No Bad Questions Q&A: What of Those Who Can't Make A Profession of Faith?

Hey. Jeff Bradford here from Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. As I've been doing each week, we're answering one question that's come in on our questions at ctk raleigh dot org email. And this one's related to the sermon from this past Sunday, where we asked the question, is God fair? And we talked about hell and God's sending people to hell. What's the basis for that?

The question for today is about those who are not able to make a profession of faith, particularly those who are intellectually disabled or are differently abled, for children dying in utero and childbirth. I want to approach this question carefully. I know that this question may be for many people just an intellectual curiosity or one of those intellectual problems, but I want to speak to that also as a pastor. I have sat with people for whom this is a reality. So I want to be very careful and gentle in how I answer this question and tell you how I answer this question with parents.

Scripture and the Foundation

Of course, scripture teaches that this is Romans chapter 10, that the way that people come to faith is they can profess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord, and that's how they're saved. Obviously, these are two categories of people who are not able to do that. So how do we think about that? What do I say to parents?

I will point to several things in scripture. Jesus in Matthew 19 welcomes the children to himself. In Second Samuel, King David has a child that dies, and he has confidence that he will see that child again. I always point people to two things: the sovereignty of God and the character of God.

Two Biblical Anchors

We don't believe in our theological tradition in an age of accountability. There's no real place for that scripturally that is super solid. There is a passage in First Corinthians 7 that talks about children of believers being holy to the Lord. It's hard to hang a lot on that passage, but I always point people to two things.

One is God's sovereignty in election. We talk in our church about predestination, about election. Rather than being a cold, uncaring doctrine, it's one of the real sources of hope that we have. God chooses people not on the basis of our goodness or moral superiority or intellect, but simply because he loves. God is the one. The sovereignty of God and salvation is really the biggest determiner of whether or not people are Christians, and that can be scary to some people. I talked about this a lot Sunday. So I do think that's something we can put hope in, particularly if you are a believer.

I also want to point to the character of God. The character of God we see over and over is that his heart is for the weak and for the powerless. He is the father of the fatherless, the one who cares for widows. We see just over and over the heart of God for the powerless and the weak.

A Pastoral Word

I'm always going to bet on the character of God. I tell parents this who have lost a child, who have a child who is unable during their lifetime to make a profession of faith: I trust in the character of God. I can't answer that question definitively for all times and all people and all places. I know that's probably frustrating to some who are listening. But as a pastor, I just want to tell you how I would answer that with individuals.

Hope that's helpful. Please keep your questions coming at questions at ctk raleigh dot org. I hope to be able to helpfully interact with those and encourage you in your ability to interact with other people around very difficult questions in the faith. Thanks for tuning in.