LITTLE CHILDREN ALREADY IN THE CHURCH?

Because King David said his famous words about Bath-sheba's infant who died shortly after birth, "Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Sam. 12:23), we know that the Lord takes infants to Himself if they die before the age of accountability. But the amills and Presbyterians, like William Hendriksen, think that children are now already in the Kingdom! When Christ took the children in His arms, as told in Mark 10:16, He followed through and blessed them. On this, Hendriksen says "The Lord regarded these little children that were brought to him as being already 'in' the kingdom, as being even now members of his church, [this] must not escape our attention."    There is not one indication that this is true, though we would agree that before the age of accountability, because of what David said, the innocent child has the blood of Christ applied to him! But the child is not a member of the church! Nothing like that is in the Mark passage!    Hendriksen goes further. He writes that "the little children of believers belong to God's church and to his covenant, baptism, the sign and seal of such belonging, should not be withheld from them, must be regarded as well-founded. In later years, through parental, etc. instruction applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit, the divine blessing received earlier becomes a mighty incentive to wholehearted personal surrender to Christ." That the child is a member of a believing parent has nothing to do with it. And we all agree there is much that we do not understand about how the Lord saves the innocent child.    The tone of the Bible would say that the innocent child, before the age of accountability, would be covered by the blood of Christ. David's statement would open the door for such a belief. But when the individual reaches the state of being able to believe, it would be more biblical to argue that baptism, or being raised in a believing family, has nothing to do with that person's salvation. When he can rationally place his faith in Christ, then he can be saved. Otherwise, he would not be redeemed!    To put faith in infant baptism, or in parental belief, is not scriptural. Thus, dispensationalists and premillennialists are far more biblical than the amills! –Dr. Mal Couch (Mar., 10)