Saturday, February 10, 2007
Unbelief in an Elder's Children by Taylor
“May a man have children who are unbelievers and yet be appointed or continue as an elder? First Timothy 3:4-5 and Titus 1:6 provoke the question....all of the requirements for eldership that are listed in this passage (being married once, being temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, a good teacher, not a drunkard, not a lover of money, and not a recent convert) are actions of personal responsibility. We would expect the requirement regarding his children to be in the same category. Requiring that his children have genuine saving faith is to require personal responsibility for the salvation of another, something I don’t see taught in Scripture.” – From Unbelief in an Elder’s Children by Justin Taylor (click link to read the entire article)
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4 comments:
As a Calvinist, I have no control over who is a believer, and that includes my children. All I can say to a church is ask about me and I will respond. Beyond that, pray.
Cheers,
Jim
To ask a question in another way: Where in the KJV do we find that a man can not be ordained to preach based on the reputation of his children?
Hoyt D. F. Sparks
To answer that question, nowhere!
Ordination is a function of the local church and not an association anyway.
As a sidenote: My wife is Anglican, and remained an open Anglican all during my time as a Baptist minister. Not one church challenged her. She had been immersed, and one church even invited her to partake of the Lord's Supper, despite they were a closed communion church.
Who said Baptist are too closed minded to see beyond their noses?....lol
Cheers,
Jim
Immersion does not a Baptist make...the immersion must be by a Baptist (doesn't have to be an ordained minister if the church is without one...the church can elect someone to do the baptism)whose Baptist immersion makes him qualified.
Edwin Fountain
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