Holy Children – The Covenant Status of Believers’ Children, 7/12/26

Good morning and welcome again to each one. It

is such a blessing to be back in the congregation

again and to bring the Lord's Word to you from

the book of 1 Corinthians. We are going to be

looking today at verse 14, taking a close look

at the latter part of this verse. as I promised

two weeks ago when I preached on the passage

from verses 10 through 16. So let us turn in

our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 7 and verse 14. Here

is the word of God for us today. For the unbelieving

husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving

wife is sanctified by the husband. Your children

would be unclean, but now they are holy. The

subject today that we're going to be considering

from this passage is holy children. The covenant

status of believers' children. Let's pray and

ask for God's blessing on this time. Father,

we look in your word today, Father. And there

are many things that we do not understand as

we ought. So we pray today that you would enlighten

us, that you would give us of the power of the

Spirit, that we might be able to understand every

word, Lord, for it proceeds from your mouth.

And so we humble ourselves before you in obedience

to you, and we pray for the illumination of the

Holy Spirit. Please help us, Lord, to understand

and for me to expound. on this passage today,

that it might be glorifying to you and for the

upbuilding of your church here on the earth.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The Apostle Paul,

in speaking of the relationship of the possibility

of one or the other, of a spouse being come and

converted to the Christian faith, and the other

one still remains an unbeliever, speaks to this

in this passage, from verses 12 through 16. And

in this situation, Paul clearly says that the

unbelieving or the believing is not to depart

from the unbelieving. I spoke of that at length

the last time that I preached, and so I'm not

planning to go into all of that again today.

But in the midst of this, Paul drops this statement.

About children being either unclean or holy.

Now this, he does not right here go into this

and greatly expound it further. So we're not

going to do a deep exegetical sermon on what

Paul says about this where he explains himself.

This is more of an assumption. And he gives it

to them saying kind of as a matter of fact. If

there is a believing parent, the children that

are born are not unclean, but they are holy.

So today, I'd like to take a closer look to understand

what the Apostle Paul means when he says this.

And we're going to look at a whole number of

other passages. This subject is a very important

one. or a family believes and understands this,

makes a big difference on how children are raised,

how they are taught, or how they are discipled,

or sometimes not. There's a widespread general

understanding in much, not all, thankfully, but

in much, of broader evangelicalism that children

often will not follow after their parents in

the faith. This is kind of a tacit understanding,

and it's kind of joked about sometimes. Now,

thankfully, this is not universal, but it is

a common one, especially in certain circles.

Rather than emphasizing the covenant promises,

the holiness of believers' children, and the

inclusion of the household and faithful nurture

with real expectation of fruit, there's just

kind of an understanding that, oh well. What

can we really do? It's up to them after all.

So I ask this question today. Are our children,

the children of believers, are they outside of

the kingdom of Christ? Are they on equal footing

with pagans? Are they not inheritors of the promises

made to us? Are they to be viewed not as being

disciples? Not the servants of God? not holy,

not separated unto God. And some even go so far

as to say they're not even able sincerely to

pray to God because they are not yet converted.

And as Proverbs 15, 29 says, the Lord is far

from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the

righteous. Is the church to treat children in

her midst? As the Reverend James Thornwell, that

prominent southern Presbyterian pastor from the

1800s who taught in this manner. He said, the

church is to treat children precisely as she

treats all other impenitent and unbelieving men.

She is to exercise the power of the keys and

shut them out from the communion of the saints.

She is to debar them from all the privileges

of the inner sanctuary. She is to exclude them

from their inheritance until they show themselves

meet to possess it. Is that what this scripture

is teaching? Today, I beg to differ with the

renowned pastor and with others who say otherwise,

but rather, I believe that the passage here is

speaking of a covenantal holiness. That is, little

Christians who are to be loved, they're taught

to pray and to love the Lord and... welcomed

as members of the church. My belief in the thesis

of this sermon is that in understanding the covenants

of God to us and to our children, this passage

teaches that the children of believers are not

unclean like the children of pagans, but are

holy. That is, they are set apart as members

of the visible church and covenant community.

This status flows from the unchanging covenant

of grace, and it calls us to faithful nurture.

Now, I'm going to expound on the covenant of

grace in just a little bit, because I think it's

very helpful to understand. But in order to understand

that, let's begin first of all by examining the

key words in this passage. As I noted two weeks

ago, This section of 1 Corinthians contains some

of the more challenging verses to interpret.

Paul writes that the unbelieving husband is sanctified

by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified

by the husband. Now, we understand that the unbelieving

spouse is not automatically saved, but is hagiazo,

is the Greek word, sanctified or set apart. As

Anthony Thistleton helpfully explains, that is

the lifestyle of the believing spouse, their

example and witness, prayer and faithful living

out of the gospel is bound to affect the ethos

and to some extent the values and the lifestyle

of the home. They live, that is the unbelieving

spouse lives in a sacred environment. a sphere

in which God's holiness and transforming power

operates. And then I added this to it, that while

a Christian is not supposed to marry an unbeliever,

for that is being unequally yoked together, the

union of believer and unbeliever in which one

has come to faith in Christ is approved and permissible.

It is blessed and sanctified by God as a consequence

and extended blessing of this conversion. Now

the word sanctified there is also used in other

places of the scripture. It's like, it's as it

is used, for example, in 1 Timothy 4 regarding

food. Every creature of God is good and nothing

is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving,

for it is sanctified. By the word of God and

prayer. So that's dealing with the spouses. But

now let's consider what the apostle says about

the children. Holy children. And so our first

point today is the meaning of holy children.

Paul now turns to the children. He contrasts

them with those who are unclean versus those

who are holy. Now this word is hagios, holy.

It is closely related to the word sanctified.

But throughout the New Testament, it is used

and translated in two primary ways. 168 times

it's translated as holy. And around 60 times

it is translated as saints. Consider these examples.

Same word here. Romans 1 verse 7. To all who

Romans 1:7

are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.

Ephesians 1 and verse 1. To the saints who are

in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. And

Philemon 1 verse 4 and 5. Hearing of your love

Philemon 1:4

and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus

and toward all the saints. Now it is of note.

That Paul in referring to children as holy here.

When he addresses the saints in a whole number

of the epistles. He will at times speak directly

to the children. Colossians chapter 2. He says

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

children obey your parents in the Lord. Ephesians

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6. He says children. Again, he addresses

the children. He also addresses fathers, that

they're to raise up their children, they're to

nurture them in the faith, to disciple them and

to teach them. But my point there is that they're

part of the congregation and God's holy word

in the letter to the church sometimes addresses

specifically. the children in the congregation.

He treats them as part of the church that he

is addressing. So what does it mean then that

the children are holy, that they are saints?

Again, contrary to Reverend Thornwell, of such

is the kingdom of heaven and of God, as Jesus

taught. When he said in multiple times in the

New Testament. Let the little children come to

me. The word holy here I believe means that they

are covenantally holy. They are numbered with

the Christian church and the covenant congregation.

They are not unclean. That is they are not treated

as pagans or outsiders. Or separated from the

gathered or assembled and recognized people of

God. This stands in sharp contrast to the unclean

person which is described in Ephesians verse

5. This person, the unclean, has no inheritance

in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Paul says,

for you know that no fornicator, unclean person,

nor covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance

in the kingdom of Christ and God. Now in light

of the first part of this verse, Does then, this

is a question that often comes up when we're

looking at this, saying, well, does the holiness

of the children mean something more than the

sanctification of the unbelieving spouse? We

look deeply into what that meant. What does it

mean that the unbelieving spouse is sanctified?

And I'm not going to go through all of that again

for the sake of time. So the question is, The

children being holy, is that the same thing?

Is he just saying the same thing as what he did

to the unbelieving spouse? I think, according

to the word of God, which we're going to look

at, the holiness of this children means something

more, way more than it does of the sanctification

of the unbelieving spouse. The answer is a clear

and emphatic yes. But to see why, we need to

look more deeply into the biblical understanding

of covenant. Of covenant. We're going to examine

how children are included in the covenant of

grace in both the Old and the New Testaments.

In a way that is unique. Now, I want to clarify

here. When I say that they're in the covenant,

I am not teaching that all children born to Christian

parents are automatically regenerated or saved

simply because they are born to Christian parents

or because they are baptized and marked with

the name of Christ. What I am teaching is that

there is a unique covenantal category for the

children of believers in that they are recipients

of the promises of the covenants of grace. of

the covenant of grace extended to believers they

are children of the covenant they are set apart

as visible members of the visible church in the

covenant community this status flows from the

unchanging covenant of grace and it lays a serious

responsibility upon us as parents for the faithful

nurture and discipleship of them but the children

still must exercise personal and believing faith

as they get older. And as now their parents acted

on behalf of them and they are blessed in this

covenant relationship that they have, but also

as they grow older, they must also exercise their

own will and heart in faith toward God. This

is a must. And so I want to be clear on that.

Now the question might arise, So if they are

holy, if the children of believers are holy,

does that mean that children are innocent? That

is, that they are born without sin and that they

remain in a state of innocence until they reach

what some call an age of accountability. An age

of accountability. Now some will claim this,

but the scripture will not allow it. There are

two major problems with this view. First, our

passage itself distinguishes between the children

of unbelievers as unclean and the children of

believers as holy. These children share the same

fallen human nature, and yet one group is unclean

and the other is holy. So there's not an innocence

in here. But second, there's not an innocence

because the Bible teaches Adam's covenantal headship.

And when Adam fell, Sin and death passed to every

one of his descendants. All of his descendants.

Paul explains this in Romans 5 verse 12. Therefore

Romans 5:12

justice through one man, sin entered into the

world, and death through sin, and thus death

spread to all men, because all sinned. Again,

1 Corinthians 15 verse 22. For as in Adam all

1 Corinthians 15:22

die. This is the doctrine of original sin and

of federal headship, that Adam, on behalf of

all of his descendants in the human race, that

when he sinned, that sin passed upon all of his

descendants. This is why Jesus, the perfect one,

could not be born as a descendant of a man. He

had to be born of the seed of a woman. Just a

side note there. God would be perfectly just

to condemn all humanity on this basis alone,

that we all die in Adam. We sin because we are

born sinners and not the other way around. In

other words, we're not sinners because we sin.

No, we're... We sin because we're sinners. We

were born that way. David confesses the same

reality. Behold, he says, I was brought forth

in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51 verse 5. One only needs to observe a

Psalms 51:5

two -year -old openly rebel against a clear command

to see that the root of rebellion runs deep in

the human heart. Children are not born pure and

innocent before a holy God, although we will

gladly acknowledge there's a relative innocence

in their ignorance of the world's grosser. evils

all human beings are children of wrath by nature

as paul says in ephesians 2 verse 3 among whom

Ephesians 2:3

also we also we once conducted ourselves in the

lusts of the flesh fulfilling the desires of

the flesh and of the mind and were by nature

children of wrath just as others so the children

are not holy because they're innocent That is

my point in going through this. They are not

holy because they are innocent, for indeed they

are not. So, when Paul says that the children

are either unclean or holy, he cannot mean that

believers' children are sinless while others

are not. Nor is he merely saying that believers'

children have a better chance of hearing the

gospel because of godly parental influence. Though

that is certainly true, that there is a great

influence. This explanation falls short because

it ignores the rich covenantal framework that

runs through the entire Bible. And that is this,

that the covenantal understanding that God extends

his promises and his blessings to his people

and to their children. And this is said, repeated

over and over again. You belong to the kingdom

of heaven. You are greatly blessed. You receive

the covenant blessings of God. And these blessings

flow in a unique and special way from believing

parents to their children. Here's a way that

several godly commentators and expositors explain

this truth. Matthew Henry, children of believers

belong to the holy enclosure and not to the common

world. Or Hodge, this passage recognizes the

great scriptural principle that the children

of believers are holy. They are holy in the same

sense that the Jews were holy. They are included

in the church and have a right to be so regarded.

The child of a Jewish parent had a right to circumcision

and to all the privileges. So the child of a

Christian parent has a right to baptism and to

all the privileges of the church so long as he

is represented by the parent. That is until he

arrives at the period of life when he is entitled

and bound to act for himself. Then his relation

to the church depends on his own act. The church

is the same in all ages. That is Hodges' explanation

of this. The man in Psalm 128 who fears the Lord

is called blessed. And how is he blessed? His

wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very

heart of his house. And how are his children?

His children are like olive plants. All around

his table. See the glorious imagery there. They

are not weeds. They are not separated from the

church. They are not alienated from the church.

Or from the people of God. But they are planted

in the courts of God. There to be brought up

in the training. And the nurture and the admonition

of the Lord. As Ephesians 6 .4 says. So now let's

do a quick. overview of covenants in the scripture.

And that is my second point. I'd like to give

a brief primer on covenant theology in the Bible

because in order to understand this verse, we

need to understand what God means by covenant.

So I'd like to get into that for a bit. First

of all, what is a covenant? We need to understand

this. What is a covenant? What's the definition?

It is a binding commitment that establishes relationship.

Since all have been alienated from God through

the sin of Adam, which passed on all mankind,

and then followed by our own sins in failing

to keep God's law and actively disobeying His

commandments, the distance between God and His

creatures is so great. It is so vast. That there

could be no blessing, there could be no rewards

without a voluntary condescension by God who

chose to make covenant with us. He chose to do

this and he calls us his people. It is a voluntary

establishment of a relationship by God with.

Those who are fallen and were excluded because

of that fallen state. This is covenant. Now there

are three covenants that form the backbone of

what we call covenant theology. And they help

us to understand God's dealings with humanity

from creation to eternity. These three are described

like this. Number one, there is something that

is called the covenant of works. Sometimes also

it's called the covenant of life. Now in this

we also see God's grace manifested, but this

was between God and Adam as the federal covenantal

head of all humanity. This was made in the Garden

of Eden before the fall. The condition of this

covenant was perfect personal and perpetual obedience

to God's law. Do this and live. The promise was

life, continued fellowship with God, and eternal

blessing. And the penalty was death. Spiritual,

physical, and eternal separation from God for

disobedience. We see this in Genesis chapter

Genesis 2:16

2, verse 16 and 17. God tells Adam, of every

tree in the garden you may freely eat. There's

the grace. But then he says, but the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil you shall not

eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall

surely die. You're going to die. Paul explains

this again in Romans 5 verse 12. Therefore justice

Romans 5:12

through one man sin entered into the world and

death through sin and thus death spread to all

men because all sinned. So in summary, Adam represented

all mankind. When he broke the covenant through

sin, the curse of death and corruption passed

to every human being. No one after Adam can fulfill

or obey the covenant of works because we are

born sinners. This covenant is still in force

in the sense that God's holy standard and the

penalty for breaking it remain, but there is

no hope of salvation in this covenant. For this,

there needed to be another covenant, and that

is the covenant of redemption. The covenant of

redemption. This is when the three persons of

the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit, and this happened in eternity past

before creation, which was an eternal agreement

within the Godhead for the salvation of a people.

It was for the salvation where the Father would

choose a people and give them to the Son. And

the Son would become incarnate. That is, He would

be born on the earth. He would live a perfect

life of obedience, thus fulfilling the covenant

of works. He would suffer and die and rise again

as the substitute and representative of His people.

The Holy Spirit then agrees to apply the redemption

accomplished by the Son to... those who are saved,

to those who believe. We see this again in multiple

places. This is the covenant of redemption. And

again, it's in both the Old and the New Testament.

The Old Testament sacrifices for sin. They pointed

to Christ, but it was the same principle. There

must be an atonement for sin because man cannot

have a relationship with God and God just excuse

the sin. No, there had to be blood that was shed.

And so it was for the animals, but they all pointed

to Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice. This

is the covenant of redemption. We can look at

many different passages on this. Again, I'm not

going to take the time. They are on the outline

sheet that I gave you. Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Isaiah

53, John 6, verse 7 to 37 to 39, John 17, verses

John 6:7–37 John 17:1–6

1 to 6, Ephesians 1, verses 3 to 14, and Titus

Ephesians 1:3–14 Titus 1:2

1, verse 2. But here's just a quick explanation.

This is how and why we can understand that in

Revelation, chapter 13, verse 8, It speaks of

Revelation 13:8

the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

From the foundation of the world. That is because

the decision for this occurred in eternity past.

That there would be a covenant of redemption.

This is the covenant behind the covenant, so

to speak. It's the eternal plan and purpose of

the triune God to redeem sinners. The covenant

of redemption is the foundation for everything

that happens in time in what we now turn to as

the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace.

And this covenant extends to the children of

believers. It is said to do this on multiple

times. And that's why I'm tying this in to this

passage because I believe this is what Paul is

alluding to and explaining when he says that

your children are holy. The covenant of grace

extends throughout the scripture. It's where

God... Especially the father in and through Christ

the mediator. And his elect people represented

by Christ. This was announced immediately after

the fall. To Adam and Eve right there. When they

had sinned. There was a promised redeemer who

would come. And grace was extended to Adam and

Eve. In that they did not die immediately. Although

God could have struck them down. But no he chose

to extend grace. to them this covenant of grace

is progressively unfolded throughout redemptive

history it's kind of like this maybe this illustration

will help you the covenant of grace so you see

here a dark room and in that dark room it's pitch

black and then god lights one candle And he begins

illuminating that room with his word. And he

shows it to Abraham. And then he lights another

candle. And he shows it more to Moses. And first

of all to Abraham. And then to Moses. And so

the candles keep getting lit. And the room gets

brighter. Until the son of righteousness comes.

That is Jesus Christ the Lord. And he fully illuminates

the whole room with the brightness of his coming.

That's what I mean by the progressive revelation

of the covenant of grace. where we see it more

and more. What is the condition for this? It

is faith in the promised Messiah who fulfills

the covenant of works on our behalf. And so grace

and not works is the principle. The promise of

the covenant of grace is the forgiveness of sins.

It is righteousness. It is adoption. It is eternal

life. And it is restored fellowship with God.

The covenant of grace is one unchanging covenant

throughout the whole Bible, although it is administered

differently under the Old and New Testaments,

some through promises, types, sacrifices, and

prophecies, and ultimately through the finished

work of Christ and the sacraments in the New

Testament. Again, there are multiple texts that

we could look at this. This is where we would

see the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis chapter

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

12 and 17. It is where the new covenant promise

is in Jeremiah chapter 31, 31 to 34. And then

Jeremiah 31 · chapter mention

spoken of again in Luke chapter 22. Also in Hebrews

Luke 22 · chapter mention Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

chapters 8 through 10. That explains it very

thoroughly. And also in Galatians chapter 3 verse

Galatians 3:16–29

16 to 29. In summary then, because we broke the

covenant of works, God in his great mercy established

the covenant of grace. Christ, as the second

Adam, fulfills the covenant of works for us.

And so all the blessings of salvation flow to

believers. And to their children through this

covenant. Let me show you here from the word

of God. We will notice as we look at these various

ones. That obedience is still commanded. But

all of this is God's grace revealed to each generation.

Listen here. We're going to start with Noah.

Noah chapter 7 and verse 1. We see the grace

of God revealed to him. When the Lord said to

Noah. Come into the ark. You. and all your household,

because I have seen that you are righteous before

me in this generation. There are great blessings

to Noah's descendants based on the fact that

Noah was a man of God and his children were told,

or God said, your household is to come into the

ark and be saved compared to all of the rest

who were destroyed. We see this in Abraham. Abraham

17 verse 7. God says to Abraham, I will establish

my covenant between me and you and your descendants

after you in their generations for an everlasting

covenant to be God to you and to your descendants.

To be God to you and your descendants after you.

This is the covenant promise. The covenant of

grace and the promise to Abraham. Circumcision

then was instituted as a sign of that covenant.

But the covenant was that of grace. God's pure,

unmerited favor on Abraham and to his descendants.

Moses speaks of this. Deuteronomy chapter 29,

Deuteronomy 29 · chapter mention

there's several passages in here, but we will

see again all of them being gathered together.

They stand before the Lord your God, and Moses

details it. Your leaders, your tribes, your elders,

your officers, the men of Israel, your little

ones, and your wives. And also the stranger who

is in your camp. that you may enter into covenant

with the Lord your God and into his oath, which

the Lord God makes with you today. He then concludes

in the end of chapter 29 and verse 29, the secret

things belong to the Lord our God, but those

things which are revealed belong to us and to

our children forever. They belong to us and to

our children forever. that we may do all the

words of this law. The promise was given to David

and to his son, and this is spoken of or expanded

in Ezekiel 37, verse 24 and 25. Jeremiah prophesies

Ezekiel 37:24

that those who would be gathered from captivity

after the exile, in chapter 32, verse 38, he

says, they shall be my people and I will be their

God. then I will give them one heart and one

way that they may fear me forever for the good

of them and their children after them. I will

make an everlasting covenant with them that I

will not turn away from doing them good, but

I will put my fear in their hearts so they will

not depart from me. Isaiah speaks of this. After

the sacrifice of Christ, which is given in such

wonderful prophetic form in chapter 53, the prophet

then follows up with chapter 54 and he speaks

great promises to the nations. What is this promise?

That God would establish his relationship with

them, keeping covenant with them like Noah. And

then God says in verse 13 of chapter 4, all your

children shall be taught. by the lord and great

shall be the peace of your children again the

covenant is to you and to your children now here's

the question and this is the one of obviously

that many in the church will disagree on all

right so does the new testament change this paradigm

that's the question does the new testament change

this paradigm in some way Does the new covenant,

which describes the work of Christ in dying for

their sins, in atoning for them and reconciling

them to God, change this? How do the apostles

and prophets teach this? We're going to look

at three major passages. The first one is on

the day of Pentecost. To the thousands of Jews

that are present in Jerusalem for the feast,

and in the sermon that Peter preaches after the

Holy Spirit, Is poured out on the people. On

the apostles. On the church. Luke then records

this. They. That is the audience. When they heard

this. They were cut to the heart. And said to

Peter and the rest of the apostles. Men and brethren.

What shall we do? And Peter said to them. Repent.

And let every one of you be baptized. In the

name of Jesus Christ. For the remission of sins.

And you shall receive the gift. Of the Holy Spirit.

Now look at that great promise. Repent. Believe.

Be baptized. You'll receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit. But then he continues. This great promise.

He says. For this promise. For the promise. And

here he's quoting the Old Testament. Is to you.

And to your children. Now he continues saying

it's to all who are far off as many as the Lord

our God will call. So the ones afar off are the

Gentiles and Jews who were not present and who

came in succeeding generations. But directly

to them, to the Jews and to the proselytes present,

Peter follows in the same theme of covenant in

the Old Testament and says this promise is to

you and to your children. Children are included.

as the people of God. And Peter here follows

right in that same pattern of thinking and preaching

as he preaches to them. That's the one passage.

Secondly, this is an Old Testament passage, but

it's prophesying of the New Testament times.

And that is in the promise in Isaiah when he

prophesies about the inclusion of the Gentiles

to the people of God. He says, they will fear

the name of the Lord from the coastlands and

from the west and from the east. And that the

spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard. The

Redeemer will come to Zion and to those who turn

from transgression in Jacob. And then look what

is promised. He continues. He says, as for me,

says the Lord, this is my covenant with them.

My spirit who is upon you and my words which

I have put in your mouth shall not depart from

your mouth. nor from the mouth of your descendants,

nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,

says the Lord from this time and forevermore.

Again here, showing the promises of God are given

to people and to their children or to their descendants.

That was in Isaiah 59 verse 21. And finally then,

Isaiah 59:21

in our passage today. I believe this is why the

children of believers are called holy or saints.

They are included in the visible administration

of the covenant of grace through the faith of

the godly parents and they belong to the covenant

community. Thirdly, we want to look at the internal

versus external aspects of the covenant of grace.

And this is both in the Old Testament and the

New Testament. So the external is visible membership,

it is privileges, it is responsibilities in the

church community. We see this in Romans 11 and

in John 15 about being attached to the vine,

but bearing forth fruit. This also includes,

I believe, the taking of the Lord's Supper. Now,

why do I say visible, the visible membership

or visible church? It's because none of us can

see into each other's hearts. I can't look into

all of your hearts and see, do you really have

believing faith? Or are you putting on a false

front and just confessing some kind of a faith?

I can't see that. And sometimes we don't even

know our own hearts well enough. God is the one

who reveals that. But here's what I do know.

Right here are the people of God. Right here.

Even if there's someone in here where you have

a false faith, right now you're included as the

people of God. And I can address you that, and

that's what I mean by the visible church. You're

part of the visible church. There have been many

baptized and professing believers who did not

possess true faith, and it became evident as

time passed. Only God fully knows the heart,

and the Spirit pierces the heart with the sword,

the word of God. But the congregation of the

Lord, the gathered church, includes those who

are named with the name of Christ and who are

baptized in accordance with that naming, and

thus they are called the people of God or the

visible church. However, there's the internal

aspect of the covenant of grace. So in that sense,

we're saying you all are inheritors of the covenant

of grace. But at the same time, there's also

an internal aspect, and that is personal faith,

a new heart, and salvation required. That you

believe in your heart that Jesus is raised from

the dead, and you act and believe accordingly.

Romans 2, 28 and 29, and Romans 9, verse 6 and

Romans 9:6

8. And so parents and children alike must trust

in Christ for the internal reality to match the

external position. That of being in the covenant

of grace as we look and being gathered together.

Each one of these covenant promises to Abraham,

to Moses, to David, to Peter, and to Paul. In

each one of these, they were called the people

of God, and they received the mark of belonging

upon them, but they were also called to an inner

conversion, that is, or as it is phrased frequently,

both in the Old and New Testament, the circumcision

of the heart. In other words, like when you looked

at the Jews, who was the church at that time,

you saw there that they had an external circumcision.

But Moses still said, your hearts need to be

circumcised. In other words, you needed to experience

on the inside what you are on the outside. You

are the people of God, but you need to match

that. That needs to be an internal belonging

to God. And thus we see, as we look in the children

of Israel, that there were those who, were externally

part of the people of God, but they were filled

with unbelief. And so God destroyed them or God

brought them and cut them off. And so that same

warning is for us as well. We must have it within

an internal faith. Moses called for it. Isaiah

called for it. And Jesus calls for it as well.

there's an external covenant with blessings that

come to the people of god and it is to all of

the people and to their children but at the same

time they are called to have a heart after god

that matches the external position that they

have when jeremiah talks about the new covenant

he is talking about this but this was also called

for by the old testament prophets we have received

the benefits of christ who has come and who after

his ascension sent the holy spirit but the principle

is the same throughout the Bible. God's promises

are to his people and to their children. And

so when Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost

and he tells them, this promise is to you and

to your children and to all who are afar off,

he is making a special point like the Old Testament

covenantal promises, which that the promises

are for you and for your children. The new covenant

does not take this away, but it rather strengthens

it. For the new covenant is more, not less. the

promises are even greater in the covenant not

lesser they are more abundant not less abundant

they extend further they are not restricted more

they are greatly enhanced which is why we see

so clearly that the greater promise in the new

covenant is that both male and female receive

the sign of that covenant in baptism and not

the males only in circumcision Just another fascinating

thing. Children of believers enjoy the greatest

privileges on earth. They are surrounded by the

oracles of God. Romans 3 verse 1 and 2. And yet

Romans 3:1

they must personally believe the gospel. The

children of unbelievers, they are outside the

covenant. They are unclean. This does not mean

that they are reprobate and cannot be saved.

But they do not have this covenantal status and

privileges like the children of believers. Let's

look at just a few final implications and responsibilities.

Now, I understand some of this is kind of deep.

Some of you are, okay, I know I tried to be more

simple, but in this one, I really wanted to get

into that and develop it further. And maybe you'll

have to kind of regurgitate it some more and

think on it. And certainly I'm available to ask.

For you to ask questions, although I don't necessarily

have all of the answers. But this is the rich

covenantal theology in the word of God that I

have tried to explain to you today. What are

some of the practical implications and responsibilities?

Also, number one, for parents, raise your covenant

children with the understanding that they belong

to God. They belong to God. And so you give them

the pure gospel along with God's word and you

discipline and instruct them and you pray with

them and you model faith yourself so that they

grow in piety and faith. Lord willing, next week,

I'm going to continue in this vein and we're

going to be looking more on how to raise covenant

children. In other words, just some practical

help, some biblical wisdom on the raising of

children. You all have been given children as

a gift from God, but God calls on your children

and all children in the covenant, He calls them

My children. In Ezekiel 16, when God reproves

unfaithful Israel for their idolatry and their

adultery, He tells them, 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? You have slain, he

tells them, my children and offered them up to

them by causing them to pass through the fire.

You took my children, God says. Your children,

dearly beloved, they belong to God. And now you

have the responsibility of raising God's children

faithfully and for the glory of God. And for

the church, receive and nurture these holy children

as part of the visible covenant community. Love

them. Care for them. Hold them close. Speak to

them. Treat them as your brothers and sisters

in Christ. You repeat that again. Treat the little

children in the church as your brothers and sisters

in Christ and build relationships with them.

Some of you might be wondering, aren't you going

to say anything about baptism in all of this?

Now, I have certainly intended here, I desire

to lay the covenantal foundation for it all.

This does enter, obviously, as we practice it

here, household baptism does enter into this,

but I did not want this to be the main focus.

I wanted to look at this whole understanding.

I will just say here, though, the inclusion of

children in baptism is a wonderful picture of

God's undeserved grace, for they received unearned

privileges. It is a picture of sovereign grace

to all believers. This principle of covenant

and grace undergirds the practice of household

baptism, which includes infants. Baptism is a

Christian rite of entrance into Christ's church,

the gathered body of believers. The New Testament

records nine named examples of Christian baptism.

Nine that are named, okay? Or people that are

named with it. Every time that a household is

mentioned, the household was baptized and brought

into the church. Cornelius, Lydia, the Philippian

jailer, Stephanas, and others. The remaining

three named examples were all single men who

were without households. The Ethiopian eunuch,

Saul, and Simon Magus, who ended up being a false

convert. Thus, household baptism is the same

covenant principle that is taught and demonstrated

throughout the Bible. The burden of proof in

rejecting household baptism Is on those who exclude

children. And not on we who include them. We

believe there is continuity with the sign of

the covenant. In circumcision that came before

Christ. Was applied to male children. And baptism.

Which is now the greater sign and seal. And no

longer has a male or female distinction like

circumcision. Which reflects the change. To Jews

and Gentiles being together in the New Testament

church. Bottom line. Our children are our disciples,

and disciple -making and teaching begins with

baptism as Jesus taught in the Great Commission,

and then we teach all things. I'm called as a

pastor and as a teacher to equip the saints,

which includes all of you, and right now I'm

speaking to you as parents that one of my jobs

is to equip you as parents to be able to minister.

To the body of Christ which is in your home.

It is in your home. As well as the full body

of Christ. This includes your children. To all

come in the unity of the faith. And the knowledge

of the son of God. Baptism marks belonging. It

points to cleansing a new life in Christ. And

does not create holiness. But publicly recognizes

it. And so as I close. Dearly beloved. Let us

take our children. And if you are persuaded by

the word of God, baptize them. But in all, raise

them up in the Lord. Rejoice in the faithfulness

of the covenant God who says, I will be a God

to you and to your children after you. For these

great and precious promises are to us and to

our children. Let's pray.