The Gospel of Luke (#79); Jesus and the Children September 29, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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We're appreciative of Ruth helping us out, helping Vida out this morning, playing for us.

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Thank you, Ruth. May the Lord take his word and apply it to our thinking and our lives, and let me just say this, too.

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I know we've got some new visitors here this morning. Would you please take a moment and fill out a visitor card?

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There should be one in the pew rack in front of you, and if you'll hand that to me in the narthex after church, it would be a good thing, and we can be sure to contact you and attempt to serve you in the name of Jesus Christ, our

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Lord. Pastor Jason, James chapter 1. James 1.

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James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion.

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Greetings. Counter all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.

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For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

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If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.

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But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

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For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double -minded man, unstable in all his ways.

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Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away.

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For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, its flower falls and its beauty perishes.

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So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which

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God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

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But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

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Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the

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Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting due to change. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

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Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

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Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

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But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

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For he looks at himself and goes away, and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

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If anyone thinks he is right, religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

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Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

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Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for this instructive passage, and we pray,

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Lord, that we would look intently at the law of liberty, that we would be doers of the word, that we would not be deceived and deluded.

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We pray, Lord, that we would look to Christ, that we would follow his example, that we would follow his pattern, that we would entrust all things into the

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Father who judges justly. And Lord, as we open up our word and continue our worship service through the preaching of your word, we pray for Pastor Lars, that you give him clarity of thought and voice.

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We pray that the words that he proclaims would be true. We pray that as we hear them, that we would understand what they say, and that you would implant them deep within our hearts.

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Help us, Lord, to walk through these truths in our day -to -day lives. Help us to be doers of the word.

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Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, today we're going to consider only three verses in Luke 18.

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Of course, they're within a context of Luke's gospel, and last week we showed the literary connection of the different episodes in this section of Luke's gospel.

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In this portion of Luke, in chapter 18, verse 9, through chapter 19, verse 10,

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Luke set forth the theme, The Scope of Salvation. More specifically,

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Luke's theme involves the kind of people whom Jesus receives into the kingdom of God.

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And in this section of Luke's gospel, we read that Jesus accepts tax collectors who come to him for mercy.

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We saw this last week, but rejects religious leaders who think they can come due to their own merit.

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What the Lord expects and demands is one with childlike faith and trust in the three verses before us today.

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We'll see that this is what the rich young ruler was unwilling to show, that we'll address in a couple of weeks, but that humility and sincere faith did characterize both the blind baker, whom

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Matthew named as Bartimaeus, and Zacchaeus, the tax collector, one of my favorite stories of the gospels.

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Today, we'll consider but these three verses in which we read of Jesus and the children.

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This episode of Jesus and the children is recorded in all three synoptic gospels. Synoptic means they're parallel with one another in order and in similarity of content.

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They have slightly different details, and I have set forth in the

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New King James translation each of these three accounts. Luke 18, that we'll be considering, then they also brought infants to him that he might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

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But Jesus called them to him and said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.

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Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

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You cannot have salvation unless you come, as Jesus just described, receiving the kingdom as a little child.

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In Matthew's account, slightly different, then little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.

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But Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

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And he laid his hands on them and departed from there. And then

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Mark's account, a little bit longer. Then they brought little children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

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But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.

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Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

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And he took them up in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them.

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We'll first consider the details of Luke's account, Luke 18, 15 through 17. And then we'll speak to some matters related to children and the kingdom of God in a broader sense.

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And then we'll conclude considering the kind of faith that should characterize disciples of Jesus Christ as reflected in the lives of little children, and according to Luke's gospel, even infants.

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And so the details of Luke's account. We read in verse 15 that the people brought infants to Jesus that he might touch them.

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The Greek word for infants cannot rightly be translated as older children. These truly are infants.

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Infants is a good translation. These young children were probably brought to Jesus by their parents, perhaps their mothers, in order to be blessed by him through laying his hands on them.

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And this was a commonplace practice in biblical times. Children were brought to elders, scribes, priests for prayer blessing, and this was done more so at different times of the year, particularly on the eve of the

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Day of Atonement. Parents would bring their children for blessing.

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Of course, it's a desirable and good thing to seek God's blessing for our children. We should pray that God protect them, that he spare them from injury and defilement.

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We should pray that God bless them, that he will manifest himself as the covenant God to them, a relationship with them through Jesus Christ.

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We should desire and pray that the Lord would watch over them and protect them, that they might be responsive to him, tender toward his word, his people, and believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

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We should pray that the Lord manifest his saving grace in their hearts and lives at an early age.

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And we should pray for our children that they might serve the Lord all their days, for saving faith, of course, is a persevering faith.

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By the way, our children should know that we're praying for them. We read of Job, apparently his children knew this.

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We read in Job 1, and his sons would go and feast in their houses each on his appointed day and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

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So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them.

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And he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

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Of course, prayer would accompany those. For God said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed

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God in their hearts. This Job did regularly. And we should be praying for our family regularly.

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Well we read of the response of Jesus' disciples when the parents were bringing their children to Jesus, verse 15b reads, or when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

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They rebuked the parents. The disciples saw these parents bringing the infants to Jesus and it bothered them.

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Now, they rebuked the parents. Perhaps the disciples were concerned with their master's time.

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Perhaps they were concerned about their own time, wanting to finish business and move onward. It doesn't say.

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But it's apparent that they had little concern for these infants or for their parents for that matter. There's a lack of love clearly portrayed.

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And so the disciples rebuked the parents, but then the Lord rebuked his disciples. We read of our

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Lord's reaction and response, verse 16, but Jesus called them to him, and I believe that's called his disciples to him, and said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God.

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He gave them a command, and then he gave them the reason for it. Mark recorded

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Jesus' reaction. He was indignant, but when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased with his disciples.

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And so the Lord forbids the disciples from forbidding children to be brought to him. Rather, our Lord encouraged the children to be brought to him.

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He invited the infants to be brought to him, and he blessed them all. Verse 17, let the little children come unto me.

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Do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as thee.

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That's quite an incredible statement when you start thinking about the implications of it. And so Jesus stated that the kingdom belongs to children and people like them, to such.

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But how are we to understand our Lord's affirmation for the kingdom of God belongs to such as thee?

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And so let's consider this matter, children and the kingdom of God.

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Again, Jesus said to his disciples, let the little children come to me. Do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God.

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Much had been asserted and taught regarding the salvation of little children due to these verses.

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And J .C. Ryle addressed this in the disparate views about the souls of children. The ignorance of the disciples does not stand alone.

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On few subjects, perhaps, shall we find such strange opinions in the churches as on the subject of the souls of children.

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Some think that children ought to be baptized as a matter of course, and that if they die unbaptized, they cannot be saved.

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Others think that children ought not to be baptized but can give no satisfactory reason why they think so.

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Ryle was a Church of England bishop. They practiced infant baptism, by the way. Some think that all children are regenerate by virtue of their baptism.

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It is baptism causes or brings about the new birth in infants and children.

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Others seem to think that children are incapable of receiving any grace and that they ought not to be enrolled in the church until they are grown up.

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That reflects his Church of England view. Some think that children are naturally innocent and would do no wickedness until learned from others.

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Others think that it is no use to expect them to be converted when young and that they must be treated as unbelievers until they come to years of discretion.

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All these opinions appear to be errors in one direction or another. All are to be deprecated for all lead to painful mistakes.

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Some would argue that these infants were of the kingdom of God, that is, they have salvation because their parents were members of the covenant community, which results in God conferring upon their children the blessed status of salvation.

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They'll cite scripture to argue their point. For example, those who are paedobaptists, that is, those who administer baptism to infants of Christian parents will cite

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Peter's words on the day of Pentecost. Respecting God's promise of salvation and the gift of the

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Holy Spirit, Peter said these words, Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children. So they argue that children of believing parents themselves have the promise of salvation and a covenant relationship with God.

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But they tend to stop quoting the verse at that comma in the sentence, leaving off the final words of Peter.

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The full text specifies which children are included in God's promise, and they're not all children of believing parents.

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Peter said to them, repent, let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, you shall receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit for the promise is to you and to your children, and here it is, and to all who are far off as many as the

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Lord God shall call. So that narrows it, doesn't it? Not all children indiscriminately, but all children whom the

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Lord in his sovereign grace calls to salvation. And so it's clear that not all children of believers are promised salvation, but only those whom

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God affectionately calls, as many as the Lord our God will call. But there are others who would assert that all children, as children, are citizens of the kingdom of God, that is, they have salvation because of their innocence of being but small children.

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This is a common teaching among evangelicals. They'll often speak of an age of accountability, that when a child reaches an age when he's responsible for knowing truth from error and right from wrong, of what sin and righteousness are, then he's a condemned soul unless and until he believes the gospel.

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But up to that point, he is innocent. But this is wrong teaching, for the scriptures do not speak in terms of small children having salvation but then losing it at an older age.

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And that's what the teaching of an age of accountability really argues. However, there are others who would argue that little children are regarded as citizens of the kingdom of God, not due to their supposed innocence, but wholly due to the grace of God extended to them in Christ.

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It's often said, therefore, that children who die in infancy, and usually put in this group are also those who are mentally challenged, say, or limited, are members of the elect and will have salvation on the day of judgment solely due to the mercy and grace of God freely extended to them in Christ.

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Not because they're innocent, not because they're righteous in themselves, not because they haven't sinned, because everyone born into this world is guilty of sin.

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The scriptures make that very clear. There are none born innocent. We're guilty for Adam's sin and we're born with a sin nature that will show itself early on.

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But J .C. Ryle was of this opinion that children who die in infancy are to be regarded as saved because they were numbered among the elect due to the grace of God, not because of anything in the children themselves.

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And so he wrote these comments on Luke 18. Of such as little children, the kingdom of God and glory will be largely composed.

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He thinks most people in heaven will be the result of infants who die and are numbered among the elect and therefore redeemed, not because they had faith, not because they were righteous, not because they were innocent, but because God and His sovereign grace purposed to save them for Jesus' sake.

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The salvation of all who die in infancy may confidently be expected, though sin is abounded, grace is much more abounded.

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The number of those in the world who die before they know good from evil is exceedingly great.

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Speaking about infant mortality, it is surely not much to believe that a very large portion of the glorified inhabitants of heaven will be found at length to be little children.

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This was also the view of Charles Spurgeon. He wrote, we know that infants enter the kingdom for we are convinced that all of our race

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Those who die in infancy are included in the election of grace, they are elect.

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Not all children, but those who die in infancy were numbered among the elect of God and partake in the redemption wrought out by our

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Lord Jesus. Whatever some may think, we believe that the whole spirit and tone of the word of God, as well as the nature of God himself, lead us to believe that all who leave this world as babes are saved.

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Now how do they receive? Receive the kingdom, for in the same way must we receive the kingdom, for in the same way we must receive it.

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Certainly children do not receive it by birth or blood, for we are expressly told in John's gospel that the children of God are born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh.

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John 1 .13. In other words, you're not saved because your parents were believers.

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The Bible specifically forbids that. All privilege of descent is now abolished, doesn't matter who your dad and mom were, doesn't matter if Abraham was your ancestor, it's all abolished and no babe enters into heaven because it was born of a pious father or mother, neither shall any be shut out because his progenitors were atheists or idolaters, thankfully, or a number of us be without hope.

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My solemn persuasion is that the child of a Mohammedan, an Islamic person, or a papist, reference to Roman Catholicism, or a

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Buddhist, or a cannibal dying in infancy is as surely saved as a child of a Christian. Salvation by blood or birth, there can be none, for the gospel dispensation does not admit of it.

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But if saved as we assuredly believe they are, infants must be saved simply according to the will and good pleasure of God because he hath made them to be his own.

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So grace alone. I am not certain that John Newton was not right when he said that the majority of persons who are now in the kingdom of God are children.

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John Newton, who was a pastor, former slave, a trader, and who ran a slave ship and was gloriously converted and became a pastor, he believed that all children who died in infancy had salvation.

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When I think of the multitudes of babes that have died who are now swarming in the streets of heaven, it does seem to me to be a blessed thought that albeit generation after generation of adults have passed away in unbelief and rebellion, yet enormous multitudes of children have gone streaming up to heaven, saved by the grace of God through the death of Christ, to sing the high praises of the

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Lord forever before the eternal throne. Of such is the kingdom of heaven, he quotes

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Luke 18. They give tone and character to the kingdom. It is rather a kingdom of children than of men.

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On another occasion, Spurgeon was defending the teaching of Calvinism against false charges from those who leveled false charges against them, against Calvinist or Reformed teaching.

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And so here he made also known his understanding of infant salvation, of infants who die in infancy.

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Among the gross falsehoods which have been uttered against the Calvinist proper is the wicked calumny that we hold to the damnation of little infants.

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A baser lie was never uttered. There may have existed somewhere in some corner of the earth a miscreant who would dare to say that there were infants in hell, but I have never met with him, nor have

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I met with a man who ever saw such a person who advocated that. We say with regard to infants,

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Scripture says but very little, and therefore where Scripture is confessedly scant, it is for no man to determine dogmatically.

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But I think I speak for the entire body, or certainly with exceedingly few exceptions, and those unknown to me, he didn't know of anyone, when

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I say we hold that all infants are elect of God and are therefore saved, and we look to this as being the means by which

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Christ shall see the devail of his soul to a great degree, and we do sometimes hope that thus the multitude that is saved shall be made to exceed the multitude of the lost.

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Whatever views our friends may hold upon the point, they are not necessarily connected with Calvinistic doctrine.

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I believe that the Lord Jesus who said of such is the kingdom of heaven does daily and constantly receive into his loving arms those tender ones who are only shown and then snatched away to heaven.

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Our hymns are no ill witness to our faith on this point. One of them runs thus, millions of infant souls compose the family of above.

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Top Lady, who was a preacher, of course, a great hymn writer as well, one of the keenest of Calvinists, Augustus Top Lady, we have a few of his hymns

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I think in our hymnal, was of this number. In my remarks as he on Dr.

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Nowell, I testified my firm belief that the souls of all departed infants are with God in glory, that in the decree of predestination to life,

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God has included all whom he decreed to take away in infancy and that the decree of reprobation has nothing to do with them.

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No, he proceeds farther and asks with reason, how can the anti -Calvinistic system of conditional salvation and election for good works foreseen will suit with the salvation of infants?

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Good argument. How can Arminian argue that an infant has salvation?

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When they say salvation is contingent on God seeing who would believe and who would follow him, infants don't do that.

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And so what do they have to do? It's plain that Arminians and Pelagians, those

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Arminians were followers of Jacobus Arminius in the latter 16th century, beginning of the 15th century and even on today, but Pelagius was a person who opposed the

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Calvinistic teaching by Augustine that was back in the 400s. And so he says both the

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Arminians and the Pelagians must introduce a new principle of election and insofar as the salvation of infants is concerned, become

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Calvinists. In other words, if the Arminians are going to argue for infant salvation, they've got to fall back on the

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Calvinistic teaching. It's because of God's grace only. Very clever. Is it not an argument in behalf of Calvinism that its principle is uniform throughout and that no change is needed on the ground on which the man is saved, whether young or old?

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In other words, by grace alone. John Newton of London, the friend of Cooper, William Cooper was another great hymn writer characterized by depression his whole life.

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John Newton was his pastor and he spent many hours with him, almost daily for 20 years helping

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Cooper through his difficulty. You look at the hymns in the Trinity Hymnal, some of them are really wonderful noted hymns that Cooper wrote out of the midst of his depression, a word we use today but it's not found in the

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Bible and it wasn't used by the old guys either. It was described as hopelessness. A friend of Cooper, John Newton, noted for his

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Calvinism, holds that the children in heaven exceed its adult inhabitants in all their multitudinous array.

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Gil, John Gil, who was the pastor of Spurgeon's church 100 years before Spurgeon, a very champion of Calvinism, held the doctrine that all dying in infancy are saved.

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An intelligent modern writer, Dr. Russell of Dundee, also a Calvinist, maintains the same views and it's when considered that nearly one half of the human race die in early years, it's easy to see what a vast accession may be daily and hourly making to the blessed population of heaven.

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And so Spurgeon argues that this is the predominant view among reformed people through history.

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Jesus declared that the kingdom of God belongs to children and those who are like children.

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Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

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Not just to these but such as these. The Lord did not say that the kingdom belongs to Jewish children.

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He did not say to baptize children. He did not say believers children. Throughout the world when little children die, they go to be with the

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Lord and they're granted entrance into the kingdom of God. It's not because they merit it, not because they are without sin, not because they are outside the curse of God for the fact that they died in infancy shows they're subject to the curse which is upon all mankind.

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But solely due to the sovereign mercy and grace of God, they're granted entrance into the kingdom. God regards

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Christ as having atoned for their sin. That is the predominant teaching of reformed folks in history.

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Now again many have taken these few verses of Luke 18 to argue for the baptizing of infants.

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J .C. Ryle did, which I wasn't surprised to read but it was rather stark in its assertion.

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So did John Calvin in his comments on this passage. Clearly infant baptism is supported by this verse is what they argued.

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This common but erroneous teaching about baptizing infants based on these few verses was a point of great controversy in the earlier ministry of Charles Spurgeon in London.

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Of course he was a Baptist. His mother was a Presbyterian, was always praying for his salvation and Spurgeon was converted when he was a teenager, he became a

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Baptist and she lamented the fact, Charles I always wanted you to become a

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Christian but not a Baptist, never a Baptist. And he responded to his mother, well God has always, as he's always done, mother, given you more than what you ever asked.

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He was a Baptist and he felt the need to correct the commonly held error of baptismal regeneration.

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Infants are born again by baptism. He was not in this conflict addressing believers baptism nor was he castigating infant baptism as practiced by the

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Presbyterians. But he did point out the teaching of the

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Church of England as articulated in the Catechism and the Book of Common Prayer.

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The Church of England, Anglicanism, of course with the American Revolution, Church of England folks in America didn't want to be called the

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Church of England so they became Episcopalian or Anglican but they hold the same.

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And these two works of the Church of England said infants were born again and given salvation by their baptism.

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And so here are some of Spurgeon's comments in a sermon confronting this.

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Here are the words we quote from the Catechism which is intended for the instruction of youth. This is not the

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Westminster Catechism or Keach's Baptist Catechism, this is the Catechism of the

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Church of England. And it's naturally very plain and simple since it would be foolish to trouble the young with metaphysical refinements.

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The child is asked its name and then questioned, who gave you this name? My godfathers and godmothers in my baptism wherein

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I was made a member of Christ, the child of God and inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

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Baptism conferred that. It's not this definite and plain enough. I prize the words for their candor, they could not speak more clearly, plainly.

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Three times over the thing is put lest there should be any doubt in it. The word regeneration may by some sort of joggling be made to mean something else but here there can be no misunderstanding.

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The child is not only made a member of Christ, union to Jesus is no mean spiritual gift but is made in baptism the child of God.

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Also, since the rule is if children then heirs, he's also made an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

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Nothing could be more plain. I venture to say that while honesty remains on earth, the meaning of these words will not admit dispute.

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It's clear as noonday that as the rubric hath it, fathers, mothers, masters and dames are to cause their children, servants and apprentices, no matter how idle, giddy or wicked they may be to learn the catechism and to say that in baptism they were made members of Christ and the children of God.

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You wonder why, you know, England so many people are members of the church of England and yet they are nominal

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Christians because they were taught that they were converted as infants when they were baptized.

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The form of for the administration of this baptism is scarcely less plain and outspoken seeing that thanks are expressed, return to almighty

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God because the person baptized is regenerate, in other words, born again. Then shall the priest say, see now dearly beloved brethren that this child is regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's church.

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Let us give thanks unto almighty God for these benefits and with one accord make our prayers unto him that this child may lead the rest of his life according to this baptizing.

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Nor is this all for to leave no mistake we have the words of the thank giving prescribed.

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Then shall the priest say, we yield thee hearty thanks most merciful father that it please thee to regenerate this infant with thy holy spirit to receive him for thine own child by adoption and to incorporate him into thy church, holy church.

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This then is the clear and unmistakable teaching of a church calling itself Protestant. I'm not now dealing at all with the question of infant baptism.

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That wasn't his argument here. I have nothing to do with that this morning. I'm now considering the question of baptismal regeneration whether in adults or infants or ascribed to sprinkling pouring or immersion.

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Here is a church which teaches every Lord's day in the Sunday school and should according to the rubric teach openly in the church all children that were made members of Christ, as children of God inherited the kingdom of heaven when they were baptized.

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Here's a professedly Protestant church which every time a minister goes to the baptismal font declares that every person there receiving baptism is there and then regenerated and grafted into the body of Christ's church.

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Now those were bold words in London in the middle of the 19th century actually when

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Spurgeon was a younger preacher. And these comments brought great controversy in London.

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He printed his sermons and they were sent out worldwide. At his height he was sending out a hundred thousand printed sermons every week.

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Can you imagine that in that day sent out all over the world? His secretary would take shorthand, write it out

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Monday morning, he would go through and edit them, print them, and they were mailed a hundred thousand of them a week. He expected the demand of his sermons would drop off precipitously, instead demand for them increased greatly.

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There was great negative reaction and rejection of Spurgeon. Church of England priests preached sermons and wrote articles against Spurgeon and the main charge was that Spurgeon was keeping children from coming to Christ just like these disciples in Luke chapter 18.

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Forbid them not to come unto me for such are the kingdom of God.

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And so several weeks later Spurgeon preached another sermon and he entitled it Children Brought to Christ, Not the

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Font, in which he was absolutely right. Yes, bring children to Christ, but don't confuse that with bringing them to the fountain where they're baptized.

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Those are two different things and I have copies of that sermon available. For those who argue that the

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Lord blessing these infants supports their view of infant baptism of believing parents, we simply ask the question, if this is so, why did

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Jesus not baptize these infants or instruct his disciples to baptize them on this occasion? He didn't, did he?

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He took them in his arms, he put his hands upon them, blessed them. No word of Jesus baptizing these infants or having his disciples baptize them.

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But did Jesus baptize? He most certainly did. Not him personally, but his disciples did on his behalf.

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And we read of that in John 4 verse 1 and 2, therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples, he left

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Judea and departed against Galilee. So Jesus baptized disciples.

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Why didn't he baptize these infants? He didn't, it's clear.

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Luke would have said so. The reason Jesus did not baptize these infants is because neither he nor John ever baptized infants.

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In fact, John refused to baptize anyone who had not sincerely repented of his sins with view to the coming of the kingdom of God.

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We read in Matthew how he refused to baptize some, even though Abraham was their father.

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In other words, no matter who your father or mother is, that doesn't qualify you for baptism. It didn't qualify these

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Jewish men. We read of John, the Baptist, he saw many of the Pharisees, he said to them, in a brood of vipers, he spoke, that was the direct approach, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.

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And do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. That does not qualify you to be baptized.

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Even if it was Abraham himself, it doesn't matter. There's individual accountability with the coming of the kingdom of God.

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For I say to you, God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.

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Therefore every tree, doesn't matter who your father or mother is, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

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John refused to baptize infants. He waited until they showed fruits of repentance.

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And so we would argue that just as John refused to baptize these men, although they had Abraham as their physical father, so we should never baptize a baby, because that child may have had a father or mother who is a

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Christian. Baptism is administered to one who believes the message of the gospel, and has a response in faith turned from sin and becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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Christ gave forth his great commission, go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them.

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Baptizing who? Disciples. We're to baptize disciples in them only.

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And a disciple can only become one who has an understanding, knowledge of the gospel, knows who

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Jesus is, knows that he's a sinner, knows that Jesus Christ alone is the only way of salvation.

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He humbles himself, turns from his sin, believes on the Lord Jesus, submits to Jesus, and follows him in life.

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Only he or she is qualified biblically to be baptized by immersion, we might throw in there as well.

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And so Jesus said, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

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What does that mean, receiving the kingdom as a little child? Although he may have been speaking of those present who might immediately enter the kingdom through repentance and faith,

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Jesus may have been speaking of our future entrance into his eternal kingdom. No one will enter the kingdom unless he's as this little child.

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If we do not receive the kingdom and live this life as a little child, even as an infant within his kingdom, as infants, that's how we're to be, we cannot now or will not later enter into that glorious kingdom when he appears at the end of the age.

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Every true Christian has to be like a child in the way Jesus was speaking.

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The Lord Jesus in effect said this, if you want to come to me, you will have to come in the same manner as this child being brought to Jesus.

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What does that mean? A little child is the pattern. Unless you and I come to him as a little child comes to him, we cannot expect to enter the kingdom of God.

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Let's consider these words with four emphases. First, what we may learn of the Lord Jesus.

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Second, what we may learn of the kingdom of God. Third, what we may learn of children. And four, what we may learn of disciples of Jesus Christ.

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And so what we may learn of the Lord Jesus, first we see that Jesus was approachable.

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We may feel ourselves to be as ignorant as children, yet we may feel encouraged that God will receive us when we come to him.

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God must be a good God, filled with kindness and compassion for his son was a good, kind and compassionate son who reflected his father's nature.

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Do not fear to come to Jesus. He welcomes people. Yes, he could withstand and rebuke the hypocrite and careless, but he always did and will receive the humble, thankfully.

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Second, we know that the Lord bestows his blessings freely upon people. These children did not merit his blessing.

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They did not do deeds by which they merited his favor. They came to him, or rather were brought to him, and he blessed them freely and fully.

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Blessings were handed out freely to all the children that day who were brought to him. Not merely to bright children, lovely children, children of rich, children of privilege, all who came to him.

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He distributed freely, and so too we may come to him, providing we do not come trying to bribe him with our supposed goodness, commitment, resolutions, imagined virtues.

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We can receive from his hand freely. That's what grace is, isn't it? Free bestowal of his kindness to those who come humbly in faith.

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We can take to heart the encouragement of Isaiah 54, 1 and following. Come everyone who thirsts.

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It's not an invitation to everybody without distinction. It's not an invitation to come if you are satiated, fully satisfied, but if you're thirsty, spiritually thirsty, come to the waters.

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You don't have to have any money, anything to bargain, anything to purchase. He who has no money, come buy and eat.

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It's free. It's available to every one of us.

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It's free. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

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You might think, well, I'm not good enough to come to him. No, and you never will be if you think you have to be.

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You come to him as a child with nothing to commend you.

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Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good.

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Delight yourself in the rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live and I'll make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

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It's free. You have nothing. You don't need to purchase it, but you have nothing in which you could purchase it.

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But it's freely offered. Third, Jesus is displeased with them who hinder children from coming to himself.

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Think about that. Many parents are capable of hindering their children from coming to him.

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How do they offend their little ones? Well, parents do so by keeping their children in ignorance of him.

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We parents have great responsibility to instruct our children in the Lord. They belong to him.

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He's given them to us as a trust, and we must do what we can to raise them and instruct them in the ways of Christ.

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Now, they may not continue in that way, but we should not be the cause for that.

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We must bring our children to the Lord by instructing them rightly. Puritan pastors used to do their pastoral visitation.

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They would go into the homes of their church members and quiz the children directly regarding the catechism question and answer.

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And they did it not only to check up on the children, but check up on the parents if the parents were teaching their children rightly.

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Could you imagine that if the parents knew I was coming into their home and was going to quiz their children about the truths of the faith?

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I would suspect that'd be pretty good motivation. Another way we can hinder our children from coming to Christ is by leaving a poor example before them.

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We should be models, exemplars to our children as to what a Christian dad and mom should look like and how they're to act in the world as disciples of Christ.

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Third, we may hinder our children from coming to Christ by humiliating them when they express interest or ask questions about the

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Lord. If dad sees Christianity as a foolish thing and lives before his children with that kind of attitude displayed, if he belittles

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Christian leaders, and there's a lot of leaders that need to be belittled in some ways, we certainly see that, but not in front of the children.

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They do hinder their children from coming to Christ and living for him. It's one thing to reject

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Christ yourself. You can live with that and die with that. You'll probably live and die with the reality your children have followed your lead.

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Oftentimes, what the dad allows the child does in excess.

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Our leaders, educators, those who attempt to secularize our culture will one day stand before Jesus and answer for what they have done in their part to hinder children from coming to Christ.

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Secularization is a great evil in God's world. It would be better for a millstone to be hung about their neck and they cast into the sea than to stand one day before Jesus and judge for having kept little children from coming to him.

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Well, what may we learn about the kingdom of God? We spent a great deal of time on this subject recently, so not do so here other than say this.

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The kingdom of God was the central message of the Lord Jesus while he was on Earth. You'll not enter the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, unless you come as this child.

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Let's just remind ourselves the kingdom of God is spiritual in nature. Citizens of the kingdom are those who believe, submit to the rule of Jesus Christ the king.

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Citizens of the kingdom of God are the ones, the only ones who have salvation. The gospel of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of the kingdom of God.

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They alone will live eternally in the new heavens and the new earth that God will one day create for their habitation.

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These citizens have a childlike faith in their king. They trust him fully. They obey him without question, for they assume they are his children in need of instruction and guidance.

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What may we learn of children? Well, the kingdom of God belongs to children and those who are like children.

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Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

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Our Lord did not say the kingdom belongs to Jewish children. He did not say it belonged to baptized children.

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He did not say that the kingdom belonged to believers children. This is my opinion, but I'm content with it.

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I believe the world over when little children die, they go be with the Lord. They're granted entrance into the kingdom.

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Jesus stated such here in Luke 18. It's not because they merit it, not because they're without sin, not because they're outside the curse of God, but because God in his grace has granted them salvation through Jesus Christ.

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The souls of children are precious to our Lord. To devalue or disregard the soul, the life of a child, whether outside or still within the womb, is a great heinous crime in the eyes of God.

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350 ,000 children are missing that have been brought in over the border, sold into sex slave trade, and they're in our nation now and nobody knows where they are.

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There's a day of accounting one day for the people who permitted this and who have actively done this.

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It's a great sin. Thankfully, it's not an unpardonable sin unless it's committed and thereafter never acknowledged and humbly confessed to have been a great sin in the sight of God.

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When we advocate a pro -life stand, it's with great concern for the child, but it's also with great concern and compassion for the mother who must believe on Jesus Christ as the

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Lord and only Savior of sinners, or she will receive his condemning sentence on the day of judgment.

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We should recognize and acknowledge that God can do a great work of grace in the hearts of young children.

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Although we are Baptists, we believe the word of God would only have us baptized committed disciples of Jesus Christ and only admit them to formal church membership.

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We do not deny that God can do and commonly does a great work of grace in the souls of young children.

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However, we acknowledge our inability to properly assess or evaluate the grace in a child until we see the fruit of righteousness emerge in the heart and life of a growing and maturing child.

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Jonathan Edwards once wrote a book about the remarkable conversions in ministry during the Great Awakening in the 1730s and 40s.

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And the book is called A Narrative of Surprising Conversions, sometimes called

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A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God. He included the story of the conversion of a four -year -old girl named

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Phoebe Bartlett, the daughter of one of his church members. And it's remarkable.

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I took a four -page excerpt from Edwards' book and I attached it to the sermon notes

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I sent out this morning. And so I would encourage you to read it. Quite remarkable. Four -year -old child and the evidence of saving grace in this girl's heart and life is quite, quite incredible.

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And by the way, when it was written about, she was an older woman, quite an older woman, and she had continued to walk with Christ her entire life through the 18th century.

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And lastly, what do we know about ourselves? What is it then to receive the kingdom as a little child?

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Well, there's different opinions about this. We're going to kind of scan this. Some have said it was the innocence of infants that characterized those who entered the kingdom.

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Well, if that's the case, then it conflicts with the account that we just considered last week.

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The tax collector was anything but innocent. All right? No, it's not the innocence of a child that renders him savable.

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Some have argued it's the humility of the little child, but it's been rightly said, and it was

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B .B. Warfield who said there's nothing of humility in an infant child, if anything.

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He wrote, there's no period of life so purely, sharply, unrelievably egotistic than infancy.

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That's right. Every infant is the center of his world, her world, of course. Still argue, others argue it was the simplicity of childhood that's a trait that the

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Lord would have characterized those in the kingdom. An infant's characterized by an absence of duplicity or deception.

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But this, again, seems far afield of the emphasis of our Lord. B .B. Warfield, Benjamin Warfield, a wonderful Reformed Presbyterian asserted rightly,

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I believe the childlike trait that Jesus was holding forth is essential to those who would enter his kingdom is that of trustfulness.

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Now, an infant is trusting on his mother's breast for safety, security, and nurturing, and that's how you have to come to Jesus Christ if you want salvation.

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Here are Warfield's words, I thought were valuable, so I included them. What dispositions of soul were characteristic of them?

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Just none at all of the infants. They lay happy and thoughtless in their mother's arms and in Jesus' own arms.

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Their characteristic was just helpless dependence. Complete dependence upon the care of those who care for them was necessary, and it would seem that it's just this objective helpless dependence which is the point of comparison between them and the children of the kingdom.

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What our Lord would seem to say then when he says of such is the kingdom of heaven is that the kingdom of heaven is made up of those who are helplessly dependent on the king of the heavens.

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Amen. And when he adds that only those who receive the kingdom like a child can enter it, he seems to mean that the children of the kingdom come into it like children of the world, into the world naked and stripped of everything, infants who are to be done for, who cannot do for themselves.

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There's every indication of this is our Lord's meaning. Among others, we note the record of the incident is followed immediately on all three gospels by the record of the incident of the rich young man, who was not helpless, was he?

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For he had many riches. For what was the trouble with the rich young man? Just this, that he could not divest himself of everything and come into the kingdom naked.

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He had great possessions. How hard children, and this children is possibly reminiscent of his demand that we should be like children.

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Children, how hard it is for the rich man, for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven. In this kingdom, we can enter only as poor, naked and helpless as children enter the world.

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That we have nothing is the condition that we may have all things.

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Perhaps it may not be too much even to say that what the passage teaches that we enter the kingdom of heaven, as we enter the world only by a birth, a birth which comes to us, which we do not secure.

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In that case, we have a parallel passage in the third chapter of John, which is one of the very few passages in John where the term kingdom of God uses.

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And that is, you must be born again or you're not going to see or enter the kingdom of God. A child is humble and teachable.

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A grown person to become a child requires a great work of God's grace. We have to be born anew to become a child once again.

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Nicodemus said, can a man be born, enter a second time into his mother's womb, be born? No, but the

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Lord can cause a spiritual birth from above that produces the same kind of work. A whole new life results from this work of grace.

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We become humble, trusting, pure in mind and spirit. We come to the Lord Jesus, trusting him for a blessing to come from him and freely.

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And so we're to be as children with respect to the kingdom. Children come without bargaining with God. They come readily, openly, receive blessing.

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So must we. A small child doesn't battle with self -righteousness, self -worth.

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A child does not battle with pride as adults do. A child doesn't possess so -called intellectual difficulties by which he remains distant from God.

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A child does not have to battle with ambition, which so troubles adults. Well, what would it cost me if I do this?

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We must abandon all things if we're to be as children coming to the Lord Jesus. A word to children.

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There are not many here, but let me just say this word. Perhaps you're quite young. Maybe you do not understand much of what we say from the pulpit, but you understand some things.

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You believe, which is good. We encourage you to believe the Bible and what your parents teach you regarding God's word and says.

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And as the Lord makes himself known to you more clearly and fully, pray to the Lord Jesus as one who loves you and cares for your soul.

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Voice your concerns to the Lord Jesus in prayer. Ask questions regarding things about him and his ways that may confuse you or you do not understand.

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That's not really how we all should be as children. Ask the Lord to guide you and keep you all your days.

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Every morning when you wake up, ask the Lord to guide you, protect you throughout the day. And every night before going to sleep, thank the

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Lord for having done so through the day. Trust him. Learn of him. Seek him.

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And we will pray that the Lord help you in your desire and effort to know him and live for him.

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We have concern and care for little ones. Conclusion. The kingdom of God belongs to children and such like children.

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For a grown person to become a child is a work of grace. We have to be born anew to become a child once again.

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Nicodemus asked, can a man enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born? No, but the

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Lord can cause a spiritual birth from above that produces the same kind of work. A better work.

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A whole new life results from this work of grace. We become humble, trusting, pure in mind and spirit.

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We come to the Lord Jesus, trusting him for a blessing to come from his hand freely. May he do a great work of grace in our midst, bringing many souls humbly to himself in faith, trusting him.

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Bowing their heart to him as their Lord and Savior. Amen. Let's pray.

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Thank you, Father, for your kindness and your love. Clearly demonstrated in your tenderness and thoughtfulness for these infant children, whom their parents, perhaps their mothers, brought to you.

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We pray, oh God, that we would not be hard -hearted, indifferent, ignorant as these disciples.

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Clearly, you instructed them better and they certainly responded to that instruction.

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But help us, our God, not to despise little ones, but seek to do everything we can to encourage them.

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To look to you, to learn of you, to walk with you, to believe on you, to trust in you.

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And we'll thank you, God, for your work of grace in their lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.