When little children “come to Christ” are they doing so by their own volition or by outside (human) influence?  Or, are they being regenerated by the Holy Spirit to repentance and faith and being saved by grace?

 

Both Matthew 19:13-14 and Luke 18:15-16 address the issue of little children coming to Christ.  Matthew 19:13-14 reads, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Luke 18:15-16 reads, “And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God.” But is there any real difference in the context?  Although Matthew writes of “little children” and Luke writes of “infants”, there does not appear to be any contradiction in meaning or record. Likewise, Matthew writes of the “kingdom of heaven” and Luke writes of the “kingdom of God.” Again, God is in His throne abiding in heaven so there is no contradiction between the writers, it is only as they, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recorded the event.

 

So, the question is: Are infants or small children saved by grace?  It is easy, common and very natural for parents to want their children to become Christians.  But is it as simple as coming forward during a service or Vacation Bible School or raising one’s hand at the encouragement of adults?  No one knows how many people were saved on the road to Damascus. The Bible speaks of one. So, what we do know from scripture is that Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face and it changed his name and life forever.  Not everyone will experience what Saul/Paul experienced. But several things are clear from scripture.

 

Paul wrote to the Romans 10: 17 , “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  There is no doubt that many small children hear the Word of God, but does faith always follow hearing in young or old people?  And, did that hearing of the Word bring faith? Even the most educated of people can struggle with this issue. Nicodemus was a highly educated Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, yet, Jesus had to repeat Himself not less than five times in telling him that a man must be born again or he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemas still asked in confusion of the understanding that Jesus was telling him.  In this account found in John chapter three, Jesus furthers the conversation by telling Nicodemus that those who believe not are condemned already.

 

So many preachers/teachers like to comfort the hearers by saying there is an age of accountability involved in salvation.  The truth is, everyone is accountable to God regardless of their age. The age of accountability seems to be an excuse factor that man has added into the equation.  Children certainly do not have the same amount of sins to repent of but they are nevertheless sinners and need to recognize that need to repent. The same goes for adults.  Not everyone has gone through the same trials and sinful habits but again they need to recognize that. In his day, Nicodemus must have been a well-respected man but he still needed to repent of his sins.

 

Ephesian 2:1 tells us of our pre-salvific condition.  “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.”  First of all, to whom was Paul writing? Verse one of that same letter he states that is writing to the “saints” and “faithful in Christ Jesus.”  These are not two groups of people but the same. So, he is writing to those who have been saved by grace. That is why in chapter 2 verse one he writes “were dead.”  That is past tense. The point being is that before one is saved by grace they are spiritually dead and incapable of any spiritual cognizant of doing anything pleasing to God which includes repentance unto salvation.  Titus 3:5 proves this by stating, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

 

So, do little children come unto Jesus for salvation on their own, either by raising their hands or walking an aisle?  John 6:40, 44-45 answers that question.  “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.” And, “No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up the last day.  It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” Whether child or adult only those who are given by God the Father will come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation having been regenerated unto salvation by the Holy Spirit.  A lot of people came to Jesus while He was on earth. A lot of people turned away from Him, also, when they heard what He had to say. John 6:66 tells us that, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”  It is important to note here that those who turned away were disciples. They were followers and learners of Jesus Christ.  They were obviously not Christians. So, just because someone goes to church or attends a Bible Study or raises their hand in Vacation Bible School is no indication of their salvation.

 

Were the little children or infants who were brought or came to the Lord Jesus Christ that day regenerated unto salvation?  It does not say. Following that story in Matthew 19: 16 -22 and the account in Luke, a young man also comes to Jesus asking how to have eternal life.  When Jesus tells him that he must give up all his possessions the young man “went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”  Easy to deduce that all who come to Jesus on their own or at the coercion of others do not go away saved. Neither does infant baptism, catechism classes, etc. help one enter the kingdom of God.

 

Paul wrote in II Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”  How many infants and small children have any type of sorrow for their sins? And in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that is not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

 

Many a denomination that has “come out” of the Roman Catholic Church still hold to infant baptism, regardless of the absence of biblical evidence.  Some denominations who practice paedobaptism also practice paedo-communion. Paedocommunion is the practice of giving infants/small children the wine and wafer for communion, aka the Eucharist. This communion is given to all the baptized, regardless of their age. Again, they use the same scripture for this (in) validation as do those for “little children” salvation.  That being Matthew 19:14 .   To further support this doctrine they cite early church fathers such Cyprian and Augustine who favored it.1 What they are saying is that infants/small children are saved so they can participate in the Lord’s Supper.

 

According to the Reformed Episcopal Church, the term “regeneration” is used differently throughout the church’s history.2   Changing the meaning of a word to fit a denomination does not change the original word used or described in scripture.  Regeneration means regeneration by the Holy Spirit unto salvation and has nothing to do with water baptism. Neither is it an act by man in “hope” that an infant will be saved by grace.  Infants have no idea what all that means. To force them to partake of the wine and wafer is purely denominational deception. There is no scriptural support for such a practice. It all hangs on denominational interpretation and tradition and not biblical validation.

 

Like so many other doctrines, paedocommunion is debated among so-called evangelicals today.  A debate in itself does not legitimize doctrine. Scripture alone does. Denominations attempt to validate doctrinal views on both eisegetical interpretation and historical records.  Both of these can lead to bad theology. Bad theology can be deceptive to someone, regardless of their age.

 

1 – Infant communion, from Wikipedia - Support for infant communion is drawn from several gospel verses, including Matthew 19:14 and Mark 10: 14. Among the Church Fathers, Cyprian, Augustine, and Leo the Great explicitly favored infant communion.

 

2 – Doctrine on Baptism---Reformed Episcopal The term regeneration has been used differently throughout the church’s history, and the objection of the Reformed Episcopal Church’s founders was based on the definition of the “new birth” then current amongst Evangelicals. If regeneration is an instantaneous work of the Spirit quickening the heart prior to conversion, a gift from God given only to His elect, then the language of baptismal regeneration would suggest that all the baptized are finally saved. It is for this reason that the Declaration of Principles denies that regeneration is inseparably connected with baptism.

 

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