Throwing the Baby Out With the Bathwater.

Opening:

Good morning again Connection Church. I am so glad that you have come out to worship God together with us. It is an essential thing to come together in person to worship God on the Lord’s Day. We are commanded to do so and we rejoice to do so! Thank you for coming to Worship our great God. He is worthy of our worship. He alone is worthy of our worship. We come together, men, women, and children, to worship God.

Introduction of the Text:

This week our passage is one of great beauty. Sadly in our circles this passage is often passed over as one to simply be combined with other surrounding passages. This should not be. We will be in Matthew 19:12-15. Last week we covered much on the subject of marriage. In this passage we are confronted with children. We see Jesus’ attitude toward the children.

With this in mind, I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

Matthew 19:12-15 13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Word of God, Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your love. You show such wonderful love. You love us all, from the greatest to the least. You welcome with open arms. You have always done this. Lord, we thank you for this. We bless your name! You are great and mighty and filled with compassion and love. Not one of us deserves your love, but you love us.

Lord, I thank you for your great love for children. This brings great joy and peace. You welcome children into your arms. You love the dear little ones. We thank you for this. Lord, when we are not loving to the little souls you have given us, you are perfectly loving. You are a good Father.

Lord help us to love the children the way that you do. The Scriptures are full of promises for the children. May we not reject this but welcome the little ones just as you do. May we as a church embrace children as Christ did.

Lord, as my son is growing in his mother’s womb, make us godly parents. May we embrace the covenant promises you have made for us and our children. As you knit this little one together in his mother’s womb, may we recognize that this is an eternal soul. God, help us.

In Jesus name, amen.

Transition:

The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith says “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture:” What does this mean? It means that Scripture is sufficient. All we need to know about God, Salvation, faith, and even all of life is contained within Scripture. We do not need Scripture plus anything. Scripture is enough. Other things are helpful but are not necessary to understand how God wants us to live. This means that in any issue or circumstance, we can come to Scripture and find by direct statement or by logical inference all we need to know. Because of this, Scripture ought to be our first consultation. When approaching any issue, we ought to say, “What has God said about this?” This includes sin, salvation, God’s wrath, tax laws, punishments for crimes, marriage, and even how to raise children. There is no issue we cannot bring to Scripture. This is wonderful blessing of our great God. He has not left us in the dark. He needed not to reveal anything. He could have given us only what we needed for salvation and then left us on our own to figure out the rest. However, He gave us His Word. He revealed all we need know through the prophets who wrote down the Word of God.

This is why Scripture is described as an earthy book. Some have said that God condescended to write in our earthy languages and terms. He humbled Himself to reveal the true rule for life. This is why we ought to have a great love for Scripture. God did not give us a dusty book filled with only a few essential things. He gave us a full rule. He gave us His will and desires for all of life. It is only because of our sinfulness that we refuse to consult His Word. So often we wish to understand what God wants for us, but in arrogance we refuse to see what He has said.

This passage is a short one, but it is filled with meaning and subtext. We must understand the implications of Jesus’ treatment of children. We must see the tragedy of the disciples mistreatment of children. We must see the beauty of the loving parents who brought their children to the Lord. We must see God’s view of children. With this in mind, let us see what the text says.

First, we see children are brought to Jesus.

Explanation:

Children are Brought to Jesus.

Explanation:

Children were brought to Jesus. Who were they brought by? Likely they were brought by their parents, some may have been brought by their nurses or by other family. But this was not an uncommon practice. It was a common practice to bring children to great men of God. There is no indication that all of these parents knew who Jesus is. They likely did not recognize Him as God in the flesh. However, they at minimum recognized that Jesus was a man from God. They knew He was at least a prophet of great blessing. And this is true. Jesus is THE prophet. He is the ultimate prophet of God since He is God in the flesh. This is why they came. Parents would often bring their children to be prayed and touched by the man of God. Parents took their office seriously.

But who were these children? Likely there were children of various ages. The word used for child in Matthew and Mark indicate children of young age. Likely toddlers and slightly younger. However, Luke says that there were infants. Parents were bringing all their young children to Jesus. This is a beautiful picture.

But why were they bringing their children to Jesus? They wanted Jesus to lay His hands on them. This is a big deal. The laying on of hands was a symbol of blessing. They wanted Jesus to bless their children. There is great precedent in the Old Testament for this. Parents are given great charges in the Old Covenant over their children. They were to take their role of teaching and love seriously. They were to raise their children in the teaching of the Law and the great works of God. We will look more in depth at this later. But this is the God given command to parents. So of course they would bring their children to men of God for blessings and teaching.

Transition:

However, there were some present who did not appreciate this. The disciples attempted to keep the children from Jesus.

The Disciples Attempted to Keep the Children From Jesus.

Explanation:

Here is the tragedy and evil of the text. The disciples began to rebuke the people bringing their children to Jesus. They tried to hinder the children from coming to Jesus. It is unclear as to why. Likely they thought Jesus could be about better things. By all indication, this is going on for some time. The disciples viewed the blessing of children as beneath Jesus’ ministry. Therefore they began to rebuke the people and possibly some of the children for coming to Jesus. The disciples viewed the children as burdens to Jesus’ ministry.

Transition:

Jesus does not stand for this. Jesus rebukes the disciples and blesses the children.

Jesus Rebukes the Disciples and Blesses the Children.

Explanation:

We have occasionally seen the anger of Jesus in the gospel accounts. However, most times we must judge by what He says to tell if He is angry and rebuking. We can tell when Jesus is angry and rebuking the Pharisees based on how He responds. But it is rare for the gospels to directly record Jesus’ anger in clear statements. When a gospel account records this, it is because Jesus is very angry. Mark records this, “14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Jesus is not just angry, He is indignant. This is a term of fiery anger. It is a term of great, passionate anger. When the disciples withheld the children from coming to Him, Jesus got very angry.

Jesus properly rebuked the disciples and blessed the children. He continued to lay His hands on them and bless them. Jesus did not appreciate the disciples view of the children. Jesus did not view children as a hindrance to His ministry. He welcomed them with open arms. We have seen Jesus do this previously. Jesus even calls back to the previous time He welcomed a child into His arms. He says “for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Last time Jesus welcomed a child into His arms, it was to teach the humility required to be saved. One must be as a Child. To such as these children belongs the Kingdom.

This is a powerful statement and it is a biting rebuke of the disciples. Clearly they were not being humble. Jesus is not saying that all children are automatically saved, but that the kingdom and the promise of the kingdom belong to such as these children.

Transition:

And this brings the central question of this text. How are we to view children?

Argumentation:

How Are We to View Children?

Argumentation:

The disciples are rebuked harshly for their wrong view and treatment of children. Jesus laid His hands on apparently all the children then left. So what is the proper view of children? Clearly this text is teaching that we are not to hinder children from coming to Jesus. We are obviously to be like the parents and guardians of this text and bring children to Christ. But there is far more to this than simply saying, “bring your children to Jesus.” This is clear. But what does this mean? Jesus is not physically present anymore. After He rose, He ascended. He is right now sitting at the right hand of the Father and is Lord of all. Se we cannot physically bring our children to Jesus.

Certainly there may be good implications we can draw from this. One may say, “We should bring our children to church.” This is a good thing and a proper application of this text. One may say, “we should teach our children about Jesus.” This is also a good thing and a proper application of this text. However, this text in particular does not give us outright application on how to bring our children to Christ or even how we are to view children. We can know from this text that the disciples were clearly wrong, and the parents were clearly right. But why? Why did the disciples deserve such a biting rebuke? What are we to do with the principles laid down from this? Well, thankfully, where in one place Scripture may not be abundantly clear, it is clear elsewhere.

We are not required to draw all of our application from this one incident alone. We see in this text God’s consistent view of children. God was not silent about children until Jesus came. This text is not given in isolation. Remember, we can go to Scripture about any issue or topic. God has given us what we need to know. What does it look like to bring children before God? Scripture speaks clearly. We can rest on what God has said.

Transition:

Scripture teaches us how we are to view children. Scripture teaches us how we are to raise our children. Scripture gives us great principles on how to handle children. Jesus does not explicitly say in this text, “after I ascend, here is how you handle children.” We have the full counsel of God on this matter. Scripture teaches what is commonly known as the covenant view of children.

The Covenant View of Children.

Argumentation:

Those are big words. What does it mean? God has given many covenants throughout Scripture. A covenant in Scripture is a promise or agreement God has given or made. We think of the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants. After the flood, God put the rainbow in the sky. This was an everlasting covenant that He would never again flood the whole earth. God made this covenant with Noah and his children. This means the whole world. All people descend from Noah. Therefore that covenant is for us. We can look at the rainbow after it rains and remember God’s covenant to never flood the earth. We can point to the rainbow and tell our children that God promises us that the earth will never be flooded again.

This is common language regarding covenants. It is for someone and their children. The children are included in that covenant. This brings us to one of the central themes in Scripture. We often divide Scripture into the Old and New Testaments. From Genesis to Malachi we have the Old Testament. From Matthew to Revelation we have the New Testament. However, another way to refer to that is the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. But what is the Old Covenant?

The Old Covenant.

The Old Covenant refers to God’s Covenant with Abraham. God promised Abraham that his offspring would become a great nation. Through His lineage, all the world would be blessed. This was God’s Covenant with Abraham. Through Abraham’s offspring would come the redeemer. Jesus would come from the children of Abraham. Abraham’s offspring was to walk righteously before God, and keep His law. God would protect them and make them a great nation. God promised Abraham this multiple times. But in Genesis 17:1-7 God says this, “17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”

This was God’s covenant between Abraham and his children. It was an everlasting covenant between them and God. It was not just for Abraham. The covenant did not die when Abraham died. It was also for Issac, Jacob, and for the twelve tribes. God gave this covenant promise before Issac was even born. Listen to the exchange between God and Abraham in verses 18-19. “18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” Abraham had at this point had a child with Sarah’s handmade, But this was not who God would pass the covenant on through. The covenant was for Issac and his children

This is also when God instituted Circumcision. This was the outward sign of the covenant. Parents were to circumcise their sons as a sign of their commitment to the covenant. This was because the promise was not just for the current generation. The covenant was for them and their children. This is why we see such weight and value placed on children. The children of the Israelites were the inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant. They were to take this seriously. Not all who were circumcised were truly part of the covenant. The New Testament clarifies that the covenant was through faith. Those who had faith in the covenant were saved. However, Israel was to circumcise their children in commitment to raise them in the faith.

This is why so many passages teach how children are to be obedient. In fact, one of the ten commandments teaches this. The fifth commandment is this, “12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Proverbs is filled with similar instructions for children. Proverbs 1:8-9

“ 8  Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

9  for they are a graceful garland for your head

and pendants for your neck.

Proverbs 6:20-23

20  My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

21  Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck.

22  When you walk, they will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Proverbs 23:22-25

22  Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23  Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24  The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

25  Let your father and mother be glad;

let her who bore you rejoice.

But this is not instruction for children. Parents also receive commands from the Lord. Deuteronomy 4:9-10 “9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 10 how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’

They were not just to obey God, they were to teach their children to do so. Again Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says “4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Within God’s holy Law He teaches the people to train their children. They are to educate their children. This is the consistent teaching of the Old Covenant. Parents, particularly Fathers are to educate their children in God’s Law. This is because God’s covenant was to them and their children. This is why you see such commands and teachings all through the Old Covenant. From Genesis to Psalms to the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets are clear. They are to train up their children in the Lord. The home was to be a place of teaching about the Lord. Clearly this is the teaching under the Abrahamic Covenant.

This is why it is clearly understandable that the parents would bring their children to Jesus. If they even moderately took God’s commands and teachings regarding children seriously, they would bring their children to Jesus. In fact, if we read the historical books of the Old Testament, we see that Israel fell when they no longer taught their children. When they no longer took the covenant of God seriously, they failed to train up their children. When this happened, Israel would begin worshipping Idols and disobeying. God would punish them, and then they would come back. One of the greatest failures of Israel was their consistent failing to obey God in teaching their children the Law and Covenant of God.

Transition:

But what of the New Covenant? Well, here comes a central theme of understanding the Bible. Jesus did not come to do away with the promises of the Old Covenant. If this were the case, God would be a liar. God is not a liar. He did not just undo everything He has done previously. Jesus came to establish the New Covenant. This did not do away with the Old Covenant. He fulfilled it and brought the Better Covenant.

The Better Covenant.

Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Covenant. 2 Corinthians 1:20 is true. “20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” Christ did not come to do away with the Law and Prophets, but fulfil them. These are Jesus’ own words. Matthew 5:17-18 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” God did not break His covenant with Abraham when Jesus came. He fulfilled it. He brought it to it’s full. He expanded it. Now through Christ, we can come to Him. But what of the commands as to how we are to treat children? Well, one area we fail in, is that we tend to treat Scripture as disjointed. If it says it in the Old Testament, it no longer has any weight or application. If it’s in the front two thirds of the Bible, we treat it as if it no longer applies to us. However, this is not a good view. We should instead view it this way. Unless the New Testament teaches something different, The Old is still applicable to us.

For example, in the New Testament, the dietary restrictions are clearly done away with. Because of this, we do not obey the laws regarding food. Jesus and Peter did away with this. Another example is the Sacrificial Law. We no longer offer sacrifices because the New Covenant teaches clearly that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and we no longer need offer any more. If we were to start offering sacrifices, it would be a blasphemous act saying that Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient. Another example is circumcision. Paul clearly teaches that circumcision is no longer the sign of the covenant. Paul expressly teaches this multiple times. Because of these things, we know that it is no longer wrong to eat pork. It is no longer needed to offer sacrifices. It is no longer required to identify with the covenant through circumcision. But we also know that the command against murder is still binding. Murder is still sinful and wrong. It is still wrong to blaspheme. It is still wrong to commit adultery.

Because of this, we can also see that we are to bring our children up in the Lord. We are to still instruct our children in the Lord. In fact, Paul even shows that the fifth commandment is still binding. Ephesians 6:1-4 says “6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

But what of the New Covenant? Does this apply to just us or to our children also? We clearly know that the Old Covenant teaches that it was for the Israelites and their children. But what of the New? This could have changed. Thankfully the Scriptures are not silent on this. In Acts 2 Peter gives one of the greatest gospel presentations ever recorded. He clearly presents the gospel. He shows that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Covenant and all of the Prophesies regarding the Messiah. At the end of this sermon, the people cry out to Peter. Here is what is recorded. “37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Notice what Peter says about the promise. The people are cut to the heart. The Spirit is convicting them. Three thousand were saved! But they cry out, asking what they should do. Peter says they are to repent and be baptized. Then Peter says who the promise is for. It is for them, for their children, and for all who God calls to Himself. This is almost the exact same language used in the Old Testament. What a beautiful picture! The promise remains! The promise is for you, your children, and all whom God calls.

This in essence is saying the same thing God said to Abraham. Abraham did not stop and bless God for promising to be with Him. The promise was to Abraham, Issac, Jacob and all of true Israel. The promise is to you, your children, and all whom God calls. What a beloved promise! Now comes where I must explain what this doesn’t mean. This does not mean that our children are all automatically saved. They must place their faith in Christ just as all must. However, this also carries over from the Old Covenant. There are numerous examples of descendants of Abraham who were not saved. They were not saved by being related to Him. Our children are not saved because they are related to us. Our faith does not mean that every generation of our descendants will automatically be saved.

What it does mean is that we have no right to treat our children with any less diligence than what God previously commanded. We are children of God through faith. We are under the New Covenant. But we are to raise our children in this Covenant. We can look back to the Old Covenant Law and see how we are to train up our children. We can directly apply the principles laid down for us. We are to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” as Paul says in Ephesians 6. What does this mean? It means we instruct them as God commanded. We teach them. We educate them. We follow what God has said. We can do like Deuteronomy says. We take care to make known what God has done. We discuss these things in our homes. When we sit down with our children, we teach them what God has said and commanded.

It means that we bring our children into the house of the Lord. We teach them to worship God. We teach them the value of worshipping God. We catechize them. We train them from as early as we can. And we pray that God will work. We know that not every child of Christians becomes a Christian. But we also know from Scripture that God is faithful. We see again and again that faithfully bringing a child up in the Lord results in faith. It is not 100% but we know that God works in the family. God is more often than not faithful in saving children who are raised in the faith. This is a great hope for parents. Be faithful to God in how you raise your children. I heard one pastor ask the question, “Will your children be saved because of you or in spite of you?” We know that only God can save, but the question stands for Christian parents. Will our children be saved by God because of our influence, prayer, and teaching or in spite of our influence, lack of prayer, and training?

I admit this is my greatest fear as a parent. I do not fear as much for the health of my son. That has not kept me up as night. But there is something that has kept me awake. I lose hours of sleep because I am afraid for the soul of my son. Will I be a faithful father and raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Will I bring Him to Jesus from His infancy? Will I be like the parents of this passage and bring my child before the Lord for blessing? Will my son be saved by God because of my influence, prayer, and training? This is the fight I constantly bring before God. I bet Him to help me raise my son in the covenant before the Lord.

And this is not just for the parents here. What of us as Connection Church? How will we treat children? Will we raise the children in our church in the nurture and admonition of the Lord or will we fail them? We are family integrated. This means that we have no children's church. We have no separate service for children. They sit in here with us. Families worship together here. From newborns to old people, we all worship together. And this is good. This is not new. The church has done this for two thousand years. But the question is laid upon us. How will we treat the children? Will we be faithful to aid the children who come in here? Will we faithfully point the way to Jesus, or will we awkwardly ignore the children? Let me answer this question.

We will be faithful to point the children to Jesus. We will be a church that aids parents in training their children. We will be a church that is faithful in pointing the children to Jesus. We will not hinder the children from coming to Jesus. We will teach them how to worship. We will teach them the love of Jesus for them. We will aid parents in any way we can. We may not have a separate service for children, but they are welcome here. Children of all ages are welcome here. It is not a bad thing if they cry. It is not a bad thing if they squawk or chirp. We will not become angry when we have to pause for a crying child. We will not be judgmental when a child finds something funny and giggles. We will welcome couples with children. We will aid them. We will welcome single parents. We will aid them. We welcome children. They are loved and welcomed here.

Transition:

We will aid our parents in raising their children. This is because culture is not neutral.

Culture is not Neutral.

Argumentation:

We sadly make the mistake of thinking that culture is neutral. This is a lie. The world hates God. The world will not raise children in the Lord. The School system is not neutral. They will not teach our children to love the Lord. That is our job as Christian parents and the church. When children go into the world, they are met with lies and indoctrination. They are taught wicked and evil things. May we take this seriously. May parents and children who come in here have peace knowing that they are aided in teaching their children the truth.

This is my goal as a pastor. I long to aid the parents here in teaching their children. If Peter is speaking truth, and he is, then the promise is to you, your children, and all whom the Lord calls. This means I must take seriously the feeding of all my sheep. I am learning how to do this, but it is my goal. I wish to see you fed and to see the children fed. I want the children in this church to grow up hearing the Word of God. Sometimes they may not understand, but I seek to teach them as well. I never want to hinder the children from coming to Jesus. I want to be bringing children to Jesus. I want to carry as many as I can to His loving arms.

Transition:

And here is the application. I have spoken of what we must be as a church, but will you do this? Will you be part of this or not? Will you be like the parents or the disciples?

Application:

Will you be like the Parents or the Disciples?

Will you be like the parents? Will you bring children to Jesus? Will you be a faithful parent to your children and raise them as Scripture commands? Will you be faithful church members and bring children to church? Will you invite parents and children? Will you aid the parents here? Will you be understanding of the noise and the crying? Will you bring children before Jesus?

Or will you be like the disciples? Will you hinder children from coming to Jesus? Will you refuse to get to know the parents and children here? Will you let them go through this alone? Will you become angry when a child cries in church? Will you be judgmental when I have to pause my sermon and a mother or father calms their child? Will you neglect inviting people to church because you are afraid of the disruption?

Beloved, weather you are a parent, a grandparent, or a member without kids, please be faithful. View children as the Bible commands. Bring them to Christ. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Closing Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

Proverbs 22:6

6  Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.