babies are wonderful but they have to be born again

I very recently have been accused of thinking that babies are evil - by Jesse Morrell, an open air preacher, and Moral Government proponent. How did he possibly arrive at such a conclusion? After all, I have 6 children and 10 grandchildren, (my secret plan for taking over the world…shhhhh!). I love babies, and celebrate the birth of every one of them as gifts of God. Where did Jesse Morrell ever get the idea that I pastor a church that thinks babies are evil?

I suppose he came to this unfair conclusion about me by inference, because I believe in the doctrine of original sin. Jesse’s Moral Government theology insists that there is no such thing as original sin, hence babies are born as pure and innocent as Adam and Eve were in the garden. I on the other hand, subscribe to the Biblical teaching that the fall of Adam affected everyone in the human race, corrupting our nature, imparting to one and all a sinful nature.

To put it another way, people who subscribe to Jesse’s theology believe that people become sinners only after they chose to sin. If they hadn’t chosen to do evil, it is conceivable that they could live their whole lives without sinning, they would not be sinners! This is also called Pelagianism, named for a fifth century British Monk, Pelagious who debated Augustine over the issue. The emphasis of Pelagianism is human choice. We choose to sin, we can choose not to, we are entirely culpable for our freely chosen sins. We are sinners because we have sinned.

The way I have seen the scriptures, with countless millions of others down through the ages, is that the opposite is true, that is that Man sins, because He is a sinner. It is Sin (in the singular) that precedes all of our countless sins. By that we mean that Sin is deeper than a specific act, or even the choice to do the act. Sin is a state of being, out of which man expresses in countless acts (sins) his alienation from God. There are sins, indeed, transgressions against God and his Holy Law, but they arise out of a state of being called Sin, which is the universal context that every human being is born into.

“Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5-6)

"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies in hypocrisy."(Psalm 58:3-4)

Both of these verses point back to birth, as David realizes by God’s revelation just how deeply ingrained sin really is! Who hasn’t asked at some point, “Where did I go wrong? If only I hadn’t have done this sin or that sin, then I would be better!”? You couldn’t go back far enough, because you and I were born in Sin (singular), a state of being that is already alienation from God, with a nature that is tainted and biased towards evil. Those of us who have raised children know that a sweet, pretty, innocent child will lie to you before they can even talk!

Do I believe babies are evil? No I don’t, babies are not evil but they are fallen and alienated from God. All babies are destined to express some kind of sinful life as they grow up, therefore they need to be trained, restrained, and most importantly they will need to be Born Again at some point. Why? Because ever since the fall of our first parent Adam, there is something wrong with us in our first birth. Babies are not evil but they will definitely need to be born again.

What if one of these fallen babies dies before coming of age, will they go to hell? I do not believe that they will for several reasons-

• Jesus told us that we have to “become as a little child” to enter into the kingdom, for it is made up of such as these.

• “Truly I say unto you unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

• King David, after having conceived a child with Bathsheba, begged for the baby's life, having been born sick unto death. After praying and fasting and pleading for seven days the baby died. When asked why he was breaking the fast, David said -“Can I bring him back again from the dead? I shall go to him but he shall not return to me” (II Samuel 12:23)

• In Jeremiah, God catalogued the horrors of Israel’s many sins, including offering babies to the fires of Moloch-God said it would never even enter into his mind to put a baby in a fire- (Jeremiah 19:5)

• Jesus died for all of those little, undefended babies even though they were estranged from God at birth. He knows that those who never had a chance to even express their lostness still would need a Saviour. God definitely believes that there must be something wrong with us in our first birth, and our common descent from Adam. As it is written“In Adam all die”. Every descendant of Adam is born with a defect which is fatal, we all need a second birth, we need to receive a new nature. Paul tells us that we once were “By Nature the children of wrath, even as the rest(of humanity) “ Ephesians 2:3 The problem goes so much deeper than what we have done,(ie sins) but to the level of who we are(Sin). The solution is from God himself, a resurrection, a new birth.

The New Birth is not a mere decision to not sin anymore, as though that would be all that it took, A new birth is an act of God, an impartation of eternal life, nothing less than a change of our very nature.

“As many as received him, to them gave the power to become sons of God, even to those who believed on his name. Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13)

So in closing, I definitely don’t think babies are evil, (I wish we could have had a lot more). Babies are wonderful gifts from God. They are God’s reward, his entrustment to us of something so little and helpless, and beautiful is an awesome blessing. But they do need to be born again, they will have to be trained, they will have to overcome the inborn tendency to rebel against God. But God has already seen our need and provided for us.

“ For by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and death spread to all men for all have sinned…even so by the obedience of the one man shall the many be made righteous” (Romans 5:12-21)

For those who are not " BORN AGAIN " and not filled with the holy spirit can not ever understand the mysteries, the mind of Christ, or understand spiritual things, because spiritual things concerning the Bible are discerned by GOD's holy spirit and taught by the holy spirit, because the holy spirit leads us into all truth of the things of GOD.

The message of the Cross is foolishness to the world, to those who are unsaved, un generated, to human wisdom and reasoning, to those who are perishing, but, to those who are saved, it is the power of GOD.

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. " 1 Corinthians 1:16-19

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" Romans 1:16-17

John 3 (King James Version)

John 3

1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.

20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

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