Election by Murder?

I hope you’ve all benefited as much as I have from Jesse’s posts over the last few days regarding the eternal destiny of infants who die before they reach maturity. The persistently biblical emphasis—i.e., getting into the texts—has been a breath of fresh air regarding an extremely sensitive topic that is supercharged with emotion. The “cumulative case” approach to this issue is wise, because, even as he said, if you disagree with a particular interpretation of a particular verse, there are certainly others that are unmistakable. And the weight of all the biblical data bears on your conclusion.

However, the implications of this issue are so broad that not even three consecutive blog posts full of comments on twenty-six particular passages of Scripture from both Testaments proves exhaustive. There are other questions to be answered. One of our commenters asked one of these questions, broaching an issue that he himself deemed “an elephant in the room.” I want to take some time today to address his question, not at all because I want to give him a hard time but because I think having a clarifying answer to this question can be helpful for all of us—not only as we consider the topic of infant salvation but also the doctrine of salvation in general. He asks:  Read answer HERE

What Happens to Infants who Die? The NT answers

Yesterday we saw 16 verses in the OT that address the issue of what happens to little children who die. I hope you saw that the OT lays the groundwork for a category distinction: there are two kinds of sinners who die. There are those who die because of their sin nature, namely infants. And there are those who die because they love sin, and actively embrace it; namely, adults. This distinction is important to grasp because the NT does not reestablish it from the ground up but rather Jesus and Paul both teach in such a way that the distinction is reinforced.

Again, if any of these verses trouble you, simply skip them, and let the weight of the full list be enough to convince you. The numbering picks up where yesterday left off.

17) Jesus blessed little children. There are no examples of Jesus blessing anyone who was in open rebellion to God. Again, much like Jonah 4, Jeremiah 19, 1 Kings 11, this (at the very least) creates a category distinction between sinful adults in rebellion against God, and the childlike innocence of children (Matt 18:3-5).

18) In Matthew 18, Jesus not only blesses the children, but uses them as an earthly analogy of childlike faith. He says that “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child– this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Everyone is free to debate what exactly Jesus means here, and there are Christian answers all over the spectrum. But at the very least, Jesus has to be implying that children in their current state would go to heaven if they died. Consider this statement: “my car is as fast as a cheetah, and unless your car is like a cheetah too, it can never be fast.” Everyone can debate what it means to be fast, or how fast my car really is, or if your car even should be fast. But the entire analogy would break down if cheetahs were not indeed fast to begin with. That is the assumption that makes the analogy make sense. Whatever Jesus is saying Matthew 18, it only makes sense if the destination of children who die is an enviable one.   Continue at Jesse Johnson

The Salvation of the ‘Little Ones’: Do Infants who Die Go to Heaven?

The death of an infant or young child is profoundly heartbreaking – perhaps the greatest grief a parent is called to bear. For Christian parents, there is the sure knowledge that our sovereign and merciful God is in control, but there is also a pressing question: Is our baby in heaven?

 This is a natural and unavoidable question, calling for our most careful and faithful biblical study and theological reflection. The unspeakable anguish of a parent's heart demands our honest and humble searching of the Scriptures.

Some are quick to answer this question out of sentimentality. Of course infants go to heaven, they argue, for how could God refuse a precious little one? The Universalist has a quick answer, for he believes that everyone will go to heaven. 

Some persons may simply suggest that elect infants go to heaven, while the non-elect do not, and must suffer endless punishment. Each of these easy answers is unsatisfactory.

Mere sentimentalism ignores the Bible’s teaching which bears on the issue. We have no right to establish doctrine on the basis of what we hope may be true. We must draw our answers from what the Bible reveals to be true.  Keep Reading >>>

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Related Posts

• In the Shadow of Death–The Little Ones Are Safe With Jesus
• More Than One Way to Heaven?
• Salvation through Christ Alone? — A Moment of Decision
• All Roads Lead to Heaven? — Kathleen Parker Does Theology (Audio)
• Dutch to Sanction Euthanasia of Infants — ‘Guidelines’ to Be Established

Some Questions For The Pastor

Article by W. J. Mencarow Pastor of Reformation Church Boerne, TX
 

Here are some questions you should ask the pastor. All questions anticipate a “yes” answer. If he cannot give you a flat “yes,” and instead talks around the question, or says that the question is too complicated for a yes or no answer, or some other such evasive nonsense, find another church.

Warning: You will find very few churches in which the pastor will answer “yes” to every one of these questions. Even if he answers “yes” to all the others, the question with which he will most likely take issue is the one about worship. Sadly, there are very few churches that conform to virtually all elements of Biblical worship. And of course there is no perfect church on this earth, because they are administered by imperfect men.

However, that does not mean one has to avoid a church simply because there are elements of its worship that are lacking. For example, it is very difficult to find a church that sings out of the Lord’s songbook, the Psalms, exclusively. (most Christians are unaware that the opposite has almost always been true — there were no churches that sang hymns composed by men until relatively recently in church history. Our Christian forefathers would ask us, “Why do you want to sing words written by uninspired men and women when you have 150 songs written by God and given by Him for us to sing?”) Keep Reading>>>

Little Ones Perishing: Don't Miss the Meaning

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