{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Christ Covenant Church","title":"Additional Thoughts With Respect to Children, Parents and Apostasy","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/ede92e58\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":5230,"description":"1. Anyone having children for personal pleasure is treating them like pets and priming them for apostasy.\n1.1. One of the most popular reasons people have kids today is because they want to experience heart-warming moments and memories w/them, live vicariously through them and feel some sense of validation or acceptance because of them. Or, if you are too weird and controlling to have real friends, then you have lots of kids whom you force to be your friends and like what you like and do what you do. In either case, these kinds of people are having children for the purpose of serving their selfish personal pleasures. \n1.2. This however is not the reason God gave us the ability to have kids - but pets. Pets exist for the purpose of serving our pleasure – but never kids.\n1.3. The only reason God wants Christians to become parents is the same reason the military has drill sergeants: to transform those kids into battlefield-ready soldiers fiercely loyal to their commander in chief and ready to give their lives for their comrades and country. In this case, soldiers on the spiritual battlefield, fiercely loyal to the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of heaven, Jesus, ready to give their lives for their comrades (i.e., their covenant brothers and sisters) and His kingdom (or country on earth), the church (1Co 7:26-35). How these verses relate to children: 1) one of the main purposes of getting married is to have children - especially in biblical times when children were vital to a family’s wealth and health (Psa 127:1-5). 2) like Paul’s original audience, we too are living in that period of time just before Christ’s return (them = 60s-70 AD, us = 2025-2030) when it will be exceptionally difficult to be a Christian - and much more, responsible for the souls of others (i.e., a wife or children) (v26 “present distress” = Morality is at an all-time low and persecution of the godly at an all-time high [2Ti 3:1-12]; v28 w/vv32-35) = Wives and children create “trouble” which...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/UXGjftzm8Yw--IISwUKe6A6-CX1YtARptisfLmFJFoI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81Zjc4/MmNmNTMxZjNmOTgw/YjA1NWRhYmMxMTNl/YmE1Zi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}