When the Demons Hit the Fan

Preface

I was chatting today with a friend about baptism, and I got the same spiel about "dedication," "when they get older," and "choose for themselves."

I was angry, and I think I was rightly angry. I was angry that parents of sons and daughters have left the fates of their children in the hands of a mere dedication instead of scouring the Scriptures in search of how God wants to fit His little ones into His covenant.

In the face of cosmic war, I was angry. I wrote this article. I know it will—for those who don't acknowledge the war—at best, befuddle and, at worst, set them at odds with me.

I chose harsh words. I chose bold words. I chose words in the hope that—for those who do to some extent acknowledge we are at war—their knowledge would flare into a brutal focus against the devil and his schemes.

I wanted to be abrasive. We are at war, and I was trying to select phrases as if I were speaking with a person who thinks that the war is all well and good in the newspaper but not that it is something of concern here and now.

(See my paper on baptism.)

We Are at War

For those of you who have been Christians for a little while, you are aware that the Christian life on this planet is sometimes given the epithet battle. Occasionally, the phrase "fight the good fight" is spoken.

Paul the apostle describes it, saying,

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Whether you care to acknowledge it or not, we are on the front lines. We are living in a battlefield. Later in Ephesians 6, Paul describes each item of the armor of God: belt, breastplate, fitted shoes, shield, helmet, and sword. Granted, these are metaphors; however, these metaphors represent cosmic entities that are real: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

My friends, we are in a battle every single day. Every single day (for the demon ranks are constantly replenished with invigorated troops), we must cling to the strength and mercy of God lest we simply get perforated with metaphoric arrows and trampled into the metaphoric mire.

We are at war. I prefaced with a comment about baptism, but, if you are oblivious to the war raging for your soul, baptism won't really mean anything.

We are at war: under this assumption, I move forward.

A Sword for Every Hand

New-convertists often excuse the delay by saying the child should grow, be able to rationalize, and choose God for themselves in their own, volitional time.
This is like saying (remember that your whole life has been comprised of world-wide war) that you'll let your sons and daughters choose for themselves whether or not they want to learn how to wield a sword once they're old enough to have opinions about the war.

When metaphoric blood is being shed outside your door on a daily basis, you do not have the right to withhold training from your children.

• Practically speaking, who cares what they choose when they grow older? Keep them spiritually alive long enough to have any sanctified volition left to make a God-seeking choice.
• Technically speaking, God commands that you graft your children into His covenant—which I delineate in my paper.

Train Them Young

In other words (assuming you believe that God is the way, the truth, and the life), it is unwise to let your kids "discover themselves" or "find their own way." If you did that, they'd eat candy all day, get kidnapped, and get run over by a car. Rather, recognize that God is the best thing they'll ever have and get them started as young as you possibly can.

Are you surprised that your teens are wandering away from God? Obviously, there are many factors, and we live in a monstrously dangerous world. However, if you don't train a kid, he or she is going to be metaphorically stabbed – end of story. Now, if you train them from birth, they may still be stabbed, but, at the very least, you have done your God-ordained duty in keeping them as safe as possible.

Are you surprised that your kids are growing up to be namby-pamby Christians? You can always teach an old dog new tricks, but the effort required increases exponentially the longer you wait. Similarly, if you let a child wait until he chooses God himself, you make it much harder for him to survive the fray once he enters.

AHOU! AHOU! AHOU!

Another analogy:

In the movie 300 (based on the historical event of the battle of Thermopylae), King Leonidas is taking his band of 300 soldiers to defend against the onslaught of thousands—if not millions—of invading soldiers.

Daxos, a commander of Arcadia, meets up with Leonidas' army on their way to the battle lines, planning on joining their numbers. Daxos' troop is more than twice the size of Leonidas'.

Daxos says, "I see I was wrong to expect Sparta's commitment to at least match our own."

Leonidas replies, "Doesn't it?" He points to one of Daxos' soldiers. "You there, what is your profession?"

The man replies, "I am a potter, sir."

Leonidas points to another soldier. "And you, Arcadian, what is your profession?"

"Sculptor, sir," he replies.

Leonidas turns to a third soldier: "You?"

"Blacksmith."

Leonidas turns back to his soldiers and shouts, "Spartans! What is your profession?"

His troop, in unison, shouts back, "AHOU! AHOU! AHOU!" (Akin to the Marine oorah.)

Leonidas again speaks to Daxos: "You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did."

Were Daxos and his men strong and able? Absolutely. Were Daxos and his men properly equipped? Absolutely. Were Daxos and his men ready and willing to die for their country? Absolutely. Were Daxos and his men trained to be a unified army of battle-ready soldiers. No.

Imagine you are in a world war. You and all civilians have been drafted. The armies have lined up. Banners are waving. Battle cries are sounding. The man next to you shakily holds up his gun and asks, "How do you load this thing?" How safe will you feel charging into battle next to this man?

In other words, when the demons hit the fan, God will take any and every soldier in His army. I will welcome any and every soldier. However, I'd rather be standing next to a trained warrior when the battle lines clash.