6. Major differences for children of believers

The sixth principle is that there is an indisputable difference between the children of professing believers and the children of unbelievers. This is not necessarily a difference in the state of their hearts (i.e. they may not always be regenerate), but God clearly promises things to our children that He does not to others. These differences parallel the same differences intended by God in the Old Testament between the children of believers and the children of unbelievers.

1. The children of believers are said to be “holy.” In other words, they have been set apart by the covenant for God’s special working (Ezra 9:2; Mal. 2:15; Is. 6:13; 1 Cor. 7:14). “And did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? [speaking here of a spiritual unity in marriage] And why one? He seeks holy offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce” (Mal. 2:15-16a, emphasis added).
2. Thus these children continue to be heirs of the Abrahamic covenant. (Galatians 4:1 - “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child…”, emphasis added). Nowhere is the child of unbelievers said to be an heir of the Abrahamic covenant. Furthermore, it is arbitrary to say that the “heirs” of Galatians 3:26-29 have the right to be baptized, but not the “heir” in the very next verse (Galatians 4:1). It is of the very nature of the Abrahamic covenant to include children, and this Abrahamic covenant was extended to “all the families of the earth” (Acts 3:25, emphasis added). On what basis can an “heir” of the Abrahamic covenant (4:1) be excluded from the covenant sign?
3. The covenant is made with children even before they were born (Deut. 29:10-11,13-15,29 with Acts 2:33,39)
4. Even when the parents later apostatize, the children that have been brought into covenant are said to be born unto God. (I.e., they aren’t Satan’s or ours). “They have sacrificed their children whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them” (Ezek. 23:37, emphasis added). “Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?” (Ezek. 16:20-21, emphasis added).
5. Christ blessed the little children and said of these covenant children, “of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14; Mark 10:16; Luke 18:15-16). “Then they also brought infants (The word for “infants” is βρέφη a word used for newborns or unborn fetuses, e.g. Luke 1:41,44) to Him that He might touch them” etc.
6. Covenant children have angels assigned to them (Matt. 18:10).
7. God promises that in the New Covenant He will pour out His blessings on our offspring; not only on us (Is. 44:3; 40:11).
8. The New Testament never addresses the children of believers as heathen, but always as church members or covenant children (Colossians 3:20; Eph. 6:1ff) Thus, children are expected to grow in grace. Parents are expected to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
9. The closeness of Christ’s identity with covenant children can be seen in His statement, “whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” (Matt. 18:5). Compare Luke 9:48; Matt. 25:31-46.
10. Though it is clear that our infants are depraved and sinful from conception (Psalm 51:5; 58:31) and thus justly deserve spiritual and physical death (Rom. 6:23), believing parents can lay claim to the many promises of God’s blessing upon generation after generation. There are at least five cases infants who were saved before or shortly after birth: John (Luke 1:41,44), Jeremiah (Jer. 1:4), David (Ps. 22:9-10), David’s Son (2 Sam. 12:15-23) and Jereboam’s son (1 Kings 14:13). Likewise there are many examples like Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15 notice the Greek word Brevfouß or baby) which imply that there was never a time when they didn’t know and love the Lord.
11. The representational principle of parents has always held true. Adam’s posterity is judged because of Adam’s sin. But God’s grace made possible the reversal of that on a familial basis. The family of Noah was spared because of the faith of Noah (Gen. 6:8,18; 7:1; Heb. 11:7). God promised to bless Abraham’s descendants because of Abraham’s faith, and even said that through the coming Messiah “all the families of the earth would be blessed” (Gen. 12:3; Acts 3:25, emphasis added). Thus it is natural for the New Testament to point to the example of Abraham when dealing with family salvation. For example, it was because of Zaccheus’ faith that Christ said, “today is salvation come to this household because he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9, emphasis added). Zaccheus as the covenantal head of the home brings salvation to the home because he had just become a son of Abraham. Every time a person comes to Christ in the New Testament period he becomes “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). We are heirs to the family promises given to Abraham! Thus in the very next verse (Galatians 4:1) the “child” is also said to be an “heir.” Thus, God blesses children over and over because of the faith of parents (Luke 1:41,44). In Matthew 9:18-19,23-26 the daughter of the Jewish official is healed because of the father’s faith (not the faith of the daughter). The same is true of the healing of the epileptic son (Matt. 17:14-18), and of the raising of the daughter to life (Luke 7:11-17), and the healing of the Nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54). It was expected that where faith was present in the parents, the whole family would worship and rejoice in God (Deut. 12:7,12; 14:26; Joel). And this principle was prophesied to continue into New Testament times when all families of the pagan nations would worship before God (Psalm 22:27). Thus the promise given by Paul in Acts 16:31 is no empty promise: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” That is God’s pattern. We should never see our children as being no better off than the children of unbelievers are.