01/15/2018
Do you think that just because your children are born into a Christian household that they are thus Christian? Sadly, that is not true. Becoming a Christian, or a believer, and follower, of Jesus Christ, requires us to make a personal choice. We like to look at the Covenant that God made with Abraham and likewise claim Jesus Christ for ourselves and children, but just as with Abraham’s seed, that promise requires a lifetime of action.
“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.”
Genesis 17:7-9 KJV
Those words are the covenant as far as many would look at it. They will read this far and then shut their minds off, but God continues on and places additional conditions on this promise. God doesn’t paint Himself into a corner when He makes covenant... His will and nature remain intact; he remains true to who He is.
“And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”
Genesis 17:12-14 KJV
So even though the promise was available to all of Abraham’s children, his seed could still miss out on it through disobedience to God’s stipulation concerning circumcision. What if I was an 8 day old baby, and a son of Abraham, would I be able to circumcise myself? No, it is left to the parents to bring this child into compliance. In a Christian household there is a similar obligation placed on the parent, they are to raise their children in the way of Jesus. Not doing this separates that child from Christ, just as not circumcising within the lineage of Abraham cuts a soul off from his people.
Yet even if a child was circumcised in the time of Abraham, that child must still believe in and serve God. Paul clarifies this for us in the New Testament within his letter to the Romans. Let’s read:
“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”
Romans 9:6-8 KJV
So what is Paul saying when he writes to the Romans? He is saying that it takes more than circumcision, more than being raised in, more than a moment of conversion, it takes remaining in Christ. He is saying that there are seed of Abraham that have been circumcised and yet are not counted as his children... and he is saying that there are those who call themselves Christians who have separated themselves from Christ.
So as Christian parents we should teach our children about Jesus Christ, and we should instill in them the knowledge of the gospel. This is the form of circumcision that we can impart to our children, but once this is done it requires that they believe, and continue on in faith. They must become either the children of Abraham (of the promise), or of Isaac (of the flesh), and this is their choice to make.
Abraham was told to circumcise those in his household who were not his children, and we are also told to deliver the gospel to others, but that is a lesson for another day. As for our children who were born into our “Christian” households, but not raised in Christ, they have missed the opportunity for circumcision we should have afforded them, but not the hope which follows. In Christ the choice doesn’t belong solely to the parent, but to each of us who would follow Him; our salvation in Christ is not secured by linage, but by personal choice, and faith. We can submit ourselves to spiritual circumcision despite our parent’s lacking, or being born outside the faith. Just as Abraham circumcised those who were not his children, there will be others who will bring the gospel message to those who missed it as children... their eight day is yet to come.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for parents who raise their children in the knowledge of you, and your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you Father from those good parents who would adopt orphans, despite their age, and circumcise them in the gospel of Jesus. I pray Holy Father that, once circumcised in this revelation, all those who have heard will come to believe, and to follow on, increasing in faith, their entire lives. Your grace is sufficient Father, and can circumcise every heart that would accept you through your Son Jesus Christ. Our eight day may come when we are children, or carried upon our final breath, but your grace is sufficient. Praised be your name Father, and the name Jesus Christ be in the ears of the children without end. So dry the tears of good parents whose children have strayed, and bring joy to the children who are adopted, for your hope reigns eternal, and your mercy knows no end. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou!
Rich Forbes