Minimizing the Work of the Holy Spirit

Many feel that young children cannot handle difficult Biblical doctrines like the doctrines of hell, eternal damnation, predestination, and election. They choose to emphasize the "more pleasant" elements of the faith, such as storing up treasures in heaven, ministering angels, and letting one's light shine. They do not want to present a "negative" view of God because they are afraid that would discourage children from choosing to follow Jesus.

However, when children do not learn early that they possess an inherited trait that puts them at enmity with God, they blissfully "float" through childhood without being aware of the spiritual dangers they face. For Christ's work to have cogent meaning for them, it is imperative that they learn in their tenderhearted years what a tremendous price was paid by Jesus for sin and that apart from Him they have no hope of rescue. Our Savior had so much confidence that children were able to receive His teachings that He presented children as examples that adults should follow as they entered the Kingdom (Mark 10:15).

The shielding of children from these strong, sobering doctrines and the reluctance of adults in children's lives to "tell it like it is" points to a greater problem, namely a serious minimizing of the power and influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Because twenty-first-century Christendom is replete with antinomianism, easy-believism, and syncretism, many Christian parents don't expect to see the transformation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of their children. Could it be that they don't expect to see it in the lives of adults either?(read more)