How do you reconcile Matthew 18:10 with what happened yesterday in Texas?
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The shootings are murder - pure and simple. All murder is wrong, regardless of age.
However, in Matthew 18:10 - the Lord was referring to the babes in Christ. The new believers and not to the idea of age. New converts must become like little children in their thinking and actions. They must humble themselves and throw off all previous authority or position they may have had in life. John Gill had this to say:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones,.... That is, one of those little ones that believed in Christ; for he is not speaking of infants in age, but of those who might be compared to such, for their humility and modesty; who were little in their own eyes, and mean and despicable in the eyes of the world, as well as appeared but little in the eyes of their fellow disciples and brethren; for our Lord returns and addresses himself to his disciples, who had been contending among themselves who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven; and so were striving to lessen one another, each looking upon himself as the greater, and every other as little. Wherefore Christ cautions them against such a spirit, and bids them beware of despising their fellow disciples, as little, and below them; especially since so much notice and care were taken of them, both in heaven, and in earth:
Additionally, the Divine commentary can be found in the proceeding verses:
Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
However, in Matthew 18:10 - the Lord was referring to the babes in Christ. The new believers and not to the idea of age. New converts must become like little children in their thinking and actions. They must humble themselves and throw off all previous authority or position they may have had in life. John Gill had this to say:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones,.... That is, one of those little ones that believed in Christ; for he is not speaking of infants in age, but of those who might be compared to such, for their humility and modesty; who were little in their own eyes, and mean and despicable in the eyes of the world, as well as appeared but little in the eyes of their fellow disciples and brethren; for our Lord returns and addresses himself to his disciples, who had been contending among themselves who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven; and so were striving to lessen one another, each looking upon himself as the greater, and every other as little. Wherefore Christ cautions them against such a spirit, and bids them beware of despising their fellow disciples, as little, and below them; especially since so much notice and care were taken of them, both in heaven, and in earth:
Additionally, the Divine commentary can be found in the proceeding verses:
Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
While these mass shootings are horrible and testify to the sad state of our country and the world - we as Christians, should not be overly concerned or shocked. Scripture tells us these days were/are coming and they will get far worse. Lawlessness is present with us today but this lawlessness will continue to grow.
We should all remain prayerful that this lawlessness does not spin towards the killing of Christians. For I fear that day is coming as well. Christians are a group of people who will not be conformed to this world system and the world system hates that we refuse to be assimilated into their ideas. Look at the young man who was arrested in Canada for simply stating the truth. The truth that men and women are different.
Let all believers pray, that the Good Lord above will over shadow us with His Providential care. Nevertheless, may His will be done and not ours.
We should all remain prayerful that this lawlessness does not spin towards the killing of Christians. For I fear that day is coming as well. Christians are a group of people who will not be conformed to this world system and the world system hates that we refuse to be assimilated into their ideas. Look at the young man who was arrested in Canada for simply stating the truth. The truth that men and women are different.
Let all believers pray, that the Good Lord above will over shadow us with His Providential care. Nevertheless, may His will be done and not ours.
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Compared to the suffering of children in much of the world, what happens in America is trivial. Babies are starving to death in Afghanistan, children suffering malnutrition in Africa, effectively enslaved in many nations. God sees all this and every sin will be punished. Of course, the UR people will imagine that God will just sweep all this under the carpet.
Lord Jesus was talking about attitude. Many Jews saw children as an asset, like a donkey or a cow. The disciples tried to push away the children but Jesus rebuked them.
Lord Jesus was talking about attitude. Many Jews saw children as an asset, like a donkey or a cow. The disciples tried to push away the children but Jesus rebuked them.
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Thanks for your question JohnB. Jesus uses the term 'little children' to describe all true believers. Earlier in Matthew 18 he clues us in to this by saying that 'little children' are those who are converted to Christ and believe in him. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Also, we read "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Jesus is highlighting that true believers should not be rejected. If a person rejects the true believers' gospel message then they will be unsaved. This is of course the case, for anyone who rejects the gospel. However, if someone receives the gospel message, they are receiving Jesus, and are saved. "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." A little child was used as an example, a metaphor if you will, but Jesus is talking about not rejecting true believers and their gospel.
From any human perspective, the shooting event that recently happened that you refer to was horrible and it involved actual children and others I presume. Whether those involved were saved in Christ I have no idea, but that is slightly different from the idea being presented in Matthew 18. The idea of Matthew 18 is that when one humbles him or herself before Christ, believing in Christ as a saved person, God is always being beheld by those persons, and to reject them means to reject God.
From any human perspective, the shooting event that recently happened that you refer to was horrible and it involved actual children and others I presume. Whether those involved were saved in Christ I have no idea, but that is slightly different from the idea being presented in Matthew 18. The idea of Matthew 18 is that when one humbles him or herself before Christ, believing in Christ as a saved person, God is always being beheld by those persons, and to reject them means to reject God.
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