were exiled from the garden (Gn.3:21). But what about their children? If God treated every person simply in accordance with what they had or had not done, then where would we expect the children to be raised? Certainly, it would seem that the children were innocent or, at least, not accountable for sin. Yet they were all raised outside the garden. The children all felt the consequences of their parents' sin. The children, we might say, were punished not for what they had done, but for what their parents had done! Is this fair? Yes, when you consider that God deals within the pattern of parents together with their children.

What about Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn.19)? It was the adults who were committing gross sin. Yet, when God rained down fire from the heavens, it was the entire city (families; parents together with their children) who suffered the consequences.

When God was battling the false gods of Egypt and the ten plagues were used as weapons (Ex. 7-11), it was every one of the Egyptians who suffered, even to the loss of their first born children. It was not just those of the age of accountability or those who had directly sinned in their rebellion against Moses who were punished. Every family in Egypt, except for the people of God, felt the death of their firstborn.

When God rained a flood of judgment on creation (Gn. 6-9), it was not just the immoral who suffered and were drowned. It was parents, grandparents, children, and, yes, even infants, who faced the judgment and wrath of God, and who were drown. Why? Because God dealt according to His principle: parents together with their children or households (i.e.  families).

We conclude, therefore, that God generally deals with families as a whole. This isn't too unusual. Where do we get our values? Where do we get our basic training? Where do we learn about basic relationships?  It is from our family, isn’t it.

Parents Together With Their Children: Blessing According To Families

The Bible clearly says that Noah was a righteous man (Gn.6:9). Yet it was Noah and his entire family who were saved from destruction at the time of the flood.

Certainly the people of Israel were not a model of virtue or faith at the time of the Exodus. But God saved parents together with their children as they crossed through the Red Sea and were fed manna and quail by the grace of God.

This picture of God bringing His people (parents, children, grandparents, healthy, unhealthy, etc.) through the Red Sea is picked up by Paul as a picture of redemption.

             For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 1 Cor. 10:1-2 (NIV) 

Notice the analogy Paul makes. He says that the people who came through the Red Sea were baptized into Moses. In other words, they were glued to Moses, and as long as they stuck with Moses, they were safe. If they abandoned Moses, then they were doomed. This experience, being called a baptism, is comparable to baptism into Christ. In baptism we are treated as disciples. As long as we stick with Christ, like glue, we are safe. If we abandon Christ, we are doomed.

Now, think about those who were baptized into Moses - it was parents together with their children. It was parents and their little children who were carried across to freedom. The same pattern continues today. Children of believers are baptized, and as they stick with Christ by faith, they continue to be blessed, but if they (or we adults) abandon Christ, they will be doomed.

The Holy Spirit Can Break the Cycle of Generational (parents and their children) Unbelief

It is important to understand that God is calling people from the world to Himself. Therefore, it is the Spirit Himself who, many times, breaks this unbelieving cycle of parents together with their children. For example, there are many people who have been raised apart from Christ but later have come to trust Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the reason we do evangelism. This is the reason God’s Spirit has come (Acts 2:17ff) as a missionary Spirit. He causes people to defect from the world and to come to Christ; even people who were not raised in Christian homes. It is these people who we would baptize as adults.

Yet if this family pattern is the way God generally works, and if God calls both parents together with their children to Himself, then how can we deny these children of believers the sign of God's promise - the sign that they are to be counted and treated as part of God's covenant family?

The Sign Of God's Ownership

God's Claim Branded On His People

Let's go back and look at the way God claimed ownership of adults as well as their children. Abraham is the classic example of God's move to gather together an entire nation of people.

God calls Abraham to Himself in Genesis 12. Abraham's response is one of trust and obedience. Abraham believes God and follows in obedience. In that chapter, as well as Genesis 15, God promises Abraham three things:

1.  He will become a great nation (in other words, Abraham will have plenty of descendants).

2.  This great nation would have a land where they will live.

3.  The people of Abraham (the people of God) living in the land would be the means of blessing to all the nations of the earth. In other words, God was calling Abraham to Himself,  and, in so doing, would ultimately achieve His goal of blessing people from all nations (Gn.12:1-3 and 15:12-17).

When these promises were confirmed again in Genesis 17:3-8, God gave Abraham a sign of that promise as a means of encouragement (just like our wedding rings today). The sign was the cutting of circumcision (17:10). All baby boys were to be circumcised at eight days old as a sign that God had claimed ownership of these children. This means that before the infants were old enough to know what was happening, and before they had any choice or say in the matter, God claimed these little ones as His. They were branded, so to speak. They were to grow up, walk with the Lord, and inherit the covenant promises for themselves (Gn 18:19).

Quite interesting is the statement made to Abraham that if there was any uncircumcised male within the covenant family, that person was to be exiled (kicked out of) from  the covenant community (the church of the Old Testament).

 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." Genesis 17:14 (NIV) 

 No one had an idea or concept that children were to be brought up in some neutral fashion (neither on the Lord’s side or on the world’s side) . Everyone understood that children were to be brought up in the instruction and discipline of the Lord (see Deuteronomy 4:9 and 11:19-21).

 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 11:19 (NIV) 

 Why? Children of believers belonged to God as much as the parents belonged to God. These little children were God's and were on His side - part of His covenant. Therefore, they were to be treated as disciples who needed to grow up learning about the Lord and learning to properly respond in faith to His work of grace.

Notice what Malachi says about these children.

 Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.      Malachi 2:15 (NIV) 

These children are called holy because God wants godly offspring. The children of believers (even one believer according to I Cor. 7:14) are claimed by God and therefore are designated as holy. Holy means that they are separated for a special purpose, and they are on God's side. These “godly offspring” are NOT in some neutral sphere (neither with God nor against Him).  They are considered part of God’s family. Neither are they unaccountable until a certain age. We are born accountable. We all bear the consequences of our actions as well as the actions of our fore-bearers, including Adam and Eve. It goes without saying that children of believers are not to be treated as heathens or part of the world.

These children of believers were considered part of God's family, and, therefore, were given the sign of circumcision. Circumcision did not make someone a child of God. If so, baby girls would have been left out. Rather, circumcision functioned like a brand. It was a picture or a sign of God's ownership and was designed to make Israel think of themselves as owned by God. This is no different than a wedding ring. The ring is a sign that shows a marriage relationship exists.   The ring does not actually make someone married. The one with a ring is treated as unavailable to others because of the unique relationship he or she is already in.

The insight we gain in Romans  is fascinating. The text says, much like the Baptist view of believer's baptism, that Abraham received:

"...the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them."  Romans 4:11 (NIV)

Abraham first believed and then was circumcised. This is the pattern of Baptist churches;  believe and then be baptized. It appears from this text that circumcision was only proper after Abraham believed.

But remember Genesis 17? This same circumcision, which for Abraham was appropriate only after he believed, was also a sign for his children, and for all who came after, at eight days old... before they believed! You see the pattern here?  It the pattern we have seen previously, “parents together with their children.” The circumcision was never designed to “represent” Abraham's faith any more than baptism represents the faith of an individual. Circumcision represented the seal of righteousness which God credited to those who belonged to Him. In the same way, baptism represents the work of Christ credited on our behalf. Both are appropriate for adults as well as for our children.

Look at another similarity between baptism and circumcision (in case you think I am picking this idea out of thin air). In Colossians 2:11, Paul addresses gentile believers;

"In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with circumcision done by Christ..."

Paul reminds these Christians that they had been circumcised. Well, that's right. He goes on to say it was a circumcision which was not done by men but by Christ. There are two problems here:

1.  How can a person be circumcised if not by the hands of another person?

2.  How could Christ circumcise anyone at this point in time? He has ascended to the throne of heaven and physically circumcises no one?

Let's keep reading. This circumcision was accomplished when these gentiles were baptized.

Col. 2:12 "having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, Who raised him from the dead."

Those who have been baptized are, from an Old Covenant perspective, those who are circumcised. Both of these signs are the seal and sign of God's ownership. The meaning of baptism and circumcision are virtually the same. Both are signs of God's promise, and both are signs designating who should be treated as part of the family of God.

Certainly there is a difference. Circumcision was a bloody sign looking forward to the coming of Christ. Baptism, a non-bloody sign, uses water to picture what Christ has done on the cross and what He does by His Spirit. But both circumcision and baptism were used as a sign to separate the people of the world from the people of God... externally though, because no one can read the heart.

Clearly then, the sign of membership in the earthly family of God was to be placed on infants. Christ Himself was circumcised on the eighth day. We'll talk more about this under the objections section. Where in the New Testament has any of this changed (parents together with their children)? It is just the opposite. The pages of the New Testament are replete with this same pattern of including children together with their parents. It is also clear that children of believers were included in God’s covenant community, the church.

Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders,  gather the children, those nursing at the breast....  Joel 2:16 (NIV) 

Notice here, the word “assembly.” In the King James, it translated, “congregation.”  It is the word which in the Septuagint is translated:   “ekklesia” - the church.  The assembly of the church was to include parents together with their children.

Let’s continue in this vein by exploring three points:

1.  Households (parents together with their children).

2.  The example of Christ with infants and children.

3.  A perspective on covenant children.

In doing this, we’ll look at a variety of relevant passages.

The Household Mentality Continues Throughout the New Testament

Look at the explanation of the events which occurred on the Day of Pentecost. Peter tells the crowd that the promise is for "you and your children". This is a household mindset - a family perspective.

Acts 2:39 (NIV)      The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

The same language is used by Paul in the first letter to the Corinthians, where Paul refers to baptizing the household of Stephanus.

1 Cor. 1:16 (NIV)      (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)

This household language is also used twice in Acts 16  in reference to families coming to Christ and being baptized.

Acts 16:15 (NIV)      When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Now, what's the point? Is it that there must have been infants in the homes? No, that's not the point. The point is that household language and the household-family pattern is both understood by these converts, but also continues. God has not stopped operating on the basis of parents together with their children.

Even in reference to the conversion and training of Timothy, we are reminded that his faith first lived in his grandmother and then his mother. God blessed this household, so Timothy continued in this way of parents together with their children.

2 Tim. 1:5 (NIV)      I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Notice The Way Infants And Children Of Believers Are Treated

It is fascinating that in Ephesians 6, Paul addresses the children along with the adults of the church.

 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Ephes. 6:1 (NIV) 

The children are considered as part of the church, God's covenant family. The Bible does not only address adults, but also children as well. Why? Because as disciples, they must be responsible and grow up walking with Christ (even as their parents).  Though they are children, they are included in the instructions given to the church.

Luke 18:15-16 records the blessing of Christ given to the children; to these infants.

    People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Notice the text says that parents were bringing their infants.  The Greek words used in the text are:

1.   “paidion:” according to Strong’s dictionary: “a childling (of either sex), i.e. (properly) an infant,”.

2.  “brephe”: which means an infant; a breast-feeding infant

Jesus says of these children,  these infants,  that they are a part of the kingdom of heaven. There are people who would argue that it was not actually the children themselves but only the adults who respond to Christ as a child, who are declared as part of the kingdom. How ridiculous of these people to accuse Christ of saying something like:

“Not you children but you adults who have the faith of a child, you will be part of my kingdom.  The kingdom of God does not include infants because they are not old enough to have the innocent and trusting faith of a child”

Of course, this is not the case. Jesus is saying that both adults who believe, and their children, have a part in the kingdom. These were the children of believers who are blessed by Christ. What other type of person would ask Jesus to bless their children in the first century?

Children Of Believers: God's From Conception

A fascinating passage from the Psalms puts all of this together in regard to ours understanding of what God says about our children.

Psalm 22:9-10 "Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God."

When does this baby become God's child? From the time of conception God has claimed this child as one of His own. Who is this child? It is the child of a believer. Does that mean this child does not have to grow up believing? Of course not. It means just the opposite.

As a covenant child, this infant must be taught about the Lord so that as the child grows, he/she will know nothing but faith in Christ. This pattern is only logical. Think of the way a child is raised. Does the child have to grow up, and, for the first time, decide he/she loves his/her parents? Of course not. Now, as the child grows, that child will experience a variety of emotions and, along the way, make constant decisions about the way he/she will deal with his/her parents. But no parent looks for a first time commitment to love, honor and respect their parents. The attitude is nurtured and fostered, and grows all throughout childhood. The same pattern holds true in our relationship with God. There is a fostering and nurturing of the childlike faith through covenant training.

1.  They are already claimed by God as belonging to Him. Those who belong to Him should be baptized and recognized as such.

2.  They are considered as holy and part of God's church. Those who are part of His church should be baptized.

3.  These children are counted as disciples, and the disciples of Christ ought to be baptized.

Baptism is a sign of God's claim, and it is a sign for those who are part of the church. Someone who belongs to God and to His church ought to receive the sign of baptism. It is baptism which is the symbol that marks a difference between the people of the church and the people of the world.