Connecting the Christian Faith with Children (part six)

6. The Status of Children before God

A ‘blog’ posting by ‘Lynn’[1] manages to distill some of the historical debate on the status of children before God to just a small number of options:

1: all children start life outside the Kingdom of God.
This assumes that children of all ages are in exactly the same position before God as adults i.e. in sin and rebellion and if they die before repentance and faith, they are hell-bound

2: the presence of a Christian parent establishes right standing before God.
This is based on teaching about the covenant; the special agreement between God and his people (Genesis 17, Deut 29, 1 Peter 2:9-10) The children of the people of God also belong to him.

3: the presence of a Christian parent creates privilege, not standing.
This is a softer version of answer 2. To be in a Christian home environment increases the likelihood of future Christian discipleship. It is more likely that he will be nurtured towards faith.

4: the experience of baptism establishes right standing before God.Put simply: if a child is baptised, s/he is acceptable to God. If s/he is not baptised, s/he is not.

5: the experience of baptism enhances privileges.
This is a softer version of answer 4. It assumes that baptism is undertaken seriously as an expression of faith and hope by the parents. It enhances the possibility of future discipleship, like answer 3.

6: All children belong to God.
This answer can lead people into difficulties. Until a child can have a personal experience of sin, and therefore of guilt, s/he is covered by Christ’s saving work. But how do we know when a child stops being a child i.e. when do they move from the “saved” position to the “unsaved” position?[2]

In a later post, Lynn posits a seventh answer to the question of a child’s status before God. She suggests that:

7: All children begin with God
but will drift from that position unless an effective nurturing or evangelistic influence operates in their lives.
Key to this is that the child’s belongingness to God may become rebellion. There is no assumption that the belonging WILL become rebellion. This answer takes account of humanity’s rebellion against God and the child’s potential to be part of that. But it holds that potential in tension with Jesus’ own teaching about children and the Kingdom. Taking that teaching seriously, it holds that all children begin with God, but that they will drift from that safe position unless the drift is halted and reversed. So we need to have a VISION to cater for this; both within the Christian family and amongst the children's team.The answer also makes sense of the fact that the faith of many adults began with Christian nurture in the home and grew into mature Christian discipleship. Some adult Christians have never doubted that they belong to God. They have been nurtured in that sense of belonging; they have agreed with it; they have grown in it. They have never consciously said “no” to Jesus …[3]

[1] http://helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com/
[2] Answers 1 to 6 can be found at: http://helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com/2007/03/status-of-children-before-god-part-1.html
[3] Answer 7 can be found at: http://helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com/2007/04/status-of-children-before-god-part-2.html