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Innocent Before God by Dallas Witmer

How does God see the salvation of children? What is His Plan to bring them to conversion?

Salvation is the keynote of the New Testament. Peter sounds this familiar tone in his words, “The Lord is...not willing that any should perish.” John 3:16 makes clear the remedy the Lord provided: “He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.”

A sinful, ruined human race is called to salvation through belief in Jesus Christ, repentance from dead works, and the confession of his lordship. He has provided for its salvation through His own sacrificial death and shed blood on the cross. “The blood of Jesus Christ...cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7).

All parents that are truly Christians are deeply interested in seeing all their children saved. They will do all they can toward their salvation. Even those adhering to false religions are concerned for their children’s spiritual safety. Many are careful to baptize each child in infancy; for this, they are told, will insure safe conduct to heaven. Others hope and pray that their infants be not among those created to be damned.

Enlightened Christians rest assured that their young children are safe. They carefully instruct and discipline these tender souls, enlightening them on the eternal principles of God and his laws. With this training and environment, children are favored with the best opportunities to decide for Christ when they reach personal accountability.

Why such a wide range of opinion and practice on the matter of child salvation by people who all claim the New Testament as the basis for their convictions? Satan understands the importance of childhood. If he can confuse the minds of parents on how to bring their children safely to accountability, and confuse the minds of the children on whether or not they are safe, he will certainly have diseased the tender sprout and corrupted the gardener before the plant blossoms to the glory of its Maker.

Thank God, His word is clear on the subject of child salvation. Those who will inherit eternal life are the saved and the safe, none other. “Except you be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew18:3). “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). These words from he mouth of our Saviour Himself make it clear that only children and the childlike will enter heaven.

We believe that all humanity, including little children, was doomed, cursed under sin (Romans 5:12). It was, in part, a compassion for unaccountable children that moved Jesus to die, thus assuring their salvation. Salvation is imputed to them (verses 15, 18), not because they have accepted it but because they have not rejected it, nor can they. He took them in his arms. He did not seek a commitment of them. In contrast, Jesus was constantly confronting adults with the need to commit themselves: “Follow me”; “Repent”; “Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor”; “Ye must be born again.” But He took up the little children just as they were. He “put his hands upon them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:16). Christ’s blessing never rests upon sinners.

Christ’s teaching on child salvation has been honored by His disciples in the founding of the church and by the faithful of God throughout history since then. So perfectly innocent are children that Christ set them up as a pattern for what adults must become to be converted. He said, “Be born again” -- it is the only way to become childlike. “Become as little children.” And as a code of conduct, Paul said, “In malice be ye children” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

We now arrive at he much-disputed issue of when a child ceases to be covered by Christ’s imputed salvation. With one voice, most evangelicals will acknowledge that the newborn infant is safe. But opinion divides when some seeks commitments as soon as the child can verbalize the words, “I believe”; others prefer to wait until he can intelligently express what it means to believe; and still others wait until later youth when the individual has personally experienced the weight of guilt for responsibly committed sin. There are many other shades of opinion.

A study of human nature and development reveals four basic stages through which mankind passes: infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Studying the subject from a spiritual perspective, it soon becomes obvious that the call of the Spirit, the prerequisite for conversion, is sent to the mature mind. Variations of intelligence and accumulated knowledge of God’s laws may bear upon the timing of the call. But, above all, it must be remembered and will be observed that the timing is altogether God’s prerogative. Some faithful Christians testify to having received the call and been converted as early as adolescence or just prior to it. Many others feel that, despite earlier professions and baptism, conversion by the Bible definition came about in later youth.

The two dangers that concern us are the premature decisions and procrastination. The two at times become two phases of the same problem. Many youth of Christian parentage, some church members and others not, are resisting the Spirit’s call to discipleship. Resistance always results in hardness. Meanwhile, parents and church leaders wait out this “immaturity”, not expecting the Gospel standard of discipleship until they become adults.

This is not the standard for the Christian congregation. It is an aberration. It is not the standard for a Christian upbringing. Sound discipline and teaching, with proper care for associations, will avert much evil that is sadly considered standard for youth in many churches. A well-disciplined congregation provides youth with a church home that daily witnesses before them that the Gospel is real -- that men and women can live the laws of God by His transforming power. Child evangelism has flourished in the absence of disciplined homes.

We define child evangelism as “seeking to teach the deep things of God to minds which the Spirit as not yet awakened, and pressing such, emotionally or intellectually, into ‘conversion’ experiences.” This is the alternative widely used in lieu of proper child rearing. It is the culprit of many of our church problems. Leave infants, children and all unawakened youth under the sole guardianship of their parents. Make parents aware that the proper training of these, set their own soul’s salvation at stake. Let the church ever witness by example to the transforming power of the Gospel before them, but let her never accept the spiritual responsibility for the spoiled children or carnal youth of irresponsible parents by bringing them into the church without conversion.

Tragically, our children are fast becoming our mission field. When youth have felt the weight of responsibly committed sin, whether the sin be of the thoughts and motives, or words, or deeds, they ought also to feel the weight of vigilant parent’s, Christian friends’ and ministers’ fingers upon their spiritual pulse. And they ought to hear personalized appeals to their repentance. Much of this salutary effect is missing where the sons of Eli (undisciplined youths) have already tried “conversion” and the church has long since grown frustrated of trying to reform them. Let us not delay our evangelistic appeal to young sinners. “Let no man despise they youth.” God’s power is sufficient to make them examples “in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

All of God’s moral laws are to be enjoined upon children by their parents. The means are verbal instruction and accompanying physical discipline. In a Christian home the parental role in a child’s experience is similar to that of the Jewish Law, being a “schoolmaster to bring {them} unto Christ.” Children are required to do God’s laws, suffering painful consequences when they disobey. As a result, when they yield to the call of the Spirit, they begin a walk of life above the letter of the law of their parents. While innocent, they know about God, and can love and pray to God, band they know that because of God they need to obey their parents. However, they do not know God experientially, for His Spirit is not yet in them.

It seems a bit hypocritical and quite confusing to innocent minds to lead children to seek forgiveness of God for the already-forgiven sins of their innocence. After all, God has predisposed of their sins, and no amount of prayer will change the children’s standing. In the injunction “Children, obey your parents.” God makes children responsible to parents, at whose feet they can learn obedience to Him. When children disobey, their violations are to be handled by the parents by right of this command. The Bible method of child training teaches children right from wrong while not incriminating them as sinners. It is just as dangerous to grieve the Spirit by making sinners out of innocents as it is to “Christianize” the lost. If God counts children innocent, how can we justify bringing them to a sinner’s pose in seeking pardon of Him when their innocent lives are covered by the blood of Christ? Right concepts much be taught by right methods.

Parents who neglect to discipline consistently, but instead threaten the child with “God will punish you,” frustrate the child’s concept of God and holy fear. The child fears this punishment; but when God does not punish him immediately, he tends to doubt that He ever will. Parental punishment for disobedience relieves guilt on the part of the child and clears the parents in their responsibility before God. The parents, once having fulfilled this charge, must completely forgive the child for the wrong which he has done, thus molding the child’s concept of the forgiveness of God toward the penitent. The child can be led to pray to God for strength to overcome his particular weakness, but not for clearing from God for his act.

Child evangelism is a lazy way out of the parental responsibility to discipline. For once the child is converted, he becomes accountable; and sin and guilt become an issue between him and God. Right standing with God can then only be secured by repentance toward God and restitution with affected fellow men.

A child led to a so-called conversion experience before he actually reaches the age of accountability, thinks he is saved but does not experience victory over his sinful nature. When he reaches the age when God calls him, he becomes confused; for to his understanding, that was supposed to be past. Fortunate indeed are the few youths who actually come to understand what this “second” call is about and then respond to it in a real conversion experience.

Theoretically, “saving” children at the earliest age physically possible should certainly assure their salvation; but in practice, the very opposite is true. It hardens their conscience. It could seal their doom. “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). Little children need no conversion. They need no baptism. They are safe.

We can only plead with parents to consider well the issues at stake when they bring children into the world. God will hold parents responsible for the training of their children and their safe conduct to the age of accountability. They will also be responsible as their closest counselors through the first year of their Christian experience til they leave parental protection and form homes of their own. By seeking divine help and knowing the facts of the Word of God, parents will be able to discharge their responsibilities well. So, parents, give diligence to teach and train your children well, according to God’s word, that they may understand and experience a right relationship with God and meet you in heaven.

http://www.honeycombhollow.com/tracts/innocent.html