I’m currently wrestling with the question of children's baptism and communion and the broader question of how my children relate to Christ. With that in mind, I have collected scripture references that relate to this topic. The categorization is a little arbitrary; I may later re-shuffle it.
Genesis 1:28 — God commands man to “be fruitful and multiply”, with the expectation that mankind, across generations, will fulfil the mandate to subdue and rule over creation.
Genesis 6:18, 7:1 — God promises to establish a covenant with Noah, and will also save Noah’s household. Noah’s sons were roughly 100 years old at the time of the flood. It is unclear to me who the subject is when God says “you are righteous” (Gen. 7:1), although it is pretty clear from the fact that Noah’s sons helped him build the ark that they were walking in faith. And yet it is Noah who is consistently praised and remembered by God (Gen. 6:9, 8:1), so it seems there is some element of federal headship here.
Genesis 12:2,7, 13:14-17 — God promises to make a great nation out of Abram, and to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s offspring.
Genesis 15 — God makes a covenant with Abram. God will give Abram offspring, and will give land to Abram’s offspring.
Genesis 17 — God makes an everlasting covenant with Abram, changing his name. God will give Abraham offspring, will give land to Abraham’s offspring, and will be their God. Circumcision is a requirement of the covenant; interestingly, it is the uncircumcised, not his parents, who is said to have broken the covenant (v. 14). God sovereignly chooses to establish the covenant through Isaac.
Genesis 25:23 — God sovereignly chooses to continue the covenant through Jacob.
Genesis 32:12 — God promised to Jacob to do him good, and to give him innumerable offspring.
Genesis 35:9-15 — God names Jacob Israel, commands him to be fruitful and multiply, promises to make of him a great nation, and promises to give him the land of Canaan.
Genesis 46:3 — God promises to make a great nation out of Jacob in Egypt.
Exodus 4:24-26 — God sought to put Moses to death because his son was uncircumcised.
Exodus 12:43-49 — Only those circumcised could participate in the Passover meal.
Exodus 20:4-6 — God is “a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands [of generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Exodus 20:8-11 — Children and even household servants are included in the command to keep the Sabbath.
Exodus 20:12, 21:15,17 — Children are explicitly addressed in the commands to honor parents.
Exodus 32:11-14 — Moses reminds God of His generational promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.
Exodus 34:6-7 — God is “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands [of generations], forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Leviticus 10:1-3,8-11 — Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, who had been consecrated, were put to death by God for their disobedience. Throughout their generations, Israel is commanded to approach God in obedience and not presumption.
Leviticus 20:1-5 — Parents who offered their children to the idol Molech were to be punished by death.
Numbers 16:25-35 — Korah and the other rebellious Levites were consumed for their sin, as well as “their wives, their sons, and their little ones.”
Numbers 17:8-24 — God gave the food of sacrifices to Aaron and his sons and daughters perpetually. Only those who were clean were permitted to eat it. Likewise the Levites were given the tithe as their “inheritance”.
Numbers 25:10-13 — God covenants with Phinehas the priest, who stopped God’s plague by killing a disobedient Israelite, that he and his descendents will have “perpetual priesthood”.
Deuteronomy 4:37,40 — God “loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them,” delivering them from Egypt by his mighty hand. Therefore, Israel was to keep God’s law “that it may go well with you and with your children after you.”
Deuteronomy 7:6-16 — God chose Israel freely, and in love, to be a holy people separate unto himself. “The Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.”
Deuteronomy 12:28 — “Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 23:2-8 — “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord. . . . No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. . . . You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.” Elsewhere throughout the Pentateuch there is the strong idea of God’s visiting judgment upon a nation for the gross sins of their parents towards His people.
Deuteronomy 24:16 — “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.”
Deuteronomy 28:1-4,11,15-18,32,41 — Faithful and obedient parents will be blessed with children, and their children will be blessed. Rebellious parents will have their children taken away, and those children will be cursed.
Deuteronomy 29:10-14 — God established his sworn covenant with everyone, from the old to “your little ones”, whether present or absent.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Deuteronomy 30:1-6 — There is mercy for “you and your children” who return to the Lord. “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 — “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers.”
Deuteronomy 31:9-13 — Every seven years, the law was to be read publicly, to “men, women, and little ones, . . . that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land.”
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 — Moses challenges Israel to “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Joshua — Throughout the book there is an idea of federal guilt or uncleanness, as all Canaanite men are put to death without question.
Joshua 7:24-26 — Achan and his family were stoned for his sin; his possessions were burned.
Joshua 8:34-35 — Joshua read the law to all Israel, adult and child alike.
Joshua 17:3-6 — God provides for all children, sons and daughters, by allowing daughters as well as sons to take inheritance.
1 Samuel 12:19-25 — Despite their sin, God extends grace to his people as they “fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.” “But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
1 Kings 9:1-9 — God promises that Solomon will “not lack a man on the throne of Israel” if he remains faithful. But there is a clear aspect of each generation being individually responsible to remain faithful: “But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them.”
2 Kings 8:19 — “the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.”
1 Chronicles 17 — God’s covenant with David; He promises to establish David’s throne forever.
2 Chronicles 5:13, 7:3,6, 20:21 — “For [the Lord] is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 7:14,19-20 — “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” But “if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you.”
Psalm 25:12-13 — The descendants of the man who fears the Lord will inherit the land.
Psalm 37:27-29 — The righteous are “preserved forever,” inherit the land, and dwell in it forever; “but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.”
Psalm 89:28-37 — The permanent establishment of David’s kingdom; also sober warnings.
Psalm 100:3-5 — “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. . . . For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 102:28 — “The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.”
Psalm 103:17-18 — “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.”
Psalm 105 — A recounting of God’s goodness to the “offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.” God “remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.”
Psalm 109:6-13 — David prays that his enemies’ children will be cut off as judgment from God.
Psalm 112:1-2 — “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.”
Psalm 128:3-6 — A benediction — “your children will be like olive shoots around your table, behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. . . . May you see your children’s children!”
Psalm 132:11-12 — God will certainly establish David’s throne forever, “if your sons will keep My covenant.”
Psalm 137:9 — A prayer for the destruction of the children of Babylon.
Proverbs 11:21,30 — “the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. . . . The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 14:26 — “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.”
Proverbs 20:7 — “The righteous who walks in his integrity — blessed are his children after him!”
Proverbs 22:6 — “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:15 — “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”
Proverbs 29:14 — “If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.”
Isaiah 9:17 — God does not have pity on the orphans of his people in their rebellion.
Isaiah 14:20-22 — “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!”
Isaiah 24:5-6 — The inhabitants of the earth have “broken the everlasting covenant” and are cursed.
Isaiah 43:5-7, 60:4,9 — God declares to his people that he will “bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” This seems to be a prophecy of the salvation of all nations.
Isaiah 44:3-5 — God promises that when he restores Israel “I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants,” and that they will be “the Lord’s.”
Isaiah 45:25 — “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
Isaiah 49:25 — Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, when God restores his favor he will “save your children.”
Isaiah 51:8 — “my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”
Isaiah 54:13 — “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Isaiah 59:21 — “’And as for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,’ says the Lord, ‘from this time forth and forevermore.’”
Isaiah 60:21 — “Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever.”
Isaiah 61:8-9 — “I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Isaiah 65:23 — “They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.”
Isaiah 66:22 — When God brings in people from every nation, he promises that just as “the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.”
Jeremiah 2:30 — God struck Israel’s children because of their unfaithfulness.
Jeremiah 6:11, 9:21, 11:22-23, 16:1-4 — God’s punishment extends to children; Jeremiah is not to take a wife nor have children as a sign of this.
Jeremiah 18:21 — Jeremiah prays that his enemies’ children will be given to famine.
Jeremiah 19:9 — Because of their detestable wickedness, God promises that “I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters.”
Jeremiah 22:28-30 — Coniah will be childless because of his sin; his children will be destroyed with him.
Jeremiah 29:10-14, 30-31, 32:36-44, 33 — God promises to restore Israel after seventy years of captivity and exile. God will restore their children “as they were of old.” Israel will be God’s people. While Israel was in rebellion, the parents’ punishment was visited on children, but in restoration “everyone shall die for his own sin” (Jer 31:29-30). God will establish an unbreakable, everlasting covenant with Israel, write his law and fear of him on their hearts, and forgive their sin. The offspring of Israel will cease to be a nation before God only when the sun, moon and stars cease their motions. Jerusalem will be rebuilt. There is a clear Messianic element to this prophecy, but it clearly has an immediate fulfillment in the end of the captivity.
Jeremiah 29:31-32 — Shemaiah’s descendants will be punished because of his sin.
Jeremiah 32:18 — God will “repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them.”
Jeremiah 33:17-26 — God promises that “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”
Jeremiah 35:18-19 — God speaks to the sons of Jonadab: “Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”
Jeremiah 36:30-31 — For Jehoiakim’s sin, God promises that “He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity.”
Jeremiah 49:10-11 — God will destroy the children of Edom for the nation’s sin.
Ezekiel 5:17 — God would destroy Israel’s children because of their rebellion.
Ezekiel 11:14-21 — God promises to restore Israel after their captivity and exile; he will “give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 14:12-23 — God’s judgment on Israel is so severe that he will save righteous individuals only, not their children.
Ezekiel 16:59-63 — Despite Israel’s gross idolatry and rebellion (see the imagery in all of Ezekiel 16), God will in his mercy and faithfulness remember his covenant with Israel, and establish an everlasting covenant with them, atoning for their sin. Throughout Ezekiel there seems to be this alternating theme of God’s righteous wrath followed by God’s mercy upon a select remnant.
Ezekiel 37:15-28 — God promises the exiles that he will reunite Israel, that they will be his people and he will be their God. He will make an everlasting covenant with them, dwell with them, and David will rule over them.
Ezekiel 43:6-9 — God will dwell among his people forever.
Hosea 1:10-2:1, 2:23 — Israel will be once again called God’s people, his children.
Hosea 4:4-6 — God declares to priests, “since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Hosea 9:14-16, 13:16 — God will cause miscarriages among rebellious Israel, and will put their children to death. Likewise God will destroy the children of Samaria.
Joel 3:8 — God will enslave the children of Tyre and Sidon for their people’s sins.
Amos 7:14-17 — Because Amaziah spoke out against Amos, God will send away his wife and destroy his children.
Micah 1:16 — God will send children of rebellious Israel and Samaria into exile.
Nahum 3:10 — God’s judgment on Nineveh included the destruction of its infants.
Malachi 2:2-3 — God will curse the children of the priests for the priests’ covenant-breaking.
Malachi 4:5-6 — God promises that “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Elijah is likely John the Baptist; see Matthew 11:11-15, 17:10-13, Luke 1:17
Matthew 3:9-10 — John warns the Pharisees and Sadducees that physical succession is of no importance: “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
Matthew 13, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 — Among other parables, Jesus relates the parable of the sower and the soil, the parable of the tares, and the parable of the net. All of these serve as warnings against unbelief.
Matthew 18:5-6,10; Mark 9:36-37,42 — After commending childlike faith and humility, Jesus warns the disciples that “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. . . . See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” The story of the shepherd seeking after the lost sheep seems connected to God’s love for “these little ones.”
Matthew 27:25 — The people ask Pilate to crucify Jesus: “And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’”
Luke 1:50,54-55 — God is a God of generational mercy; includes a quote of Psalm 103:17.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 — “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
Hebrews 10:15-18 — The promises of Jeremiah 31 are applied to the new covenant in Jesus.
Hebrews 11 — God’s promises are all apprehended by faith.
1 Peter 3:9,15 — An exhortation to believers to continue in belief: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. . . . And count the patience of our Lord as salvation.”
1 John 1:5-10 — “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
1 John 3:1 — “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
1 John 5:13-15,20 — “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. . . . And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Jude 1:5-7 — “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day — just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”
Deuteronomy 1:10-11 — Moses prays that God would multiply and bless Israel.
2 Samuel 12:23 — David has confidence that he will “go to” his dead child in death.
2 Chronicles 6:14-17 — Solomon praises God for “keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart,” and appeals to God to keep his promise to David that “you shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.”
Psalm 90:16 — Moses prays, “Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.”
Psalm 144:12 — “May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace.”
Proverbs 1:4 — Proverbs is intended to give “knowledge and discretion to the youth.”
Exodus, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Daniel 9:15-19, Habakkuk — Moses, Jeremiah, Daniel and Habakkuk intercede, praying for God to have mercy on Israel. Despite their obvious trust in the absolute sovereignty of God, they do not first pray that God will turn Israel’s heart toward himself. They first, and indeed almost exclusively, pray that God would show mercy upon Israel because of his love, his faithfulness and his covenant. The obvious fruit of that would be Israel’s repenting and returning to God, and in fact this is the very appeal that is made to Israel, to repent immediately. But it is obvious that God’s relenting and showing mercy would precede and be the very foundation of Israel’s repentance.
Isaiah 11:1,6 — “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse . . . The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.”
Ezekiel 3:16-21, 33:7-9 — Ezekiel would be held responsible for the death of the wicked and the righteous if he did not warn them. But he would not be responsible if he did warn them. If he warned the righteous and the righteous turned from sin, Ezekiel will have “delivered [his] soul.”
Joel 2:28-32 — “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. . . . And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Matthew 10:21-22,35-38; Mark 13:9-13 — Jesus prophesies that “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. . . . For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Luke 12:51-53 — “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Acts 2:16-17 — “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.’”
Acts 3:25-26 — “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 — “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Trust and obey.
Genesis 18:19 — “For I [God] have chosen [Abraham], that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
Exodus 10:1-2 — God intended children and grandchildren to be told the story of His delivering Israel.
Leviticus 16:6,11,21 — Aaron is to offer sacrifices for both himself and his house, and indeed for all Israel.
Leviticus 21:9 — The daughter of a priest profanes her father if she commits sexual sin.
Numbers 4:9-10 — Parents are charged to keep their souls and make known God’s word to their children, “lest you forget.”
Deuteronomy 6 — Israel was to fear and obey God. Blessings would follow if they obeyed; otherwise God’s anger would follow. They were to “teach [God’s commands] diligently to your children” and to speak of them all the time. They were to remember God and serve him only. They were to teach their children of God’s goodness in salvation, and that they belong to him.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 — Parents are not to give their children to unbelievers in marriage.
Deuteronomy 11:18-32 — With the promise of God’s blessing and the threat of God’s anger and curse, Israel was to teach God’s words to their children, with God’s word always on their lips.
2 Samuel 13:21 — The Dead Sea scrolls and Septuagint call attention to the fact that David did not discipline Amnon for his sin against Tamar.
2 Samuel 13:39-14:24 — David is reproved for not showing compassion to Absalom.
1 Kings 1:5-6 — David had never rebuked Adonijah.
1 Kings 2:1-4 — David admonishes Solomon to fear the Lord, and recounts God’s promise that “If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”
1 Kings 14:7-16,15:29-30 — Because Jeroboam led Israel in sin, his whole household would suffer. God fulfils this when Baasha destroys the house of Jeroboam.
1 Kings 15:4-5 — God did not destroy Abijam, despite his sin, for David’s sake.
1 Kings 16:1-14 — God destroy’s Baasha’s offspring because he led Israel in sin.
1 Kings 16:34 — Ahab’s sons died, as Joshua prophesied, because he rebuilt Jericho.
1 Kings 21:20-24,27-29 — Ahab, Jezebel, and their offspring were condemned to death for Ahab’s gross sin. Yet because Ahab humbled himself, God spared the judgment until after his death.
1-2 Kings — There are examples of faithful kings with and without faithful sons, and unfaithful kings with unfaithful and faithful sons. It would be profitable to go back and look for examples of faithful fathers with faithful sons. Some that I see in 1-2 Chronicles are Abijah/Asa (yet Asa failed to trust the Lord in 2 Chronicles 16); Asa/Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:32, although Jehoshaphat was rebuked twice — 2 Chronicles 19:2, 20:35-37 — for assisting Israel); Uzzah/Jotham (2 Chronicles 27:2, although Uzzah was disciplined for his pride).
2 Kings 17:41 — Unfaithful example: “So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children--as their fathers did, so they do to this day.”
Nehemiah 13:25-26 — God’s people were not to give their children in marriage to God’s enemies.
Psalm 48:12-13 — “Tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.”
Psalm 78 — Parents are to tell their children of God’s praises so that future generations may know and trust in God. Warnings are given from Israel’s example, but God’s mercy and compassion are also exalted.
Psalm 103:13 — Like God, we are to show compassion to our children.
Psalm 127:1-2 — The second half of this Psalm portrays children as a “heritage from the Lord.” While the “house” in these verses is likely God’s house, this is nonetheless a stirring reminder that we are to look to God to accomplish the salvation and preservation of our children.
Psalm 145:4 — “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”
Proverbs 3:11-12 — God’s discipline and reproof are likened to that of “a father the son in whom he delights.”
Proverbs 4:3-4 — Parents are to tenderly and faithfully instruct their children in the way of wisdom and life.
Proverbs 10:1, 13:1, 15:5 — Parents are exhorted to teach their children to seek wisdom and flee foolishness, to instruct and reprove their children.
Proverbs 10:13 — Parents are exhorted to use the rod as a means of teaching wisdom and removing foolishness.
Proverbs 13:22 — “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”
Proverbs 13:24 — “He who loves [his son] is diligent to discipline him [with the rod].”
Proverbs 14:1 — The wise woman builds her house (i.e., including family and children).
Proverbs 19:18 — “Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.”
Proverbs 23:13-14 — “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.”
Proverbs 29:15,17 — “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. . . . Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.”
Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 — Parents ought to provide for their children and even leave them an inheritance.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 — For children as well as adults, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”
Isaiah 38:19 — “the father makes known to the children [God’s] faithfulness.”
Jeremiah 3:24-25 — Parental unfaithfulness can beget unfaithful children. The children are nonetheless responsible for their own sin, but this is sobering.
Jeremiah 5:7-9 — God is angry at Israel for the sin of their children, and will punish Israel and their children. “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”
Jeremiah 7:18, 9:14 — Children followed their parents into idolatry.
Joel 1:3ff — Joel enjoins parents to pass on the story of God’s judgment from generation to generation.
Malachi 2:13-16 — In uniting husband and wife, God is seeking “godly offspring.”
Luke 14:26 — Jesus is to be treasured above all: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 18:29-30 — “Truly, I say to you, 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, and in the age to come eternal life.”
2 Corinthians 12:14 — Speaking of himself and the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”
Ephesians 6:1-4 — “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Colossians 3:20-21 — “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
1 Thessalonians 2:7,11-12 — “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. . . . For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
1 Timothy 3:4-5,12 — The overseer “must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” Likewise deacons must be found “managing their children and their own households well.”
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 — Given the power of Scripture seen in 3:14ff, Paul gives Timothy a pastoral command that is immediatlely applicable to parents too: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
Titus 1:6 — It must be true of an elder that “his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.”
Titus 2:4 — Older women are to “train the young women to love their husbands and children.”
3 John 1:4 — “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
It seems clear that forever and generations must be taken in a proximately conditional sense. This neither denies the ultimacy of God’s grace nor the power of His faithfulness and promises.
Genesis 8-9 — God’s covenant with Noah is made with respect to all mankind, “for all future generations”.
Exodus 12:3,13 — A lamb was given for a household. The blood over the doorpost was a sign for each house.
Exodus 28:43, 29:9, 30:21, 40:13-14 — The priesthood of Aaron will continue through his offspring forever.
Exodus 29:42-46, 30:8-10 — Sacrifices are to continue throughout Israel’s generations, and God will be the Lord their God.
Leviticus 6:14,18, 7:35-36 — Aaron’s offspring are to eat a portion of certain offerings throughout the generations.
Leviticus 24:16,22 — Even sojourners, not covenant members, were to be held to some of the standards of the covenant when it comes to God’s name or human life.
Leviticus — throughout there is the assumption of a continuing priestly line, and indeed a continuing of Israel itself. God enacts “statute[s] forever, throughout [the] generations” for his people, with the implicit expectation that they will pass these on to their children.
Numbers 3:10 — Aaron and his sons are to “keep their priesthood.”
Numbers 3:25-26,31-32,36-37 — The Levitical families are not just expected to remain covenentally faithful, but they were also expected to carry on the same vocation throughout the generations.
Deuteronomy — there is a constant theme of God’s faithfulness to Israel for the sake of the “covenant that he swore to your fathers”, and for the sake of his love for their fathers. He is in fact the “God of your fathers.” Nevertheless, unfaithfulness on Israel’s part will bring God’s anger and discipline.
Joshua 24:15 — “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Ruth 1-4 — See Leithart on Ruth for an interesting speculation.
1 Samuel 2:27-36,3:10-14,4:12-18 — Because of Eli’s sons’ blasphemy, and because of Eli’s failure to restrain them, God will discipline the house of Aaron by revoking his promise that they would serve him forever. God brings this to pass.
2 Samuel 7 — God promises to bless David and his offspring. He will love and discipline David’s son, and His spirit will not leave him. David’s house, kingdom, and throne will be “established forever”. David gives thanks to God for this and for establishing “for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever.”
1 Kings 2:27 — God brings to pass the word he spoke concerning Eli; Abiathar was expelled.
Nehemiah 10:28-29 — The people, as well as “their sons, their daughters,” renew their covenant with God. This is qualified as “all who have knowledge and understanding.”
Psalm 33:12 — God chose a nation as his heritage, and set himself as their God.
Psalm 139:13-16 — God formed David in the womb and ordained all his days.
Isaiah, Jeremiah — Throughout there is a collective appeal to Israel to remain faithful to the covenant God made with their fathers. The appeal is not to pull themselves together and make themselves acceptable to God; rather, it is to repent, remain faithful to God, and to trust in God’s own righteousness and deliverance. I.e., God has made a covenant with you, complete with sober warnings and glorious blessings; therefore be faithful and place your trust fully in him. Throughout, the analogy of God’s covenant to marriage faithfulness is made.
Jeremiah 1:4-8 — God speaks to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Ezekiel 18 — God holds individuals accountable for their own sin, and blesses individuals with salvation for their own righteousness. God is just in doing so. “The soul who sins shall die. . . . The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
Luke 2:22-24 — Firstborn males are holy to the Lord (with quotes from Exodus, Numbers).
Luke 15:31-32 — Speaking to Jews, Jesus speaks of a faithful son and a repentant sinner son: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Romans 5:12-21 — Death in Adam, life in Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:14-17 — “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
Romans 9:3-18 — “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. . . . not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, . . . it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. . . . For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”
Romans 9:31-32 — “Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.”
Romans 11:1-10 — “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. . . . So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. . . . What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,”
Romans 11:17-24 — “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”
Romans 11:25-36 — I really don’t understand this passage. Paul makes statements like “full inclusion” (v. 11), “all Israel will be saved” (v. 26), “as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (v. 28), “that he may have mercy on all” (v. 32). Without being universalistic, this sounds like there really will be a time of tremendous salvation, at least among Israel and probably throughout the world.
1 Corinthians 7:14 — “For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”
1 Corinthians 15:21 — “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:42-49 — “Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.”
Galatians 3:7-9,29 — “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. . . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” The remainder of the chapter alludes to offspring, Christ.
Galatians 4:21-31 — Isaac and Ishmael contrasted as children of promise and flesh.
Ephesians 3:6 — “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Ephesians 3:14-15 — “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”
Hebrews — Throughout there is a repeated distinction made between profession and perseverance, perhaps even between covenant membership and salvation. It it certainly the case that the new covenant carries both promises of rest and salvation and warnings against unbelief and hardness delivered to apparent covenant members; that the promises and the warnings are much greater those of the old covenant; and that ongoing faith, repentance, obedience and perseverance are conditions of salvation, e.g., Hebrews 3:6,14. Throughout the author reminds everyone of the objective confidence and assurance that God’s promises give us as we approach him through Jesus.
Hebrews 2:10-18 — Jesus shared in our flesh and blood, just as God’s “children share in flesh and blood . . . [as] the offspring of Abraham.”
Hebrews 5:9-10 — Jesus our high priest “became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”
Hebrews 7:25 — Jesus saves to the uttermost “those who draw near to God through him.”
Hebrews 8:8-13 — The author quotes Jeremiah 31 to demonstrate the insufficiency and prove the obsolescence of the old covenant.
Hebrews 9:15 — “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”
Hebrews 10:26-31 — Those who fall away are described as having been “sanctified,” and are “his people,” yet there is fearful judgment for them.
James — Throughout we have the repeated idea that those whose faith obeys and steadfastly perseveres are those who are saved, e.g., James 1:12, 2:12-13.
1 Peter 1:9-10 — “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:24-25 — “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Revelation 11:18 — “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
Revelation 13:8 — “all who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.”
Revelation 22:17 — The invitation to come is to all: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
Genesis 8:12-17 — The rainbow serves as God’s covenant sign to Noah and all future generations.
Exodus 4:15 — God’s covenant name is a memorial “to all generations”.
Exodus 12:14-20,24-27 — Passover was a memorial day to be celebrated “throughout your generations”. It is a statute for “you and your sons forever”, and is to be a deliberate means of teaching children of God’s sparing Israel.
Exodus 12:42 — Passover was “a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations”.
Exodus 13:8-10 — The feast of unleavened bread was to be a sign to Israel and their children of God’s deliverance. Interestingly, the text speaks of it being a sign “that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth”. Given Jesus’s incarnation, it seems that this connects to John 6:51, ‘’etc.’
Exodus 13:1-2, 14:11-16 — Firstborn children and beasts were to be consecrated to God. This was intended to be a sign to Israel and their children of God’s mighty deliverance.
Exodus 22:29 — Firstborn sons are to be given to God.
Exodus 24:7-8 — Moses sprinkles all the people with the blood of the covenant.
Exodus 31:12-17 — The Sabbath is to be kept as a sign forever, throughout Israel’s generations.
Numbers 3:40-51 — The Levites served as a ransom for the firstborn sons of all Israel. Money served as a ransom for those who were not accounted for by the Levites.
Numbers 10:1-10 — Trumpets used in battle serve as a sort of sign, “that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”
Numbers 15:37-41 — Tassels on garments were to serve as a reminder of God’s commands.
Deuteronomy 10:12-22 — Circumcision of the heart.
Joshua 4:5-7,20-24 — Israel erected a pile of stones as a memorial of God’s bringing them across the Jordan. They were specifically to be used for reminding and instructing children of God’s strength, faithfulness and goodness.
Nehemiah 10:35-36 — The people renewed their covenant with God to redeem firstborn sons.
Matthew 3:11-17 — John declares, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John baptizes Jesus “to fulfill all righteousness.”
Matthew 26:26-29 — “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’”
Matthew 28:18-20 — “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
Mark 1:5-9 — “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. . . . ‘I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”
Mark 14:22-25 — “And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’”
Mark 16:15-16 — “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’”
Luke 3:3,16,21 — John performed a baptism of repentance. Jesus would baptize with the Spirit rather than with water. Jesus himself was baptized with water.
Luke 22:14-20 — “And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”
John 1:25-27 — “They asked [John the baptist], ‘Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’”
John 1:33 — “He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”
John 3:22-34 — Jesus baptized in water, and it relates to purification and the giving of the Spirit: “After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison). Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness — look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. . . . he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.’”
John 4:1-2 — Baptism is for disciples; Jesus himself didn’t baptize: “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), . . .”
John 6:25-59 — Jesus speaks of his body and blood: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Acts 1:5, 2:2-3 — “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. . . . And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts 2:37-39 — “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’”
Acts 8:12-17 — “When they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. . . . Peter and John, [came] down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 10:45-48 — “And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.”
Acts 15 — The Jerusalem council. God “made no distinction between [circumcised] and [uncircumcised], having cleansed their hearts by faith. . . . It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”
Acts 16:3 — “Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”
Acts 16:14-15 — “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, . . .”
Acts 16:32-34 — “And they spoke the word of the Lord to [the jailer] and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. . . . And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”
Acts 18:8 — “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
Acts 19:1-6 — “And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.”
Acts 22:14-16 — “And [Ananias] said [to Saul], ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”
Romans 2:25-29 — “a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”
Romans 3, esp. Romans 3:29-31 — “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”
Romans 4:9-16 — “He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”
Romans 6:1-14 — “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
1 Corinthians 1:10-17 — “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. . . . For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 7:18-20 — “Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.”
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 — “I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 — “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. . . . You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 — The Lord’s supper as a community meal; yet it was not practiced in love. Warnings about taking it in an unworthy manner and failing to discern the body.
“the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 — “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 15:29 — “Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?”
Galatians 2:1-14 — Circumcision not required for Gentile believers.
Galatians 3:27 — “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Galatians 5:2-6 — “if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Galatians 6:12-15 — “It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
Ephesians 2:11-22 — Circumcision no longer separates Jews and Gentiles, for Jesus abolished “the law of commandments and ordinances,” making the two “fellow citizens.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 — “There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Philippians 3:2-3 — “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”
Colossians 2:11-14 — “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” This is also connected to living and putting to death in Colossians 3.
Colossians 3:11 — “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
Titus 1:10-15 — “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. . . . Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”
Titus 3:4-7 — “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.”
Hebrews 6:1-2 — Paul considers “instruction about washings” or baptism to be “elementary doctrine.”
Hebrews 9:9-10 — “Food and drink and various washings” cannot “perfect the conscience of the worshiper;” in fact, they are only “regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 — “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
James 5:14 — “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:21 — “Baptism, which corresponds to this [namely, Noah and his family being brought safely through the flood], now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 John 5:6-8 — “This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”
Throughout the Pentateuch, there is the idea of corporate offerings and sacrifices (e.g., Numbers 7, 8:12). Now it is clear from Romans, Hebrews, and elsewhere that sacrifices were not in themselves sufficient to save; they were to be apprehended by forward-looking faith in Christ. Perhaps corporate sacrifice is analagous to the atonement — “effectual for [some], and sufficiently for the sins of the whole world” (Charles Hodge). How this relates to the notion of covenant succession is unclear.
Job 1:5 — Job would make sacrifices on behalf of his grown children.
Deuteronomy 30:1-6,11-14 — There is mercy for “you and your children” who return to the Lord. “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. . . . this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you. . . . the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”
Psalm 22:9-10 — God caused David (and Jesus, since this is a Messianic psalm) to trust in him as an infant.
Psalm 71:5-6,17 — God is David’s hope, confidence, and teacher “from my youth”; David was sustained and claimed by God from birth.
The proper object of faith is Christ and Christ alone.
Deuteronomy 9:1-12, 10:12-22 — Israel’s salvation is not based upon their righteousness, but because of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Israel is commanded to fear, follow, love, serve, and obey God.
Psalm 31:23-24, 32:10-11, 33:18-22, 34, 62:5-8, 95-100, 115:9-11, 117, 145 — Simple exhortations to love, trust, fear, obey, worship and enjoy God, and the blessing that comes in doing so. Throughout the Psalms exhortations like these are formulated in the language of covenant faithfulness, rather than conversion. Psalm 34 explicitly addresses itself to children.
Psalm 131 — A childlike trust and hope in God is commended, “like a weaned child rests against his mother.”
Psalm 148:12 — Praise the Lord, “young men and maidens together, old men and children!”
Matthew 10:42 — Jesus indicates little ones may be his disciples: “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Matthew 12:30 — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Matthew 18:1-4 — “And calling to him a child, [Jesus] put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:13-15 — “Then children were brought to him 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.”
Matthew 21:15-16 — “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant, and they said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise”?’”
Mark 10:13-16 — “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the 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 shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
Luke 1:15 — John was filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb.
Luke 2:40,52 — Jesus grew in wisdom and grace and favor with God. Jesus is a relevant example for believers, since we experience union with Him, and our children may as well.
Luke 9:47-48 — “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
Luke 17:1-4 — “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”
Luke 18:15-17 — “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 shall not enter it.”
Revelation 15:4 — All nations (children included?) will worship God, whether voluntarily or otherwise: “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Deuteronomy 16:9-15 — For the feasts of booths and weeks, parents and children were to “rejoice before the Lord your God” together.
Psalm 96:7-9 — “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!”
Genesis 8:21 — “The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”
Exodus 6:30 — Moses speaks of having uncircumcised lips.
Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3 — There is none (among the wicked, at least) who does good.
Psalm 40:6-10 — God does not desire sacrifice and offering; there is implication that God has put his law in David’s heart. God is the one who has delivered David.
Psalm 51:5-6,16-17 — David was “brought forth in iniquity,” yet it is God who now works in his heart. Indeed, it is a broken spirit and contrite heart that God requires, rather than sacrifice and burnt offering.
Psalm 58:3-5 — “The wicked are estranged from the womb.”
Psalm 143:2 — “No one living is righteous before you.”
Proverbs 20:9 — “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’?”
Proverbs 20:11 — Evidences of grace and sin: “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 — “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
Isaiah 7:16 — “before the boy [Jesus] knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good”
Jeremiah 4:4 — Israel is to repent of their rebellion and “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 — “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’”
Ezekiel 36:24-32 — God promises the exiles that he will cleanse them, give them new hearts, and put his spirit within them.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 — Using the image of putting flesh on bones and breathing life into them, God promises the exiles that he will give them life and put his spirit within them.
Hosea 6:6 — “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Joel 2:12-14 — Joel appeals to Israel to “rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”
Amos 5:21-24 — God is not concerned with feasts, offerings and songs, but desires justice and righteousness.
Micah 6:6-8 — God does not require offerings, “but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Habakkuk 2:4 — “The righteous shall live by his faith.”
Zephaniah 2:3 — Zephaniah entreats Judah’s enemies to “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.”
Matthew 3:8 — John commands the Pharisees and Sadducees to “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Matthew 4:17 — Jesus preached repentance to the very people of Israel, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 11:25-30 — “At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’” Jesus goes on to describe “these things,” a gospel that entails taking on his easy yoke and receiving rest.
Matthew 12:33-38 — “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 15:10-20, Mark 7:20-23 — “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
Mark 7:6-8 — “And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of m