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The Salvation of Children

Tracy, since I believe that it is the Holy Spirit that draws us to repentance and regenerates us--and that salvation is not dependent on any "work" on our part--I believe that it is entirely possible for a child the age of yours to be saved. We believe that God saved our oldest when he was that age. We saw a definite change in him. Most exciting to us is that the Holy Spirit gave him an ability to understand Scripture and spiritual matters to a depth others found remarkable for his age.

I would encourage you to spend a lot of time praying with your son and reading the Bible with him. Be transparent about your Christian walk--include him in much of your own spiritual disciplines as appropriate. For example, we have had our children join us in intercessory prayer for others; we have memorized passages of Scripture together; we have had them listen in on some of our study and discussions of theological matters, etc.

I think that there have been some good suggestions in this folder recently about devotions and instruction. I would especially recommend "Leading Little Ones to God"; my daughter truly loved it at that age and it helped clarify her thinking on a lot of issues. (We didn't discover this wonderful book until my son was older.)

We try to remember what Paul said about Timothy, that from infancy onward he had known the Scriptures. We tend to have quite a bit of Bible reading in our home, throughout the day--although I'm sure we could improve in this area. I think many young parents make the mistake of thinking their little ones aren't quite ready for anything "serious" yet, that they need to be fed watered down, cutesy versions of Bible stories rather than fed the real Word. While there is a time and place for Bible stories, I think that nothing beats the real thing!

My father did not believe in talking down to children. At an early age, I learned words like "justification", "propitiation", etc. I don't think I was particularly brilliant or advanced for my age; I think that even little children are capable of understanding, on a certain level, the basics of our faith. (And really--why should we as adults be so arrogant as to assume that our understanding of the mysteries of God are particularly complete or advanced?) Part of my understanding of Jesus' admonition to the disciples--"Suffer the little children to come unto me"--is that we are not to stand in the way of our children by failing to instruct them properly, by withholding Truth from them until they are older.

So I would encourage you to saturate your child with Scripture, to live your Faith so vibrantly and lovingly in front of him that he will long to follow you as you follow your Lord, and to seek God's wisdom in teaching your son.

One of the greatest joys of being a parent has got to be the privilege of seeing the Lord work in the lives of our children. It's an awesome responsibility to instruct our children in the Faith--but it is also the greatest and most rewarding ministry we will ever undertake. God bless you!

copyright 1994 by Rebecca Prewett

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