SEARCH FOR GOD IV

 
  If your search for God has borne fruit and you are working to be "one" with
God, you may have some questions about salvation. Oh, the plan is simple,
and if you've taken that step as an adult, you are on your way. But, what about
those who are not adults?

    The New Testament gives us no details about young people, except that
Jesus says (Matt. 19:14), "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid
them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Other Gospels touch on this subject
as well, but need some clarification.

    There are a number of subjects not touched upon in the New Testament,
leaving us to wonder what an answer may be. Difficult as it may be, the answers
are either in the Old or New Testament. We just need to know how to search.
One question that needs answering is "what happens to children if they die
before confessing the plan of salvation?"

    We will get into a very touchy related subject when we explore the answer to
the above question. Before we get to that, let's see how we can find the answer
to what happens to unsaved children. As Christians, we look to the directions
God gave His Chosen, Israel. We are a branch of Israel, and the cornerstone
of directions begins with the Ten Commandments.  Every Christian and Jew
must abide in these directions.

    Many more directions and laws were given to Israel following the simple Ten
Commandments.  After all, He was dealing with a nation of millions of people and
many more non-Israelites. In any society, a set of laws must be established for
social conduct, and judges set forth to interpret and judge. More religious laws
were set forth for the Israelites to answer questions such as we are considering.

    When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law, and made the supreme sacrifice for
us. While individual sacrifices continued for a time, eventually they were replaced
by Christ's sacrifice and the impracticality of so many people bringing doves or
other offerings over the world's landscape. Salvation, faith and obedience are
our keywords.

    Now, to answer our question, we must delve into the many laws given Israel,
even to the pains of searching further instruction not included specifically in
scripture. To do this, we must consult other Israeli study books such as the
Talmud.

    To understand the judgment of children, we see that the word "accountability"
and its companion "responsibility" decide the issue. It is impossible to set a
particular age for children to receive salvation, but it is obvious the child must
be able to understand and accept the plan of salvation. Israel had no such plan
before the arrival of Christ, so God had to give them other instructions.

    He gave them an age for both boys and girls to become accountable and to
accept both religious and other responsibilities. For boys, intensive instruction
followed by graduation occurred as they reached their thirteenth year. At age 14,
they were adults. The ceremony is bar-mitsvah, and indicates God's will and son
of the commandment.

    For girls, instruction occurs at the age of 12 years and one day. The ceremony
is bat-mitsvah. As the boys, they are fully accountable and responsible for the duties
of an adult. Until boys and girls attain these ages, they are considered to be in God's
hands in heaven. The same is true for Christians, although the need for establishing
a specific age was removed with the plan of salvation.

    A baby who dies goes straight to the arms of Jesus. Until any Christian child
reaches the Jewish age of accountability, that child is saved--unless they have
heard the plan of salvation and rejected it. They must be given enough time to
learn about Christ and scripture. If Christ did not address your concern or question
in scripture, He knew you could find the answer in the original teaching He learned
before He began His ministry. Remember, He followed the Jewish teachings and
customs as long as He was alive.

    The truly sad part about accountability and responsibility is that so many "Christian"
men know none of this information. They, and some women, call for a ban on any and
all abortions. I, personally, am against abortion except when the mother's health is in
danger. What do these men know about carrying a child, and why don't they consider
the health of the woman, or the consequences to her family, husband and children?

    These men are exactly the counterpart of Islamic men who do not value women at
all, and impose their "sharia" consequences on all women. They use scripture to place
women in subjugation to men, choosing to ignore the biblical verses that tell them how
wives should be treated.. Eph. 5:28, "So husbands ought to love their own wives as
their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."

    For those of you who are hard core banners, I give you this example: Mary has a
loving husband and two children, ages seven and three. She is pregnant, and the
specialists tell the family there is something wrong with this pregnancy. If continued,
the mother will undoubtedly die. If the mother is written off for the sake of the unborn
child, she is gone from her husband and two children. First, her husband will lose
his lifetime partner and mother of his children. Second, two small children will lose
their mother. Third, the mother is basically murdered to perhaps save the unborn
child. There is no guarantee the baby will live. If it doesn't, the baby will still have a
place in heaven. There is absolutely no gain in letting the mother die. The abortion,
itself, will always be a regret in the memory of the entire family. Men have no
idea of what women go through mentally because of an abortion.

     This is a sermon about the search for God, and abortion only became a part of
it because Christians don't know a great deal about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.
I see some call for "justified homicide" to murder abortion doctors and workers. If a
woman's life is saved because of a needed abortion, it is still okay to murder the
doctor? I must have missed that in my study. These men are emotionally immature,
and should never hold any type of leadership position.

    Christianity does not need any kind of Sharia Law, the same type law imposed by
Islamic (Muslim) followers. God made man the leader of the family, but woman was
created as his helpmate (partner). Many men should take a back seat and let their
more competent wives lead. Look at scripture and see how many women saved the
bacon for her family/people.

    Abortion is only murder when it is used as birth control. Committed Christians do
not use it as birth control. Aborted babies, whether from Christian or non-Christian
parents, all go directly to heaven. Their search for God ends quickly and positively.
Politicians will never be able to control abortion by law any more than they could
control liquor. We saw how that worked out, giving rise to crime and social problems.

    Study scripture, and don't think there isn't an answer to your question just because
it isn't listed in a concordance or among the helps in your bible. God did not omit the
answers to any problems. Matt. 7:7 tells us "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (V 8)For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

    You may not like the answers, but they were given to the Israelites, including Christ,
and He made many things more clear in his teaching. But, and note with care, Christ
did not refute the laws given His people. Either you believe all, or you believe you
have license to change scripture and God's teaching.

Rev. Walbear