Why Have Kids If They Might End Up in Hell? // Ask Pastor John

Every child is an eternal being, someone who will live forever. So if our children may end up in hell, would we be better off not having kids?

This week I opened Twitter to see this Washington Post headline: “Deciding whether to have kids has never been more complex. Enter parenthood-indecision therapists.” Now, I’m not sure the question is more complex than it was one hundred years ago, when infant mortality was at 24 percent in this country. Nevertheless, having children is always a life-altering decision, for sure, and it comes with some really complex implications, especially when you factor in this profound reality: every child we bring into this world is an eternal being, someone who will live forever. This reality leads to questions like this one from Claire.

“Pastor John, something I have recently been wrestling with as a mom of two little children is, Why do we as believers continue to have children when we know that verses like Romans 9:18 are true? It sounds like the natalism/anti-natalism debate a little, but it’s really driven by the doctrine of election. Knowing that our children could be the ones God chooses to harden, is it worth the risk of having children at all?”

Episode 1326: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-have-kids-if-they-might-end-up-in-hell

Related Resources:

“How Do I Show Kindness to My Children and Expect Them to Obey?” https://youtu.be/BjI9sNy2Lf0

“Why Does God Choose Some and Not Others?” https://youtu.be/Vuv8lnbNXrs

“What Is the Daily Aim of Parenting?” https://youtu.be/qfejOAZD270

“Can a Born-Again Christian Lose Salvation?” https://youtu.be/8AJ9cYbhgvQ

Ask Pastor John Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF7F6AE365DA3564

Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes, http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john