Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Back To Bullies”
Categories: ANGRY MAIL, CHILDREN, RELATIONSHIPS, SALVATION(This post is a follow-up to “Bullycide”.)Sorry, I disagree on a couple of points. I've been in the line of fire, so I know from firsthand experience that some kids are sinners of the worst kind. I believe some kids ARE aware of what they're doing, and if God let evil people like that into heaven, it wouldn't be heaven anymore. Kids who drive other kids to their grave are guilty of MURDER in the sight of God. You can't let the wicked off the hook. Jesus put no age limit on repentance. He said, unless you repent, you shall ALL likewise perish (Luke 13:3-5). Paul says in I Cor.7:14: Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. Merely being a child doesn't bring holiness. There are clean children and unholy children.
The prophet Elisha was teased (apparently, only verbally) by a gang of youths for being bald in 2 Kings 2:23-24. Elisha pronounced judgment on those kids. He didn't absolve them of blame just because they were young. NO WHERE in scripture does God say you're automatically innocent if you're below the age of 18, 13, or whatever. What's missing in modern pulpits is good, old-fashioned, fire-and-brimstone preaching. God's love is so overemphasized to unrepentant sinners that they never suspect there might be a fiery hell awaiting them on the Day of Judgment and God's righteous wrath against sin.
Sincerely,
Done Being Bullied
Dear Done Being Bullied,
We appreciate your points and think there might be some miscommunication. There is an age where a child reaches young adulthood - often known as the "teens", and children do begin to be responsible before God for their choices. There is a point where a child ceases to be simply a product of their environment and transitions into being a culpable adult who has chosen a path of righteousness or wickedness.
However, children are not born in sin as you seem to be stating. 1 Cor. 7:14 is being used out of context. In 1 Cor. 7:14, the children are 'holy' because they are purified by their believing parent's influence. Otherwise, 1 Cor. 7 would be literally saying that a child is bound for hell or bound for heaven based off of whether or not their parents are christians. Jesus died to save the whole world (Jhn 3:16), and every human has an opportunity to obey Him.
2 Kgs 2:23-24 is dealing with teenagers (or young adults), not small children. Yes, many of today's youth exhibit the same hateful and rebellious attitudes that are shown by that gang of young adults that Elisha interacted with. Children that rebel against parents and show a lack of respect for authority are clearly condemned in the Scriptures (Col 3:20, Deu 21:18-21).
We couldn't agree more that there is a need for preaching on hell and the judgment to come (if you read the answers to many of our questions, we think you will see that we don't shirk our responsibility to that topic). Once we reach the age where we are old enough to make decisions and repent of those decisions on our own – we must prepare ourselves, so that we won't perish (Lk 13:3-5). Children eventually become adults, and as adults, we must be prepared to meet our God.
