Matthew 18:2-6 Faith of a Child

Matthew 18:2-6  “And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea”. (NASB)

In my estimation there are two ways that folks come to belief in Christ.  Now before you get all funny on me let me state clearly that I believe that in order to be saved that a person must by faith believe that Jesus Christ has paid the price for their sins and that the debt is paid as a free gift of grace.  Further I believe that no one can come to faith in Christ of their own volition.  That is, I cannot will it, I have to be drawn to it by the work of the Holy Spirit.  With that foundation let me continue my thought on the two ways folks come to their belief in Christ.

The first way (really the second) is the adult awakening or alter call to repentance and acceptance of Christ as Savior.  That would be the teen or adult conversion experience many can point to in their life.  Many can claim the exact date time location etcetera when they accepted Christ as their Savior.  Listening to testimonies was always interesting to me because this exact date and time thing wasn’t part of my experience.  I came to Christ the other way.

I grew up going to church.  My faith was the way it was; I knew no other way.  My truth was the Truth and I was blessed because of this.  I went to Sunday School and I learned the stories from the Bible and it was all without question.  It was the truth because those who were teaching me were teaching me the truth.  I was a trusting child and mine was a childlike faith.  I think then that my experience with childlike faith helps me to understand the ferocity with which Christ defends these innocent children in the passage today.  Those who in innocent faith believe in Him that might be led astray by evil men – whoa to them.  “Whoever causes of of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Now that’s the wrong side of the equation to be on.

My message today is simple.  If you are a parent today it is important to get your kids to church and give them the opportunity to grow up in their innocence with unwavering faith in Christ as I did.  That will serve them well for a life time.  AMEN!