Bible Truth #399 - Matthew 18:1-4

Matthew 18:1-4

1  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I wrote about Jesus speaking of being converted in Bible Truth #318 so I won’t go into that here. Nor will I go into the unbiblical “Age of Accountability” which I wrote about in Bible Truth #319. Please feel free to click either of the hyperlinks for more in-depth thought.

Jesus said “...and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

This is not a blanket statement made by Christ to show all children are safe from eternal damnation. Rather, this is a simile to describe a Christian's faith - ...become AS little children. Children unreservedly trust those over them without question. It is their nature and God designed them that way for, among other reasons I'm sure, their own safety. God wants Christians to trust Him the same way, without reservation, because He is sovereign, on the throne, in control, and directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9). That is why we are to thank Him FOR everything (Ephesians 5:20), yes, even the “bad” things. There are no accidents or coincidences in a Christian's life - everything is incidental and directed by God. Since that is the case, children who die at whatever age, or before birth, have died as directed by God. He owns everything and everyone on earth (Psalm 24:1, 2 Peter 2:1) and He can do with anyone as He wants for His glory. We were created for His pleasure, not ours (Revelation 4:11).

Let’s talk about little children, the total depravity of the natural man, and when we inherit that nature.

Because of Adam, every human being is conceived a sinner (Psalm 51:5). He is a sinner from the instant of conception. His spirit is dead and unless God quickens that spirit at some point after conception that person will go to eternal damnation whether he dies at 95 years of age or in the womb. No one enters Heaven unless their dead spirit has been quickened by God.

At some point before they step into eternity, God WILL quicken the spirit of every person He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). This is true regardless of age - from a 95 year-old man to a fertilized egg that, because the mother is on the “birth-control pill,” the endometrium does not accept the implantation of that human life and hence the mother is directly responsible for an abortion (but that's another topic). If that child is Elect of God and was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, God WILL quicken his spirit and as such, will join many others in Heaven. But it doesn’t change the fact that at the moment of conception his spirit was dead and needed to be quickened by God.

There is nothing anyone can do to BE chosen; and if one is chosen, there is nothing he can do to be UNchosen. People are chosen because of NOTHING they did or didn’t do (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5). This is also true of those who were NOT chosen: they were passed over NOT because of anything they did or didn’t do. Just as Christians are not saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), neither are works the basis for a man’s condemnation. It is the sinful nature inherited from Adam that condemns and it is the sinful nature that must be redeemed. Because every human is conceived in sin they are condemned already. If they were not chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, because of Adam God’s wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

The Scripture that proves an unborn child is spiritually dead is John 3:6.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Therefore, anyone conceived of man is spiritually dead, flesh can give birth ONLY to flesh. Therefore, just as any man, woman, boy, or girl is saved only by the grace of God because they were chosen, salvation is the same for any child, infant, or unborn child - he/she is saved by the grace of God and ONLY the grace of God. But those who survive pregnancy and childhood and who will never be converted are wicked from birth (Psalm 58:3).

But it is a fact that many die who are unable to “make a decision” and because the flesh has come up with the idea that a man goes to Heaven because of something he did in the flesh - i.e. he “made a decision” for Christ - a theory had to be fabricated to give this group of people a way to get to Heaven. So the unbiblical theory called “Age of Accountability” has been concocted. There is NO SUCH THING in Scripture as the “Age of Accountability.”

Some believers have told me what happens to an unborn baby, newborn, or young child if they die is not set in Scripture so it should not be debated or made into a dogma. While that is indeed true, the principle of who will enter Heaven and for what reason IS a doctrine... the Doctrine of Election. What some men try to do is put a group of people (babies, mentally infirm) in a position where they’re safe from damnation because they aren’t able to make a moral decision. Sorry, that’s not in Scripture. What IS in God's Word is clear, only His Elect are going to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, period. To prove one way or another about those “unable to make a moral decision” is getting into emotionalism and is uncalled for. Those “unable to make a moral decision” are in the same position as every human being ever conceived or born - God owns them, they are in His hands, and He does with them whatever pleases Him. (Psalm 24:1; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 4:11).

However, if someone wants to insist that it is indeed our sins that condemn us and not our sinful nature, and since infants and mentally infirm cannot make a moral decision and therefore have not sinned, then they must remove Romans 3:23 from their Bible.

FOR ALL HAVE SINNED, AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD;

There is no exception for babies or mentally infirm. Someone may ask, well how do babies sin? That is beside the point. God identifies sin, not man. When God had Paul write ALL HAVE SINNED, God means exactly that, ALL HAVE SINNED.

The very existence of an unredeemed human is a stench before God, every breath an unredeemed human takes is sin. Every heartbeat of an unredeemed child is sin. They that are in the flesh (ANY lost person) can not please God (Romans 8:8). That means if God would be pleased by someone “accepting” Jesus, a lost man can’t “accept” Jesus! If God would be pleased by someone truly repenting of their sin, a lost woman can’t truly repent of her sin!!

Do you think God is indifferent? That is, if someone can not please God, is it possible they can not displease God? That someone can remain “neutral” in their relationship with God? No. If someone is not pleasing God, they are displeasing Him, hence their activity is sin. Paul confirms this when he writes whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Does Paul write “whatever adults do that is not from faith is sin.” ?? NO.

The bottom line is that at conception, the spirit in that one cell human being is DEAD and must be quickened by God before death for that soul to enter into Heaven. And it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but God's mercy (Romans 9:16).