Spurgeon tells us, “It is well to have clear views of the mutual relations of the persons of the blessed Trinity.” I agree with him. I am becoming increasingly aware of the need to be specific in my prayers in my addresses to God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I thank the Father for the Son and ask the Spirit to fill me, so that I am aware of the three persons of the Trinity and how they minister to me each in their specific way, showing me God’s care, their care, for me. That is why I found the following prayer of John Stott striking. It is a prayer he prays many mornings before his feet hit the floor. I pray that you are encouraged by his words and drawn closer to God through them.
“Good morning heavenly Father, good morning Lord Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe. Lord Jesus, I worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world. Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God. Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more. Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you. Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Amen.”
Excerpt from “Basic Christian: The Inside Story of John Stott” by Roger Steer – pages 246-247
Truth. The Church is or should be very concerned about truth. In life we most often make our decisions based on what we know or believe to be true. Without truth to guide us, we would soon become lost. Our lives would seem haphazard. Not many, I think, would disagree with this basic premise of life, and yet, the question of truth is often hotly debated. Nowhere less than in religious discussions. However, the Church sometimes seems to approach the idea of truth with less than expected zeal. In fact, the Church can often come across as unconcerned about the truth. Why do I say this?
Well, in Christian life truth is a very absolute thing. I’m not really sure how one can define truth as anything but absolute, but this seems to be the desire of some. Because truth is absolute, and the truth taught by the Church is often in direct contradiction to the truth taught by the world, the conflict between the Church and the world can be strained and even violent.
For this reason, Christians, sensing that this truth and their defense of it creates a rift between themselves and their neighbors, soften their defense of the truth and even set it aside as unimportant. They do this because they believe that only by doing so can they effectively win a person to Christ.
Unfortunately, when we soften or set aside the truth of God’s Word, i.e. that we are sinners born into condemnation, that we are, therefore, condemned to eternal death in hell and that the only remedy is justification before God through the redemption of our lost souls by the singular path of Christ’s blood shed on a cross; when we set this truth aside for the sake of evangelism, we destroy any hope of evangelism.
Christians must not apologize and hide the truth of God’s Word. Instead, Christians must defend it and not only defend it but promote it; take it as a weapon onto the battlefield for the souls of the lost. It is a harsh and sharp weapon. It is an offensive weapon. Yet, it is the means of piercing the soul so that the light of salvation through Jesus Christ can enlighten that soul and bring it into the Kingdom of God.
So, the next time you are tempted to ignore doctrinal error, to side step a discussion on theology, remember “truth is the seed of the new birth” and therefore must be known and defended at all cost from the point of upsetting your neighbor to the point of bringing persecution and death upon yourself.
Quote from Thomas Watson’s “Heaven Taken by Storm” pg 6
Recently I was asked how I would respond to someone who had lost an infant. What would I say to her when she asked, “Is my baby in heaven?” I have to admit I was caught off guard by the questions, and I realized quickly as we discussed the situation that there is sometimes a conflict between raw theology and the everyday needs of the heart.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying theology takes second place to comfort and everyday needs. Nor am I saying that the two don’t agree and that theology is somehow only a head thing and doesn’t apply to reality. What I am saying is that the black and white categories into which we sometimes paint theology don’t always answer for the task of soul care. I’ve learned that God’s grace plays an important role in how we apply our theology biblically to our souls.
So what should I say to this dear woman or her husband when they ask that heart wrenching question? My initial response was to comfort them with an assurance that God is sovereign and good, and therefore, we must take our refuge in him. We don’t know the answer to this question, and I can’t give you an assurance that your child is in heaven.
My response stems from my theology. We are all born with a corrupt heart and therefore subject to the wrath of God. Only the elect are saved. Logically (here is our problem sometimes) not all infants that die are elect so not all infants that die go to heaven. By the way, I think this logic is good. Sharing it with a grieving mother and father might not be so appropriate.
But someone might protest, “What about David and his infant son, can we not claim his confidence too?” Here is where it gets tough for me. I know about this passage of scripture in 2 Samuel 12:15-23. While his son was sick, David refused to eat or drink and lay on the ground weeping night and day. When his son died he arose, cleaned himself, worshipped God and ate a meal. Those around him questioned his behavior. They had expected even worse mourning than they had seen while the boy was ill. They asked David for an explanation and his response was, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
This last statement, “I will go to him” gives many a confidence that infants who die may go to heaven. The logic is this; David was a believer in God and therefore would go to heaven. So, if he had confidence that he would see his son in the afterlife, then his infant son was in heaven too.
Now most will admit that this is a weak basis on which to build their doctrine on this issue, but then again, it really is one of a few places that we get an indication of what happens to infants when they die. There is Jesus’ statement in Matthew 19:14 that gives some hope, but again this is not a strong proof.
The question is, “Did David believe that his infant son was in heaven?” It is doubtful that David had as developed of a concept of the afterlife as New Testament Christians have. Throughout the Old Testament, the afterlife is called Sheol and is described as a single place for the dead to spend eternity. Jacob, when he thought that Joseph had been killed by wild beast stated, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son. (Gen 37:35)” He thought he would die from his sorrow and the place of his eternity was Sheol. Job believed that when he died he would go to Sheol (Job 7:8-10), and he believed that everyone, including miscarried infants, the wicked, the rich, the weary, princes and kings, they all go to Sheol (Job 3:13-19). It was not until much later that the understanding of two separate divisions in Sheol and then later a heaven and a hell began to be prominent in the view of eternity for God’s people.
Because of this, and because of the integrity with which I seek to bring to theology and it’s application to life, I can’t rest on David’s statement as any hope at all that infants who die go to heaven. So where does this leave me? Really, I am back where I started. The answer that I thought was weak is now what I believe to be the most comforting answer for the believer.
God is sovereign. God is just. God is merciful, God is good. God keeps his own council on to whom he shows mercy and to whom he leaves to the just rewards of their sinful nature. I must rest in him as the source of my strength in times of trouble. Christ is my high priest and has suffered and been tempted like me and now intercedes for me at the throne of the Father and I must trust him to do that which will bring him the greatest glory and the me the greatest good, even if I do not understand how what he brought about in my life could possibly be good for me.
In the end I must say to you who have experienced the gut wrenching loss of an infant; I do not know the mind of God, nor do I pretend to see into his will for the eternal disposition of any single soul, but this I do know, that my God will not disappoint. Your faith in him must increase and so, I pray that he would grant you the faith necessary to rest in his perfect holiness never doubting that all the ways of God, though they be mysterious to us, are good and just and right, for his glory and our good.
