Let's take our Bibles now and
turn to Matthew chapter 19. We began this study in chapter
19 a couple of weeks ago, and I mentioned to you then that
there was three controversial subjects, three issues brought
before Christ, and it began with Christ's enemies. asking him
a question about divorce. And so while he was talking about
divorce and marriage, and it's in the light of the kingdom of
God, he went ahead and he dealt with this thing of celibacy and
the kingdom of God. And now he's going to deal with
the third controversial issue, which is small children and how
they're to be treated in the ministry of Christ. Matthew 19,
verse 13. 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. And he laid his hands on them
and departed. Now, little children and their
role in the kingdom of God have long been a source of controversy
and confusion in churches. I'm not going to say in God's
church, but in churches, and some in God's church, for centuries,
for centuries. Let me give you just a few of
these controversies. When little children die, what
happens? What happens to them? Where do
they go? Are they received into the kingdom of heaven? Where
do they go? What happens to these little
children? Here's another controversial issue, the age of accountability. I believe that. I don't know
how many years. That's what I was taught. It
was just a common acceptance in the church I went to that
there was an age of accountability. And that age was not fixed, but
it was somewhere around 12, 13 years old. Should small children
be baptized? There's another issue. Should
they be baptized? Should a little child's profession
of faith be taken seriously? Child of 13, 14, 15. comes down the aisle, makes a
profession of faith, comes to me after church and says, I believe
what you've been preaching. I can see in the gospel what
I am before God, and I believe what you're preaching, and I
want to be baptized. How do I handle that? Is there a set age? I mean, what do you say? Do you
see the controversy in these issues? And here's another one. What part should small children
play in a worship service? Do they have a part in the worship
circle? And these and many other questions
have been debated for centuries. I covered some of these things
in last week's message, but let me just mention them briefly
again to refresh our memories. This passage nowhere teaches,
implies, or states that an infant or a small child is to be baptized,
dedicated, or any form of sprinkling, the sprinkling of children as
a work of sanctification or salvation. Nowhere in the scriptures does
it state that. It doesn't imply that. And this
is one of those passages that men who teach this thing go back
and use. They give this as a basis for
what they're doing. But I just read them to you a
few minutes ago. Did anybody in here get the idea
that an infant ought to be baptized? Did you get that out of that
passage? You didn't get it out of there
because it ain't in there. It ain't in there. Nor does it teach
or imply in any way the use of children as altar boys or some
other position that churches have given to children over the
years, and nowhere in this book can I find any place where the
church is to catechize 12-year-old boys and girls in church tradition
and doctrine. These things are learned in our
Bible lessons like we are having here this morning. These things
are learned at home from faithful mothers and fathers, and they
are learned as they mature in the congregation sitting there
just as you sit here this morning. That's how these things are learned.
That's how they're to be taught. And these things and more were
introduced. All these things that I, these
controversial things that I talked about this morning, these things
were introduced by the Papists hundreds of years ago. And they
were adopted by other denominations in time. And these things in
our day are taught and practiced by just a host of churches. It
would surprise you how many churches baptize infants. You'd be shocked
to find out just how many of them do this. Catholics, Lutherans,
Presbyterians, a lot of Reformed churches still practice this. And these things that they teach
are not taught as church tradition, but they're taught as commandments
of the Lord. They're taught that this is what
the Lord commands the church to do. And so they receive them,
and they do. Well, if these things is not
the implication of our text, what is? What is He talking about here?
This is what He's not saying. What is He saying? Well, that's
what I hope to show you this morning in this lesson. Our text
here in Matthew chapter 19 is about bringing our children to
the Lord. That's what it says. They brought
these small children to the Lord. Now I want to give you several
things here that will help you with this passage. The first
thing I want you to see is why these children were brought.
What are they even doing there? They are way out here along the coast and the mountainside,
along that great lake. What are they doing there? What
are these small children doing there? Why were they brought
to Him? Well, this chapter begins by
telling us that the Lord came into the coast of Judea beyond
Jordan, and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them
there. He healed them there. That's
why those children were there. Matthew 19, 1 and 2. They were
plagued with every kind of dread disease, every kind of malady
and demon possession and were brought to Him in hopes to be
cured. That's what they were doing there.
Thousands of them, sick and dying. Some dying in the way, on the
way out. Some carried on bed, some scooting
along on the ground. These people were sick, diseased. They needed help. And this man's
reputation preceded him. They knew that if there was any
hope anywhere concerning these things, he alone could do it. He was the hope. These diseases, all these maladies
and things were not limited to adults. Somehow through the preaching
of false prophets and vain philosophies of this world, we've been brainwashed
into believing that our children grow up in innocence. Is that how you think of them? I know we call them my little
angel and all those things. They're not innocent. They're
not innocent. If children were not sinners,
they wouldn't sin. Would they? David said he was
confessing his sin. You can read about it over there,
I think it's Psalm 51. He's pouring his heart out before
God because that's what God demanded. And he poured his heart out before
God and he said, I come forth from the womb speaking lies.
That's what he said. I was conceived in iniquity. David knew what he was, and he
knew what he was from a child, from his birth. He didn't begin at the age of
12. He didn't begin at the age of
16 or even 20 confessing his sin before God. He began at the
womb. At the womb. We go astray, the Scripture said,
as soon as we be born, speaking lies. And if children were not
sinners, they wouldn't sin. And if they were not accountable,
they wouldn't die. Sin bringing forth death, that's
what it says. They wouldn't die. If there was
no sin and no accountability in that child, he'd never die.
Nobody under the age of whatever that age of accountability is,
they'd start dying then. But from there back, there wouldn't
none of them die. Romans chapter 5 verse 14 tells
us that death reigned from Adam to Moses without a written law
of any kind. and over even them who did not
sin after the similitude of Adam." That is, they were not warned. There was not a plain commandment
of God to them saying, don't do this. They didn't sin that way. They
didn't sin that way. And he's talking here. You just
have to read for yourself. and do some research for yourself.
But he's talking in that verse about infants and small children. That's what he's talking about. These parents brought their children
to the Lord because they were dying and they knew it. They
knew it. They brought them to Him because
He was the only One who could do them any good. They brought
them to Him. They brought them to Him because
He had the reputation to receive such as they were children. He made this statement on another
occasion. He said, except you become like
one of them, you are not even going to enter into the kingdom
of God. Don't shove them away. They were blind and haught and
lame. They had the same diseases that their parents had. They
had issues of blood and leprosy and palsy and everything else
that plagued mankind. Now let me tell you something. I know how important it is. I'm
a father. I've raised three children. And
I know how important it is to you to take your children and
spend time with them. I know that. I know that. To take your sons and daughters
to the lake, to the river to fish, to the woods to hunt, on
vacation to the parks or wherever it is that you go and spend time
with them. And I commend you for it. I commend
you for it. You need to do that. You need
to spend time with your children. We live in an age when all your
time is just taken up just by making a living. It just eat
up. Yeah, there's hardly any time
left. And I commend you for it. But let's suppose something.
Let's suppose they were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow. And there was only one place
in this world that offered any hope for a cure. Would you just
ignore it? Would you just ignore it and
go on to the lake? Would you just write it off as
some kind of superstition and pretend like it didn't exist?
Or would you totally rearrange your life so that that child
could go where the cure is? You follow what I'm saying? That's
why these children were where they were. That's exactly why. Their parents knew they were
dying. I wonder sometimes if we know
that. I wonder if we really believe
that. There's only one place where a cure can be found for
sin, and that's in Christ. That's in Christ. They were brought to Christ because
somebody loved them, and knew they were beyond human help,
and knew if they didn't care enough to bring them, nobody
else would either. That's why they brought them.
And another reason why these children were brought to Christ
is because they saw themselves responsible for them. You're
responsible for your children. Our Lord said this about parents. He said, if a man, a man who
refuses to work and care for his family, he's worse than an
infidel. He's worse than an infidel. And the same thing goes for care
of your children spiritually. They saw themselves responsible
for those children. Children don't know what they
need. You open the door to your pantry
sometimes and watch them go in there and see what they get.
If you can have all this good stuff in there, they don't get
that. Man, they're going to go to the sugar. They're going to
go to the Froot Loops. or whatever else is in that pantry.
That's where they're going to go. They don't know what's good
for them. They don't have a clue what's
good for them. They just know what appeals to them. They don't know what they need.
They don't know what's good for them. And they don't know anything
about eternal matters. They've got to be taught. And
then another reason why these small children were brought to
Christ is because somebody loved them enough to bring them. You got somebody you love? There's not a better way to manifest
that love than to get them by the hand and say, won't you come
go church with me? That lady at the well, she had
put herself apart from everybody, even those that she loved. But
when the Lord done something for her, she went straight to
them and she said, come with me. I want you to hear somebody.
I want you to hear what he's got to say. He told me everything
I ever did. He's the very Christ. Come in
here. Come in here. And I tell you, you read through
the Scriptures and you'll find out that there was a few. There
was a few. That Christ came to where they
were. That woman at the well. He came
to her where she was. That man on the bed at the pool
of Bethesda. He came to him where he was.
There's a few. Blind Bartimaeus on the blanket.
He came to Him where He was. But most of these people were
brought to Christ. Most all that He healed was brought
to Him, or they came to Him. Where is Christ today? I just read an article on that
this morning. I'll tell you where He's at.
He's at the right hand of God. That's where He's at. And He's
in His Holy Spirit. He's in His Gospel. And He is
in His Church. Where two or three are gathered
in My Name, I'll be in the midst. And I tell you this, those who
know where He is bring their children to Him. They bring their
sick children. Maybe your children ain't sick.
But the Bible says they are. They are. They are. What do I do with them? As long
as they are under my care, I bring them to hear the Gospel. That's
what I do. Alright, here's the second thing
I see here. Well-meaning saints often hinder, often hinder the
ministry of Christ to these little ones. Now here's people who love
their children. Their children were dying and
they brought their children in desperation. They brought them
To Him. To be healed, to be cured, to
have life. They brought these children.
And here's these disciples now. These disciples. Anointed of
God. And they're saying, no, no, no,
no, no. They're hindering. They're hindering
the bringing of these children. They were brought unto Him, Matthew
19, 13, little children to be prayed for and touched by the
Lord, and the disciples rebuked. Why would the Lord's disciples
rebuke these little children? Maybe because they created such
a fuss that they feared it was disturbing to the Lord. Maybe
that's one reason. I don't know. Maybe because they
judged others to be in a more desperate need than them. Maybe
that's the reason. Maybe because they believed them
to be innocent and unaccountable while the older people weren't.
Maybe that's why they held them back. And maybe because they
judged them unable to perceive any spiritual benefit from the
Lord. My friend, children are children.
They're going to fidget and they're going to move a little bit. Get
over it. Just get over it. I'm not going to demand that
you sit there with your hands crossed and your feet side by
side and don't look around and don't move and don't fidget.
I couldn't do it and I'm not going to demand that out of you. I'm not suggesting here that
we allow our children to talk and pass notes and cause disturbances
in our worship services so that it affects the hearing of the
gospel. I'm not suggesting that at all. This is not the place
to see how much liberty you can give to your children. But neither
do I want to make it impossible. I don't want to go to such an
extreme with this thing that I make it impossible to minister
to them. I don't want to shove them so
far out in the corner that they don't hear anything. You see
what I'm saying? It's very clear to me in this
passage that the Lord ministers to small children. He rebuked
the rebukers. They said, no, you can't come
up here. He said, hang on a minute. You
let them come to me. And He uses a word here that
we need to learn. He said, suffer little children
to come unto me. Huh? Suffer the fidgeting just
a little bit. Suffer the whining just a little
bit. We can suffer those things, can't
we? Huh? And forbid them not to come unto
me. For of such is the kingdom of
heaven. There have been many in the kingdom
of God who were brought to faith as small children. Timothy was
one. Timothy. He was a young man. Charles Spurgeon professed faith
two weeks and was baptized two weeks before he was 16 years
old. He preached some 800 different
occasions before he was 20 years old. Don Fortner professed faith at
a very early age. And many others that I've met
over the years professed faith at a young age. And for that reason, it's always
on my mind to make the gospel I preach as simple, to put it
in as simple a language as I know how to put it, to use as simple
an illustration as I know how to use. I can't make you believe,
but I can make you understand what I'm saying. I told Henry, Henry said, one
time he said, how'd it go up there? And I said, well, I guess
it went all right. Nobody said anything. He said, they didn't
understand you. He said, be clear next time you go. He said, I
have something to say one way or the other. Just get it out
clear. Make them understand what you
say. Greet little children with a
smile. Too often, here comes a little
child and we just go right around him and go to the parents and
shake their hands and not say a word to that child. Greet the little children. Greet
them with a smile. He said, for of such is the kingdom
of heaven. Now here's another thing. Here's
the third thing. The Lord Himself laid His hands upon those who
were brought to Him before He departed. The Lord doesn't leave us hanging
in suspense as to whether or not He will heal them. He heals
them. Right before these preachers,
right before their rebukers, He heals these small children.
He heals. Now let me be quick to point
this out. He healed them in the same place He healed everybody
else. It was the same One who healed them that healed everybody
else. And He healed them in the same
way He healed everybody else. When the Lord saves a young man
or a young woman, He saves them the same way He does an adult.
The very same way. They hear the gospel, they receive
and act on the testimony of God, they repent of their sins, and
they come to Christ. That's the only way to be saved.
You're going to have to come to Him. You have to get to Him. And I don't have children's church.
A lot of, you see on the sign, children, you know, they're giving
you the dates and times of services and stuff. And I've seen a lot
of these big children, they'll say children's church, 9 o'clock
or 8.30 or whatever it is. I don't have children's church.
I just have, we just have one, one service, one service. I don't
have one message for children and another for adults. I don't
have one set of means for children and another set of means for
adults. Christ is sufficient. He's sufficient. And He's sufficient
for our children. We meet here as families and
as individuals and we worship our God in the unity of His Spirit
and according to the one true faith. There's nothing else to
preach. for the salvation of sinners
except the gospel of God's sovereign grace. That's what I'm going
to preach to my children. That's what I'm going to preach
to yours. And when God sets it in our hearts to know and have
that conviction that our children are dying, that we're responsible
for them, that we love them, we'll bring them. We'll bring
them. At least while they're under your care, you'll bring
them and you'll see to it. that they hear the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Thank you.