Questions - So, You Asked About Children | Grace | Salvation | Church Leadership - Video

Sermon Notes: August 17 Psalm 103: 8-10 . Check us out at: https://citylightvicksburg.org/ Or check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/citylightvicksburg . Two questions - do babies go to heaven when they die? And Does a child who rejects the faith, disqualify a Christian leader? God is gracious; and his grace is enough. We must never stop being amazed at that grace-filled work in the giving of the gift of children, and the grace-filled work of parenting. . Do babies go to heaven when they die? There is no one scripture that you can get a definitive answer to the question. There are some hardline beliefs out there - “all babies who don’t profess Christ, go to hell.” Or “babies are sinless and don’t need Christ.” But a close read of the bible shows something else - Any and all babies lost in this life is found through a special grace found in Jesus. . Christ points to babies as having the type of faith - they have a direct lines of communion with the father. Jesus carries high regard and grace for children. Even in the Old Testament, God places the Holy Spirit into at least some babies. Babies behold Christ and the Father. Additionally, David speaks with certainty in 2 Samuel, that he will see his baby again in heaven. David carries an eternal perspective that he will see his child again. And lastly, in Romans, the work of salvation is connected to the work of the conscious. When we see the full existence of creation - our smallness within the vastness of the Lord. Being unable to seek humility in the face of the vastness and goodness of the lord, seems to give us excuse, despite not knowing Christ. . But what about a child rejecting the faith disqualifying a pastor. An overseer must be above reproach. And “must keep his children submissive.” Titus 1, verse 6 says - his children must be believers. Are these scriptures indicating that children keep a pastor from being a pastor. The text - as a whole - indicates that this passage is more about family management (managing personalities, keeping order, and exuding love). If children fear their father, rather than respect and love him, then a church should expect the same thing if he was a leader. But Titus is very specific - the Greek word used here could mean either “believing” or “faithful.” And every action highlighted in this text is an action that is within the leader’s control. Yet, he cannot do anything about his child’s salvation. But, he can order his house in such a way to give his son every opportunity to come to Christ. That is the order we must be observing. . We cannot do anything about our own salvation - being saved by grace. And would be treading on dangerous territory if a person would try to force that salvation on their child, or else they cannot serve the church - woe to that person. . Parenting is a journey of grace and these texts are about creating the environment to best to support our children. Not necessarily about the outcome of salvation.