Do you remember when you were growing up and you’d do something immature? Then, your parents would turn to you and say: “Grow up—stop acting like a child!” Did you ever hear that when you were growing up? I am afraid that I heard it quite a few times—all of which were surely justified. And yet, Jesus taught His disciples something that sounds quite different. It was during a time when the disciples were acting a bit immature themselves. They were vying for positions and each one wanted the honor of being considered as Jesus’ greatest disciple. In Matthew Gospel, we find the following: 1 “About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ 2 Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. 3 Then He said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming Me.’” Matthew 18:1-5 (NLT2)
What did Jesus mean by this—that you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless you become like a little child? Well, just before the disciples asked their question, Jesus had been speaking in a private conversation with Peter. So, when the disciples made this inquiry as to whom would be the “greatest” in the kingdom, it is likely they were a bit jealous of Peter. In their eyes, Peter was getting more attention from Jesus than they were. They wanted a clarification of where all of them stood in rank under Jesus. But, although the disciples asked about the “Kingdom of Heaven,” it is unlikely that they had the “end-of-time” heavenly kingdom in mind. Rather, they understood that Jesus, as the Messiah, was about to bring the Kingdom of Heaven right there to Palestine. When He did that, they expected Jesus to run the Romans out, and then set His disciples up to govern the Kingdom. They asked the question to prompt Jesus to consider all the disciples for the chief governing position, and not just Peter.[1]
Thus, it was a very prideful question filled with jealousy. But pride and jealousy are hardly characteristics that would gain anyone a position in Jesus’ Kingdom. So, we need to consider Jesus’ response in that context. What Jesus was telling them was that they wouldn’t have any rank in His Kingdom if they kept their present attitude because they’d never get into the Kingdom in the first place! That is exactly what Jesus is telling us today. We’d all do well to “become like children”—in other words, adopt a childlike attitude that reflects the mindsets of those who will reside in God’s eternal Heavenly Kingdom. So again, I ask: “What did Jesus mean when He said we must ‘become like children’ if we ever want to go to Heaven?”
To answer this question, it helps to first understand what Jesus DID NOT MEAN. First, and perhaps foremost, Jesus is not saying that you have to “think like a child” to accept the Christian faith. In fact, the Bible rejects such an unintelligent approach to faith. Paul made a point of this when saying: “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” 1st Corinthians 13:11 (NLT2) Paul is talking about faith in God and our love for Him. It isn’t something we regard lightly. We come to faith by using our minds, not by leaving our brains behind. That’s why Paul told the Christians in Corinth who were coming to faith: “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” 1st Corinthians 14:20 (NIV) And Jesus made it clear that our love for God must come out of having decided for God with your mind, not solely with the emotions of your heart. Jesus said: “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and ALL YOUR MIND.” Matthew 22:37 (NLT2)
So, it is essential to understand the Bible teaches that you do not have to commit intellectual suicide in order to have faith in God and to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Let me give you an example of someone who found that to be the case. Not too long ago, a highly educated, young Frenchmen named Guillaume Bignon wrote an article about his faith journey. He had met a beautiful American model and actress who was a Christian. And, consistent with her faith, she practiced abstinence before marriage. But, Guillaume was an avowed atheist and didn’t share her views on abstinence in the least. So, he became determined to prove to her that faith in Jesus Christ was a mindless endeavor. He quoted to her the words of French atheists of the Enlightenment period who mocked Christianity. For example, he pointed to the Baron d’Holbach who had declared: “To be a good Christian, it is essential not to have a brain, or at least to have one that’s well and truly shrunk.” But, Guillaume ran into a problem. The more he studied the Bible and applied his mind to thinking it through, the more convinced he became that faith in God is a reasonable faith after all. Finally, he came to admit:
I accepted that the Christian view was neither repressive nor intolerant. Most importantly, my focus wasn’t so much on whether or not Christianity is good but on whether or not it is true. And on that front, too, I had to let go of a few misconceptions. First, I suspected that belief in God was incompatible with science—or that it should be supported by science if it were at all true. . . I realized that none of my scientific knowledge (acquired in scientific prep school and during my engineering degree courses) conflicted with the existence of God. . . I later did discover there are good arguments for God’s existence with premises based on science. . ., but for the time being, I simply concluded that scientific proof wasn’t necessary to believe in God.[2]
We can see from this that Guillaume had come to realize something. He came to understand that his demand for God’s existence be proven with absolute certainty wasn’t a reasonable requirement on his part. Why?—because he put nothing else in his life to such an extreme test. He then went on to explain that many things he readily held to be true were not always things that he could prove with absolute certainty. And, he could see this was true for both the things of science as well as many other areas of life. As a result, he became more open to what the Bible had to say. The more he studied it, the more he became convinced of its truth, and he ended up accepting Christ as His Lord and Savior. In his article, he concluded by emphasizing the following points: “Now, I should add that this intellectual shift wasn’t everything. A genuine Christian conversion involves a change of heart as well as a change of mind, and beyond my intellectual acceptance of God’s existence and Jesus’s resurrection, I also needed to embrace the Christian Gospel—repent of my sin and trust in the risen Jesus for eternal life!” And, that’s exactly what he did. He summed this up be saying: “I believed, and it was no intellectual suicide.”[3]
He is so very right—you can be a child of God and retain your brain as well! In fact, faith requires a reasoned, thoughtful choice of Christ as your Savior. It is a choice of your mind and your heart. So, when Jesus said that you must come to Him as a “child” would, He was not requiring you to become unthinking. If that were so, then how could there be so many people with brilliant minds who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.[4] I thought about reciting to you a brief list of those in the field of science, as an example, who have been devout Christians. But, when consulting Wikipedia, I found that it would take 2 or 3 hours to name them and all the various scientific fields they come from, going back as far as the 12th century through today. Over the past 2,000 years alone, thinking people have chosen to submit their lives to Jesus Christ. So, it does not matter what your IQ may be (high or low), Christ wants to be your Teacher and Savior.
Now that we have determined what being “child-like” is NOT, let’s see what it means to become like the kind of “children” Jesus wants us to be. It comes down to this: We need to recapture the wonderment of a child when it comes to God’s relationship with us so that we can have the right relationship with Him. When we look into a clear night sky and see the trillions of stars, or observe the beauty of this earth, or examine the amazing design and complexities of our human bodies or contemplate the mysteries of all of Creation—we need to stand in total awe of what God has done. Those things are so awesome they are hard to express. But, David gave it his best shot when he said in child-like wonder: 3 “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— 4 what are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT2) And yet, God does care for us. He cares so much—and His love for us is so great—that He sent His only Son to die on the Cross in payment of the sins of those who are willing to “become like a child” and follow Him.
You see, when the disciples asked Jesus what esteemed positions they would have in the Kingdom of Heaven, they had NOT yet “become like children.” Rather, they were still behaving “childishly.” There is an enormous difference in “becoming like a child” in the sense that Jesus spoke, as opposed to being “childish” in a worldly sense. In fact, the Bible clearly cautions those who think they are Christians but continue to exhibit childish behavior. There were many “childish” people in Corinth, Greece, when the Apostle Paul planted a Christian church there during the 1st century A.D. And, there are a lot of “childish” people today throughout this country who like to think of themselves as Christians. Paul addresses all of them—both those of the past and the present—when he declares: “Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be CHILDISH in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.” 1st Corinthians 14:20 (NLT2) In saying don’t be childish, Paul was instructing them to put away their foolish pride—their desire to always get their way—their insistence that they always be the first in line. Rather, he urged them to be “innocent as babies when it comes to evil” things. Now, what did Paul mean by that?
Well, make sure you understand that being “innocent as babies” does not mean being naïve—quite the contrary. The Bible teaches us to be “innocent as babies” in the sense of setting ourselves apart from evil. In other words, avoid evil whenever possible so as to remove yourself from temptation. David put it this way: 1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV) Notice the progress here: If you walk with evil, then sooner or later you are going to stop and stand with evil. And once you come to rest with evil, then you are going to sit down with evil. David had to learn the hard way the truth of his own words when he failed to set himself apart from Bathsheba while she was still a married woman. Consequently, David ended up lying down with evil—all to his detriment that caused him and his kingdom much future suffering.
We can best recognize evil and sin by becoming familiar with the mandates of God’s Word. The Bible tells us: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” 1st John 1:8 (NLT2) The disciples were being “childish” by giving in to their pride and their thirst for prestige and honor. But, to become the “children” that Jesus longed for them to be, they needed to strip away their personal pride and replace it with some completely different traits. A true child of God is less concerned with gaining personal accolades and more concerned with pleasing God the Father. Such genuine children of God can truly pray, “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:13 (NASB) Note that Jesus taught us to pray to the Father that “Your” kingdom will have the power and the glory forever. The problem was that Jesus’ disciples had not yet “matured” into the status of “children.” They needed to be “born again” [5] to step into the role of God’s children. In a nutshell, they had not yet understood that the “power and the glory” of God’s Kingdom is reserved for God Himself and not for selfish, prideful, glory-seekers. Over the course of time, Jesus’ disciples (with the exception of Judas) would learn to adopt a child-like attitude. Then, they finally understood what real faith entails. Probably no one described such faith more concisely than Colleen Townsend Evans. Evans was the stunningly beautiful Hollywood actress of the 1940’s, who became an urban missionary in this country and a close friend of Billy and Ruth Graham. She aptly stated: “Faith is an area where growing up means we must become more like a child.”[6]
Jesus’ disciples eventually understood this. When they did, they had a much better grasp upon something in Psalm 84 that helps us to understand the attitude Christians today must adopt to become children of faith. Old Testament scholars debate who wrote this Psalm. Some believe the sons of Korah authored it,[7] but others attribute it to David.[8] I tend to think it was David. The psalmist said: “I would rather be a doorman of the Temple of my God than live in palaces of wickedness.” Psalm 84:10 (TLB) Wow!—note that if David penned this, then it comes from a man that had it all—fame, wealth, power and prestige. He was the greatest king the Israelites had ever seen. Yet, he would give it all up, just to be a lowly doorkeeper in God’s eternal home. In other words, he’d have no trouble becoming a servant, or even giving up his freedom and becoming a slave, if it meant having a place in the Lord’s Heavenly House! Paul joined with David in expressing the same sentiments when Paul proclaimed that those who submit their lives to Christ are slaves of Christ.[9] But, being a slave of Christ is the best possible thing if you are interested in becoming a child of God. The truth is many people think they are free. Some treasure financial freedom. We are fortunate to enjoy political freedom. Some seek the freedom offered by fame and power. Others crave sexual freedom. There are many kinds of worldly freedoms—some of them can be good, but others are quite bad. But, if any of those things take priority in your life then they become counterfeit freedoms. The irony is that you will never know true freedom until you become “slaves to Christ”—because, until Jesus Christ is your Master, you will serve a completely different master. Sin will be your master. The sad news is that the wages of sin is death—in the eternal sense in the depths of Hell. But, the Bible gives us this God News: 23 “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. 24 But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with Him THROUGH CHRIST JESUS, WHO SETS THEM FREE.” Romans 3:23-24 (TEV)
In summary, there is a great irony in all of this: If you really want to grow in your Christian faith, then you need to mature by becoming like a little child. This great truth is rooted in the fact that the children Jesus speaks of have their priorities straight. They know what Jesus meant when He said: 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.” Matthew 10:34-35 (TEV) Now, that may sound like a very odd saying to come from the “Prince of Peace.”[10] But, God’s children know what it means.
A mom had been teaching her little girl how to pray just before putting her to bed. Each night, the mom would recite a short prayer and the child would repeat it, word-for-word. But, one night, the child turned to her mom and asked if she could say a prayer on her own. The mom was delighted and encouraged her to do so. As the little girl prayed, her lips moved but the mom couldn’t make out what the child was saying until, at the end of the prayer, the mom heard a clear and emphatic, “Amen!” She gave her child a hug and said, “Honey, that was fine, but I didn’t hear a word you said.” The child looked up at her mom and with a smile said, “It’s alright, Mama"—I wasn't talking to you.”[11] You see, the little girl had her priorities straight. As much as the child loved her mother, she put Jesus first above all others.
Jesus’ disciples could have learned a lot from that little girl. Eventually, His disciples came to understand that lesson the child already knew. In becoming like a child in Christ, they eventually matured spiritually in a way that made them fit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What about you? If you haven’t already done so, now is the time for you to grow up and become the child Christ has always intended you to be. Whatever you do, don’t wait until you grow too old to become a child.
Let us pray.
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
January 14, 2024
©2024 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] Abernathy, David. Exegetical Summary of Matthew 17-28, An. Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2015. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
[2] Dr. Guillaume Bignon, “How I Discovered That Faith Isn’t Intellectual Suicide,” Crosswalk Ministries, https://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/how-i-discovered-that-faith-isnt-intellectual-suicide.html (March 17, 2023).
[3] Ibid.
[4] Wikipedia contributors, "List of Christians in science and technology," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology&oldid=1194832516 (accessed January 12, 2024).
[5] [Jesus said:] “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:3 (NIV)
[6] Colleen Townsend Evans, "Heart to Heart," Today's Christian Woman, cited in PreachingToday.com. See: Colleen Townsend, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colleen_Townsend&oldid=1194236046 (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
[7] “How is a day in God’s courts better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10)?”Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 11, 2024, [https://www.gotquestions.org/day-courts-better-thousand-elsewhere.html].
[8] Henry, Matthew. 1994. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson.
[9] 1st Corinthians 7:22 (TEV) “For a slave who has been called by the Lord is the Lord's free person; in the same way a free person who has been called by Christ is his slave.” Romans 6:22 “But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.” (NLT2)
[10] Isaiah 9:6 6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, PRINCE OF PEACE.” (NASB)
[11] Helen B. Poole, Canon City, Colorado. Christian Reader, “Kids of the Kingdom,” cited in PreachingToday.com.
