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Salvation Before Age
of Maturity
When his son died, David says:
He cannot come to me, but I will go to him.
I WILL
go to him.
We already dealt with the fact that this demonstrates the existence of Heaven.
But now consider, it teaches that children will go to Heaven (at least under
certain conditions.)
The child went to Heaven since David wasn't going to Hell.
The boy Samuel
I Samuel 2:18 - ministering before the Lord
I Samuel 2:21 - grew up in the presence of the Lord
I Samuel 3 - God talks to Samuel (as a boy)
The Boy (King later) David
1 Samuel 17: David & Goliath
Deuteronomy 31:13 Their (aliens) children, who do not know this law, must hear
it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as your live in the land ...
2 Kings 11:21-2 Kings 12:2 - Jehoash, 7 year old king.
2Kings 22:1-2 Josiah, 8 year old king. When 18 years old - 22:13 "great is
the Lords's anger that burns against US" 22:14: Tell the MAN who sent you to me
16:I will bring the disaster - 19: Because your heart was responsive and
you humbled yourself before the Lord...and tore your robes...I have heard
you... 20: Therefore i will gather your to your fathers, and you will be buried
in peace.
2 Kings 21:1-2 Manasseh - 12 year old evil King.
In the desert, (Numbers 14:30-32) all those 19 and younger were allowed to
live. This IMPLYS but does NOT PROVE that, should a child of believing parents
die before 20, they get to go to heaven.
Now here is my PERSONAL opinion on the age of 21 business.
I believe there are some children who are not able to be accountable until they
are around the age of 21 and so God picked that as an arbitrary date for
purposes of judging a whole nation. I do not believe that it is a fixed date. I
believe that children must decide to accept Christ, either when they are old
enough to understand what they are deciding or when they have received, or had
the opportunity to receive enough information to make an informed decision.
Why not make it today if you haven't already!
Given this possibility, if you can understand that you will someday have to make
a decision, you should assume that that means that you are responsible right
now for making the decision and you should assume that "no decision" means you
are damned to hell right now (in class we will discuss this phrase piece by
piece in detail) - you aren't going to heaven when you die. And if you
have decided Yes, you should assume that your friends who have not decided are
in a seriously bad state. Do NOT under ANY circumstances, rely on any of the
following or anything like them to get you into heaven:
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I was circumsized
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I was baptised
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I passed a course at Church (ie Catachisum)
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I'm a good person
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My parents are Christian
So what happens if only 1 parent is under the grace of God (a Christian under
the new testament covenant.) I do not find direct evidence in the NT for this
(though Paul tells a wife not to leave her unbelieving husband so that the
Children and Husband will be safe. Since this includes the Husband, I don't
think it refers to salvation as much as it does the benefits of God)
So there is evidence that as long as 1 parent is under the grace of God, the
child is under the grace of God.
What I cannot find any evidence for is the child of unbelieving parents. I'd
like to think that they are protected as well, but I do not find any evidence
of that in the OT (or NT for that matter.) Sorry. Lets assume that they are NOT
protected, and help them get protected by becoming Christians.
MMP>This and Ezekiel (18 or was it 38?) means at a minimum, that by the age
of 21, most children are "on their own." They are responsible for their own
decisions. (Much earlier for most if you accept my personal opinion stated
below.)
The act of circumcision, like the act of Baptism (boy am I going to get in
trouble here!) is a sign that the person is, at that time, under the grace of
God and has salvation.
This is why circumcision and baptism is performed on young children. It is a
sign that the child is currently under the grace of God and will go to heaven
should they die at that time. Gen 17: 9-14
Discussion point to have with your parents: Note: Many Christian and the
"Evangelical Missionary Church" as a whole, disagrees or is uncomfortable with
drawing this parallel. One reason commonly given by our Church and churches
like the "Baptists" is that "people misunderstand so we shouldn't hold the
belief." Note that, Ezekiel 18 shows that this same "problem" occured with
circumcision, but this didn't cause God to change the theology. Whatever you
end up believing on Baptism, be sure you don't fall into the trap of saying
"people will act wrong if they believe 'this' so.. I won't believe that 'this'
is the truth." If nothing else, what you should learn from this is this: Don't
trust just one adult as giving you absolute truth. This applies to your Sunday
School teacher, your pastor, your parents even. If the point is important, you
should consider what these people say but you are responsible to God to make
your own decision.
Children were circumcised (baptized in the NT) when they were infants as a sign
that they were AT THAT TIME under the grace of God. But remember that (as in
Ezekiel 18), even though once circumcised (baptized) - this does not
"protect" you. It is not a magic incantation. Ezekiel and the trip in the
desert as well as most of the writings of the prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)
make it clear that at some point you need to make the decision for yourself.
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