Are Little Children Welcome in Heaven?

November 21, 2021

Nicodemus, a well educated Torah scholar, a wealthy Pharisee, and a leader of the Jews, came to Jesus one night and said, “Rabbi, we know You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus responded, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:2-3); Nicodemus then asked how can a man be born again when he is old? Jesus explained that in order to be "born again," he must, in short, be a changed person - like a newly born little child. Why like little children?

In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." The kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, Jesus said. Why does Jesus love little children?

Do you want to know why? It is because little children are innocent. They have a clear conscience. They do not lie; little children are honest, unlike many adults. When little children do something wrong, they don't usually know what is it that they do that is wrong. Adults, on the other hand, know why they are violating the traffic law. They know why they lie to the police. They know why they lie and cheat on their husband or wife. In short, their conscience is not as honest as little children. If you ask a little child if he is saved by the grace of God, or by work? The child will say, "I don't know." Little children don't lie. They tell the truth! But if you ask a 35 year old "Christian" preacher the same question, he will say, "Grace, brother, grace," with a straight face. But God said in Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve." Romans 2:6 says, God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” This makes good sense, we will get paid for what we have done, and not for what we have not done, such as "grace."

You may ask the same child this next question, "Who will be saved when Jesus returns"? The child will most likely answer, again, "I don't know." The child was truthful. He speaks the truth! But if you ask the same question to a 35 year old preacher he would most likely say this:

"Believe in Jesus, Bro, believe in Jesus," again with a straight face. 

Has he forgotten that even the demons believe in Jesus? Is that not what the Bible says? James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and they shudder." So what has one to do with the other?

Faith alone without work is dead faith. When we say that we believe in Jesus but we do not keep His laws and commandments first; instead, we keep changing His commandments and laws to fit our needs that is convenient for us, we have not proven anything other than to serve our self-interest. We placed our interest first and God's interest last.

Is that our plan of salvation? Is that what the Bible teaches us to do to place our interest first and God's interest last? In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Do we keep His commandments? No, we do not! Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21). Do we keep the Commandments of the Father? 

Do we know the will of the Father? No, we don't know the will of God. We don't really know Him. We keep changing His laws so much that we cannot recognize them when we see them. Worst of all, we cannot even agree that it is Jesus when we see Him tonight.

Therefore, if we want to be part of the Kingdom of God, we must change. We must be like little children. We must possess the spirit of little children - the spirit of innocence.

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