Then children were brought to Jesus so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and went away. And from Mark, they were bringing children to Jesus so that he might touch them. And the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. And now our sermon text from Luke 18. Now they were bringing even infants to Jesus so that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked him, but Jesus called them to him, saying, let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. This is the gospel of our Lord. Pray with me. Guide us, O God, by your word and spirit, so that in your light we may see light, in your truth find wisdom, and in your will discover peace. Add your blessing to the reading and the hearing and the preaching of your word, and grant us all the grace to trust and obey you and all God's people said. Amen. All right, kids, I have a homework assignment for you, and you're not going to get a sucker until you do it. You ready for your assignment? You ready? I want you to thank your parents for bringing you to Jesus, having you baptized, and for bringing you to a church that lets you eat with Jesus every Sunday. Do it right now. Go ahead. Because I'm going to ask you before I give you a sucker. Did you do it? OK. Teenagers, I'm not going to make you do it. Grownups, you might not want a sucker, but you can have one if you text your parents and tell them thank you. If they brought you to Christ, I would encourage you today to thank your parents, even if it's just with a text. I'm sure there are many other things that you should be thanking your parents for, but even if they never did any other good thing for you for the rest of your life, they gave you the very best thing anyone could give anyone. They gave you to Jesus. If you understand how amazing Jesus is, how much he... It's too soon. how much He loves you, how much He continues to do for you, well, then you should be always and eternally grateful to your parents because not every kid has parents who will bring them to Jesus. And that includes some Christian parents. Now, to be fair, it's not always those parents' fault. for not letting their kids get baptized or take communion because most of them are just doing what the people in our story today would have done if Jesus weren't around to rebuke them. And thankfully these Christian parents, theology and practice are inconsistent. So they do still teach their kids about Jesus and even tell them things like Jesus loves them. And so God be praised for all their good work despite their bad theology. Now I know for some of you it's shocking to come to a church where we call out other Christians for deviating from the scriptures and church history, but that's literally one of the main things a pastor is supposed to do. According to Paul, if a man doesn't do that, he is not qualified to be an elder. So when we call attention to places that we believe other brothers and sisters are deviating from scripture, we are simply trying to follow the example laid out for us by God in his word, which he preserved to teach and correct and train his people in all righteousness. God's Word is for God's people from cover to cover. And one of the main themes is that there are teachers inside the church that God's people need to be careful about. Now, sometimes those people and their teachings are so bad that they're condemned as heretics. Paul says, those guys should be cut out of the church altogether. So, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and other anti-Trinitarian sects are obviously not our brothers and sisters and should not be considered brothers at all. But other times, these teachers are simply in errors that, if followed, could eventually lead to major problems. And Paul writes letters of warning or rebuke to just get them back into line. For guys like this, Paul writes, if anyone doesn't obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him so that he might be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. In a world prone to polarization and demonization, we are not used to someone saying, that's wrong, that's bad, that's stupid, and that's dangerous, and then finishing it off with brother. But if we're going to pursue true biblical peace and unity like we are also commanded to do, then Christian leaders have to be able to have those awkward, difficult, and as we'll see today, sometimes heated conversations as brothers because we're brothers and we want each other to be faithful to God and his word as revealed in the scriptures. The conversation we're dropping in on today is one of those brother-to-brother difficult conversations, this time from Jesus to his disciples who are his disciples. I had us read all three retellings of the story because whatever is going on is so important that all three synoptic gospels include it. And the reason I think it's so important is because what's going on in this story really does have implications that if followed out, reveal or lead to a distorted understanding of God and the gospel of our Lord Jesus. To misunderstand. this story then. To act like the disciples in it is to fundamentally misunderstand the gospel. And that's not to say the people who get this wrong in the story aren't saved. It's simply to say that they are in error that has serious enough implications that it would receive a stern rebuke from Jesus. Now, I'm going to try to stay relatively calm about this as we go, because I want you to be able to share this with people you know, and I don't want to be too offensive this time. But if you noticed when we read Mark's account of the actions of the disciples that day, it made Jesus' blood boil. And so if the indignation of Jesus boils out a bit, well, sorry, kind of. God's desire to shower his covenant love on the children of believers is a gospel issue. And this is something that Luke's ordering of the events helps drive home. If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. That parable is only in Luke, and when you read the stories that come after that parable, again, unique to Luke, it's clear that he's giving us that parable as a lens to understand the things that are happening next. Jesus has just told a parable explaining that salvation is all of grace and all of mercy and only for the lowly. Now, we may cover these more in depth next week, but here's the flow of who can and can't be saved by Jesus after he tells that parable. Well, can infants be saved? Well, yes, obviously, as we'll see. What about rich young rulers? No, obviously not. Okay, so babies, yes, and rich people, no. Well, not exactly. Yes, Jesus said only those who become like little children will enter the kingdom, and it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle, if we're following the text. And so understandably, then, the disciples ask, well, then who can be saved? To which Jesus says, anyone God so chooses, from blind beggars to rich tax collectors. Salvation is all of grace for the lowly, no matter their age and no matter their station. Now, again, I hope to break those latter ones down a little more next week, but the general point remains as you flow through those stories. Luke puts that parable and then this infant story right here at the top because the story of salvation is a story of God's unmerited grace through and through. Jesus only grants life to dead people. He only grants sight to those who know they can't see. He only grants true riches to ones willing to become poor. He only forgives humble sinners, and he only blesses infants. You see, the King of Jubilee lifts up the lowly. And who is lower and more incapable and useless than the infants of believers? If anything, they're just getting in the way of true kingdom work. Or are they? You see, anyone who thinks they're smart enough or rich enough or able to express just the right amount of theology with just enough emotion to be convincing, are somehow proven worthy of God's grace, fundamentally misunderstand the very grace we say we believe in. If you remember, even the Pharisee in our parable thanked God for his grace. And so it's possible to believe in salvation by grace alone, and believe in God's sovereign election while completely undermining it in real life. So basically, you can be reformed in name only. Even though we just spent the last week celebrating the Reformation that reclaimed this doctrine of grace for the Western church, I'm still convinced that in a thousand years, the church is going to look back on these last few hundred years the way we look back on what we call the dark ages. Because by and large, even so-called reformed people do not let their kids come to Christ in a way that reflects the Protestant faith we claim to believe. I'm gonna give you parents two theological pills to swallow. Now, they're both poisonous pills for different reasons, but I want you to tell me which one is more reflective of God's saving grace in Scripture. The first theological pill starts your child off in a stage of special grace by bestowing the life-giving waters of baptism on them. The expectation is that then your child should come to church every week, grow in grace, trust God's promises, and obey his word because he is their God and they are his children. At about seven or eight years old, your child can take a year or so of confirmation classes to prepare them to take communion, to sustain their faith while they perform the necessary works to be justified in God's sight. Sure, they might have to burn off a few sins in purgatory, but it'll be okay in the end because Jesus has merited their salvation, which is all of grace, albeit a merited kind. That's pill number one, which is, again, laced with poison, so don't take it. It just is what it is. The second pill, one which most of us have taken at one time or another, One that, unlike pill number one, refuses to follow Paul's example to call the children of believers saints. Instead of starting them out in a state of grace, pill number two starts your kid out in a state worse than purgatory. This pill tells them that from day one, they are vipers in diapers. Literally, that's the phrase they use. This pill refuses to tell the children of believers that God is their father, refuses to tell them that his promises are really for them right now, refuses to declare over them, for you, little one, Jesus Christ came. For you, he fought. For you, he suffered. For you, he entered into the shadows of Calvary. And for you, he uttered the cry, it is finished. For you, he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And there for you, little one, he's interceding. And to make matters worse, even though the child has told their parents and pastor for years they do believe in Jesus, This pill keeps the grownups telling the kids they aren't quite sure if Jesus is willing to save them because they aren't sure if the kid is actually saved. However that math works out. Assuming the kid grows up and even wants to be a part of an institution that has for their entire life told them that it isn't for them, well then probably sometime in their teens, If they can get the right theology with just the right emotion and just the right amount of good deeds, well, then they can prove to their pastor, who's using his own subjective standard, that God perhaps has indeed been gracious to regenerate this kid enough so that they can finally get baptized and be a part of the people of God. Now, which one of those poison pills Sounds more representative of God's disposition toward the children of believers in the Bible. I don't care which pill stole a reformed label and slapped it on the bottle. You tell me which one is more reminiscent of the reformation that sought to recover the wonderful doctrine of salvation by unmerited grace alone. which pastors are more like God and which ones are more like the foolish disciples that Mark says make Jesus angry because they refuse to let parents bring their babies to Jesus. Now again, I'm not saying you should take either pill. They're both dangerous, so. I'm simply trying to help us see that just because something calls itself Reformed and Protestant doesn't mean it actually is. I think all three gospel writers include what seems like such an insignificant little story like this one because it is vital to understanding, not just the theology of the sacraments, but vital to understanding the nature of God. Jesus is the revelation of the glory of God and the perfect image of his father. And from cover to cover, God's love for his people has always included promises for them and their children. The very first gospel message that God preached after the fall was that he was going to bless a mother with a child who would put all wrong things right. A few chapters later, in a world full of wickedness and evil, God saved Noah and his family by baptizing them with water from heaven. A few chapters after that, God promised Abraham that he would bless the world through his children's children. Baby Moses floated safely across a river and eventually grew up to baptize a nation full of men women and children, Jew and Gentile, as God delivered them all from a wicked Pharaoh and fed them all with bread from heaven and gave them all water from the rock, which Paul says was Christ. God promised David that he would always have a son to sit on his throne. And his son Solomon wrote the psalm we sang this morning. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. And blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. And as we heard from Jeremiah 31, God's prophets all declared that God is the father of his children's children and made promises to save them. Behold, I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. Among them, the blind and the lame, the pregnant women and she who is in labor together, a great company. They shall return here for I am a father to my people. God's promises to be gracious and merciful have always been to and through and for his children and his children's children to a thousand generations. And so what in the world makes anyone think that with the coming of Jesus and the supposed explosion of grace in the new covenant that somehow God's saving grace for his people no longer includes their children? What makes us think we're pro-life if we don't even bring our own children to the giver of life? This story is in all three Gospels because it reveals the character of God. And it reminds us all that salvation is all of grace. For the Son of God to take on flesh, enter the world as a baby himself, and then grow up to proclaim that the promises of God were all coming true in him. And then, for these parents who are trusting Jesus to bring their covenant children to him, for the disciples to respond with, no, the king is too busy for babies, is for them to completely misrepresent the character of the king and the nature of his kingdom. Now I can hear someone saying, well, all right, how do you get all of that from this little story here? I can understand why a New Testament-only Christian would ask that, particularly if they think that a theology of baptism in the Lord's Supper dropped out of heaven in A.D. 30. But if you're familiar with the language of the whole Bible, then what's being asked of Jesus is crystal clear. These parents are bringing their children to Jesus for him to bestow God's blessing, God's saving grace on them. Matthew says that people are bringing his children to Jesus so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. Mark says that Jesus responded by taking them in his arms, laying his hands on them and blessing them. And Luke says, they were bringing their infants to Jesus so that he would touch them. This is all language straight out of the Aaronic benediction that we sometimes pray over you all at the end of the service and that many churches sing at baptisms. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, thus you shall bless the people of Israel. You shall say over them, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel and I will bless them. So when people are bringing even their infants to Jesus for him to lay his hands on them and bless them, They're doing far more than just saying, here Jesus isn't my baby cute. If you remember from Luke's gospel, when people come to be touched by Jesus, it's not a throwaway line. People wanting to be touched by Jesus are wanting to receive the healing grace of the Jubilee King who has come to save his people. Listen to the only other times this word is used, and you tell me what these parents want for their children. In Luke 5, we are told, a man full of leprosy came to Jesus and begged, Lord, if you're willing, make me clean. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, I am willing, be cleansed. In Luke 6 we are told that all the people were trying to touch him because power was coming out from him and healing them all. In Luke 7 Jesus touches a coffin and raises a widow's son from the dead and he forgave the sins of the woman who was touching him with her hair and kissing his feet. In Luke 8, the woman with a flow of blood for 12 years was healed simply by touching the cloak of Jesus. And later on in Luke 22, Jesus touches the ear of the high priest's servant and heals him. And that's not even to mention all the occasions where Jesus healed people who were brought to him by others without touching. These people are bringing their babies to Jesus because they trust that his touch will bring life and healing and peace and salvation. And for the gospel writers to record these events is simply to reiterate what God's people had always believed. The promises of God were for them and their children. And anyone who would say the kingdom of God doesn't include the children of believers radically alters the character of the king and the nature of his kingdom. To keep the children of believers away from Jesus in any way is to fundamentally misunderstand the gospel of salvation by grace alone. From Genesis to Revelation, there is biblical precedent why our church and our communion of churches requires any member churches to let you and your baptized children commune when you visit. There's biblical rationale as to why our confession declares that even elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who worketh when and where and how he pleases. And also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word. Jesus loves the little children. and his kingdom is full of them in heaven and on earth. Beloved, if you have lost a child, and I know many of you have, or if you have a child you think is mentally incapable of really understanding the things of the Lord, don't fear. Salvation is all of God's grace from womb to tomb for you and your children. You can trust his goodness. You can know that you will rejoice with your children in the resurrection when all those wrongs are put right by that promised baby. Kids, Jesus loves you and is for you. He has put his name on you and he invites you to eat with him every Lord's Day. And if anyone tries to keep you from Jesus, you come tell me. Teenagers, Jesus loves you. You're the arrows that he's about to send out into the world to still the enemy and the avenger. Don't let the cares of this world distract you from the mission. Thank your parents for bringing you to Christ and for raising you in the faith and forgive them their sins and failures like Christ has forgiven you. Mothers, don't be discouraged by what can at times feel mundane and unimportant. You are doing the Lord's work. He will bless the fruit of your hands if you remain faithful to your calling and do not get led astray by those who would call you to other shinier, easier, and eternally less important things. Fathers, if you don't hear a sermon for 10 years, Because you're busy raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Keep up the good work. Keep coming to Christ and keep bringing your children with you. Don't put stumbling blocks in front of your children by your behavior and don't provoke them to wrath by causing them to doubt their salvation or by telling them they can't come to Jesus. It's not your job. Your job is to keep modeling for them the Father's faithful love and to keep reminding them of who God is for them and who they are called to be in response. If you don't have kids yet or your kids are all grown and out of the house, don't think this doesn't apply to you. Just after this little story, Jesus promised that there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more in this time. These infants are your brothers and sisters. And so look around at the family of God which is your family and look especially at the families who might need your help or who need you to step up and serve in ways that they would like to but can't because their hands are literally full. I know you might feel too busy but trust me you're going to want to practice being faithful when you're busy now because your busyness is just getting started. Children are a blessing from the Lord. And if we understand the gospel of grace, well then when we look at them, we should all be reminded that rather than trying to get them to be like us so that they can receive the kingdom, Our Lord calls us to be more like them. For whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Our Father, we have heard wonderful things out of your word. We praise you for revealing Christ by promise and shadow in the Old Testament, for revealing him as the fulfillment of all these things in the new. Give us your spirit so that we might understand these words and the fullness of your truth as you have revealed it to us in the person and work of Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory, both now and forever. Amen. We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The word of the Lord. I'm gonna start saying that after that, because I should have been doing that the whole time for like the last six years anyway. Elder Lortz referenced this passage of Titus 3 last week during the baptisms, but I wanted to return to it again this week to help us see that in a sense, in a sense, all baptisms are infant baptisms. Now, it was obvious for us to see an infant being baptized and to recognize that they are not saved by their works. And it's easier for us to look at what's happening there and rejoice in the fact that in their baptism, we are clearly being shown that they love God because He first loved them. And that's true for them. But is it not also true for those supposed grown-ups getting baptized? Is it any less true for the teenager or grown-up who has made a credible profession of faith and is getting baptized than it's true for the infant? Are they any wiser, any more righteous, or any more worthy of receiving the salvation of God and the waters of baptism than those little children? Is there faith any more faithful than that of John the Baptist who leapt in his mother's womb or than that of King David who praised God for taking him from the womb and making him trust God even while at his mother's breast? If we truly believe that it is God alone who saves and God alone who grants new birth, what baptism is there that isn't an infant baptism? And what's more, what participant is there in the Lord's Supper who isn't having to receive the bread and wine with a childlike faith that trusts that somehow God is strengthening us with such meager rations? Salvation is all of grace, from soup to nuts. And as Michael said last week, that's why we insist on giving the sacraments to all believers, even infant believers, whether 80 days or 80 years old. Yes, baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances to be obeyed, but more than that, they are sacraments of grace to be received. Baptism imagery in the Bible is that of God pouring down water from heaven on passive recipients. And the Lord's Supper imagery is that of the true bread of heaven coming down from on high to feed a hungry people. That's one reason we changed our communion practices from you climbing the mountain to get bread and wine at God's table to having servants come down to serve you. God's salvation is all of grace for you and your children. and all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. And as he's called you, man, woman, and child, and as you've responded in faith by coming yourself and even by bringing your infants to Jesus, prepare to be served by your King so that you might grow in grace and serve him anew for his glory in the life of the world. Amen? Amen. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed, took bread. Let us give thanks. We do not presume to come to your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your many and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose character is to have mercy. Thank you, gracious Lord, that our sinful bodies are made clean by Christ's body and our souls washed through his most precious blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. These are the gifts of God for the people of God.