Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
In the news, the president of the U.S. is in the Middle East on a peace/trade mission. He is meeting with several Middle Eastern leaders, one with a ten million dollar bounty on his head. Mr. Trump is proving his ignorance of the Word of God with his meeting. The Bible declares:
Jeremiah 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Six times we find the phrase: “there is no peace” in a similar context in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace and without Him there can be no lasting peace. While Mr. Trump is in Saudi Arabia the Houthis have launched several missiles, one of which was taken out over Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Trump took over the presidency of the U.S. at a time when that nation is in deep financial trouble. It is also in deep moral trouble, but that is of no significance to him. He is the $$$$$$ man. In his mind, money will solve all problems. He and those who support him will find out this is not so.
in our text, the Bible tells us that children are a gift from God. The Bible also tells us that there is a time limit as to when parents can have children. Generally, it is when parents are younger that they have children. At that time parents have many things on the go. They have many plans and goals. Too often, in our time, children are seen as a hindrance to getting those goals accomplished.
In our country it is acceptable to murder unborn children. The world calls it abortion. That word takes the humanity out of the equation. However, it is murder. Life begins at conception, not some arbitrary place after that.
When a child dies, the parents and others want to hear that their child went straight to heaven. They are not all that concerned about teaching their children how to get to heaven. They just want to hear that they went there because after all ‘they are innocent’.
In our text Jesus put a qualifier to His statement regarding “these little ones”. Back in verse 36 Jesus took a young child and held him in His arms. He spoke of the importance of receiving a little child in His name. As far as we know Jesus was still holding that child in His arms in our text. However, He referred to a little child that believes in Him. Not all children believe in Jesus. Many have never heard of Him. Many are given a false view of Jesus.
Jesus warned here of the danger of corrupting the heart and mind of a little child that believes in Him. Little children ask many questions. One of their early questions is “why”. Their minds are active and they want to understand things. They can understand the importance of salvation and the need of salvation. Good parents will help their children to know when they are doing wrong. They will not excuse bad behaviour. Today, partially due to bad vaccines but also just due to bad training, many adults assume their child has ADHD or some other acronym and the parents/adults are trained to tolerate bad behaviour rather than deal with it.
Children need to be taught that lying, stealing, disobedience, and many other things are sin. It is not just a matter of disobeying Daddy or Mommy. It is a matter of sinning against God. If the child is taught properly, they will know that there is a God and there is a Saviour called Jesus Christ. They will know that they can turn to God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. They will also understand that trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will change them. They will have a different desire and they will have a greater interest in spiritual matters.
To take a young child and indoctrinate him or her in New Evangelical lies is offensive to God. To teach that child that rock music or CCM music is acceptable is wrong. To corrupt them with a perversion of God’s Word is wrong. The Gospel message does not need to be ‘dumbed down’ for a child. Jesus did not speak any different in the presence of children than He did in the presence of adults. There were children present with their parents during His teaching.
Jesus stated that it would be better for adults to be drowned in the sea with a millstone tied around their neck, rather than offending a little child. This was not just a matter of throwing offenders in the water. This was a matter of capital punishment. This passage has never been removed from the Bible. It is still just as important today as it ever was.
There is such a thing as ignorance, and there is such a thing as wilful ignorance. Ignorance may be something we do not know because we were never taught. Willful ignorance is something we are ignorant of, but we should know. It is up to those who are saved to be teaching the lost the truth. That includes teaching children the facts.
God has put a conscience inside every person. There are basic things that we all know. We know there is a God.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
As children look up into the sky and observe the stars and the clouds, etc.; parents and other adults have great opportunity to remind them that God put the stars in the sky. He forms the clouds and sends the rain and the snow, the hail and the sunshine. He sends the storms and the nice weather. God is in charge. To tell children that ‘mother nature’ is angry or that the thunder is a bowling tournament up there is wickedness. Foolish people will pay dearly for their wilful ignorance. That fee will never be paid as the Bible tells us that the lake of fire is an eternal fire and no one ever escapes from there.
The message that Jesus gave here was important then and is important now. There are all kinds of distractions put before children. They are just that – distractions. They do not provide any lasting solution to the questions that they have in their hearts and consciences. Wise parents/adults choose to limit the distractions so that the children can deal with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
Pastor Bartel
