3 Misconceptions Dad and mom May Have About Their Kids’s Salvation

Clearing Up 3 Misunderstandings

As a guardian of three kids—now all of their teen years—I bear in mind being afraid about their future non secular lives. When will they belief and observe the Lord? Will they drift from the religion? How can I assist level them towards the Savior, however not in a pushy means in order that they’re simply following my directions? I can nonetheless really feel the anxiousness as I considered their souls.

Over time, in his kindness, the Lord has helped me. He has used truths about salvation to calm my parentally anxious coronary heart and stabilize my pondering. Listed here are three misconceptions about salvation that oldsters might have the Lord to right.

False impression #1: I would like my youngster to “pray the prayer” for salvation.

It’s true that the Bible tells us that “everybody who calls on the identify of the Lord will likely be saved” (Rom. 10:13; see additionally Joel 2:32 and Acts 22:16). This contains the apostle Paul (Acts 22:16) and the sinful tax collector within the temple, who prayed to the Lord and went dwelling justified (Luke 18:9–14). The Bible communicates that it’s important to not solely imagine within the coronary heart but in addition to admit with the mouth (Rom. 10:9). And what’s prayed—the content material—can also be remarkably comparable all through Scripture: I flip from my sin and I belief within the Savior—repentance and religion (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21; 26:20; 1 Thess. 1:9).

But these two components of conversion—repentance and religion—don’t simply seem at the start of the Christian race. They mark each mile alongside the way in which.

True followers of Jesus are all the time turning from their sin and turning to Christ. Didn’t Jesus remind us that as usually as we pray for day by day bread, we also needs to pray for forgiveness of sins (Matt. 6:11–12; Luke 11:3–4)? Didn’t the apostle John describe the women and men who acquired Jesus (up to now) as those that are often believing in his identify (within the current, John 1:12)? And didn’t the apostle Paul describe all Christians as individuals who make a sample of calling on the identify of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:2)? The biblical sample reveals that each repentance and religion needs to be life-long habits of all true Christians.

So when your five-year-old son will get indignant and throws a toy at a buddy, what must you do? When your three-year-old daughter refuses to obey, what must you do?

Maybe there are corrective penalties that have to be enforced. However whatever the actions you are taking, there’s additionally fact to speak. They’ve sinned in opposition to a holy God and his superb guidelines. It’s proper and acceptable to remind your kids what they’ve truly executed, lead them towards repenting, and, in religion, ask Jesus to forgive them. That is the correct response to sin—all the time.

So why delay in encouraging your kids to inform the Lord they’re sorry and ask him to forgive them? There’s no purpose to attend till your youngster “prays for salvation.”

As a substitute, from the earliest days, information your youngster in prayers of repentance and religion. Assist them ask the Lord to show from their sin and switch to the Savior. And pray for them and with them that the Lord would open their hearts to really imagine the excellent news about Jesus.

False impression #2: I would like my youngster to say the proper phrases.

Within the first Lord of the Rings e-book, a gaggle of people go on a daring quest. In case you’ve learn the books or seen the flicks, you’ll know that the highway earlier than them is usually blocked. As soon as, the group stands earlier than a locked and enchanted door carved into the aspect of a mountain. Repeatedly, numerous incantations are used, making an attempt to open the cussed door. Lastly, the door’s secret is found. The key phrase is spoken, and the huge doorways swing open.

The biblical sample reveals that each repentance and religion needs to be life-long habits of all true Christians.

Recalling the proper passwords is nice for tales and for computer systems, however with salvation, it’s completely different. Definitely, the Bible tells us that conversion entails communication with God. Phrases—spoken or unstated—are employed to specific repentance and religion.

ADVERTISEMENT

But calling on the identify of the Lord will not be like uttering a secret set of phrases or recalling the proper password. Hearken to the number of expressions:

• “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).
• And the son stated to him, “Father, I’ve sinned in opposition to heaven and earlier than you. I’m not worthy to be known as your son” (Luke 15:21).
• “Jesus, bear in mind me if you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).
• And Peter stated to them, “Repent and be baptized each one in all you within the identify of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you’ll obtain the present of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
• “Repent subsequently, and switch again, that your sins could also be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

In terms of salvation, the Bible by no means provides a word-for-word script that should be used. For an grownup to inform God “I’m sorry” could or could not imply that there’s heart-felt repentance for sin. However for a kid, “I’m sorry” could seize that perspective of coronary heart completely. And insisting {that a} youngster makes use of the phrases “I repent” or “I flip from my sin” could also be developmentally asking an excessive amount of.

Sometimes, as a baby grows, so additionally will their vocabulary and self-awareness. And as a Christian—as one who’s often repenting and believing—you’re there not solely to present a proof but in addition to offer an instance. So assist them develop in understanding of what salvation, repentance, and religion imply. And assist them see—even by way of the way you reply to your individual failures—what true Christianity appears like.

So, don’t be concerned over whether or not your son or daughter prayed the proper phrases.

False impression #3: I would like my youngster to recollect the date and what occurred.

It’s true that the Bible speaks of conversion as an occasion—a second when a sinner was given new life. One minute Lazarus was lifeless, the subsequent he was respiratory (Luke 11:43–44). One minute an individual was in “the area of darkness,” and the subsequent she was “transferred . . . to the dominion of [God’s] beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).

Nobody shuttles forwards and backwards between these two kingdoms. Nobody is “form of saved.” They’re both in darkness or in mild (John 8:12).

But an individual’s consciousness of this conversion-moment could also be unclear. Somebody could not know precisely after they went from darkness to mild. They could not know after they had been “born once more” (John 3:3, 7).

In the identical means, I don’t bear in mind once I was born. It was a June day in 1973, and I’ve no recollection of it. But I do know that I used to be born—and I don’t must verify my delivery certificates or speak to my mom. By God’s grace, I’ve a pulse, and air is shifting out and in of my lungs.

So, in years to come back, when your youngster wonders about after they had been born once more, what is going to you say?

Guarantee them that it’s okay to not recall all of the occasions of some day or prayer up to now. Remind them that Christians are individuals who observe turning from sin and turning to the Savior. And most of all, level them to the Savior whose grace and love are the identical yesterday, at this time, and eternally (Heb. 13:8).

Champ Thornton is the writer of 10 Questions on Salvation: 30 Devotions for Children, Teenagers, and Households.

Associated Articles