What is the Baptist response to 1 Corinthians 7:14 if the children are believers but the parents are not?
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>"For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." (1 Corinthians 7:14 KJV)
>"For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." (1 Cor 7:14 NIV).
Taking these two assumptions about Baptist theology:
1. that young children must either believe in the Gospel and are saved, or not believe in the Gospel and are not saved, without there being any 3rd option
2. that the belief of young children is 100% independent of the belief of their parents; it is entirely up to them whether they believe or not
Therefore,
3. given a situation where a young child comes to believe in the gospel through a family friend, though his parents do not, how can this be reconciled with 1 Cor. 7:14? It is a contradiction of "salvation by faith alone" (made clear throughout the NT) to be "unholy" ("unclean," depending on translation) and a believer at the same time.
One Baptist with whom I spoke said that Paul is using the word "holy" to mean "having been somehow influenced by someone who is holy." But as far as I know the word "holy" throughout the Bible always refers to "being of good standing with God" and not just "influenced." If Paul had meant that, I feel he would have used different wording.
There are some answers here: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/69028/does-christianity-allow-for-believing-on-someone-elses-behalf ,
but none of them are specifically from a Baptist perspective.
I also already looked through these: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/7-14.htm
Asked by Philip Meyer
(21 rep)
Mar 15, 2020, 03:08 AM
Last activity: Jan 15, 2021, 08:51 PM
Last activity: Jan 15, 2021, 08:51 PM