here are at least two ways for a healthy church to grow. The first way obviously involves the evangelism of those who are not yet followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the second way for such churches to grow is the result of fathers obeying the command given to them to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).
Once a church has begun, within twenty years or so there will be a generation of children calling that church home, not having known anything else.
What should the attitude of the older church members be toward these young people growing up in their midst? Here, as in so many areas, there are extremes to be avoided. One extreme common in some paedobaptist churches is assuming that the children are right with God simply because they have been baptized when they were infants. Baptistic churches can make the same complacent assumption, only ten years later. Another baptistic error avoids this presumption, but does so through assuming that the children are nothing more than little heathen, needing to be evangelized in the same way as those outside the faith.
So how are children to be brought up within the visible church? What biblical assumptions can be made by us concerning them?
One of the reasons modern Christians have such a truncated view of New Testament teaching about children is that they neglect the teaching of the Old Testament on the same subject, including the promises regarding the time of the New Covenant.
Speaking of the time when the Messiah would reign, Ezekiel says they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever (Ez. 37:25). We are taught in Genesis and Ephesians that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Eph. 5:31). But why did God establish marriage in this way? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth (Mal 2:15).
The Bible teaches us that the norm for faithful members of the covenant is that their children will follow them in their faithfulness. The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You (Ps. 102:28). As Christians, we should know that the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them (Ps. 103:17-18). This last promise the Lord's mother held closely (Lk. 1:50).
This does not teach automatic transfer of saving grace to our children. If we disobey the terms of the covenant -- especially with regard to the way we train our children -- then we have no right to be dismayed with the result.
The biblical facts are plain. The Bible is full of promises to parents. But the promises are for those parents who are in the
covenant, keep the covenant, and who remember His commandments to do them. In other words, parents who do as they are commanded may comfort themselves with the words of Scripture: . . . My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them (Is. 65:22b-23).
One of the reasons we fail to comfort ourselves with these promises is that we are reluctant to assume the converse responsibility for failure. But the Bible addresses this as well. Parents within the covenant can fail to do their covenantal duties with regard to their children. The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother (Prov. 29:15). Why is it a shame for parents to have a disobedient child? It is a shame because the parents have everything to do with the existence of that disobedience. This is a conclusion we hesitate to draw, and consequently the promised blessing of covenantal succession for faithful parents is missed.
Some may object and say that this is a burden that no fallen parent can bear -- who is sufficient for these things? The answer of course is that in ourselves none of us are sufficient. But to whom were the promises given then? To the angels? They could be perfect parents, except they are not parents. The promises of the covenant are given to forgiven sinners. And because they are gospel promises they are ours by grace through faith.
The members of churches are required to observe how the leaders of their church live, and what the results of that lifestyle are (Heb. 13:7). This is to be done with a view toward imitating their faith. This is why it is so important that a man admitted to leadership in the church have a home that is well-led, and whose children are obedient to the faith (1 Tim. 3:4-5; Tit. 1:6).
If a church is faithful to the covenant in this regard, and if the leaders of the church faithfully instruct the parents concerning their covenantal responsibilities as parents, then that church should anticipate seeing most of their children grow up knowing that they know the Lord. This should not be seen as an oddity -- the oddity should be children who fall away. And of course the conversion experiences of crack addicts who previously rode with the Hell's Angels should not be used as the conversion paradigm for children who have grown up in godly, nurturing homes.
In Ephesians 6:4, fathers are told to bring up their children in the education and admonition of the Lord. These fathers are not commanded to attempt a distinction between elect and nonelect children. Christian fathers are commanded to bring up all their children born into their homes in this way. And the process is His because the children are His.
This understanding of transgenerational blessing is assumed as continuing under the New Testament. Peter says that the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call (Acts 2:39). It is quite true this is governed by the divine will -- as many as the Lord our God will call -- but given the copious and clear teaching of the Old Testament, and Peter's reference to it, there is no reason to believe the Lord wants to be miserly in His grace. For covenantally faithful parents, because the promise of Scripture cannot be broken, the Lord's gracious calling of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren is something in which we can rest.
