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INTRODUCTION:
I have been involved in Children’s Ministries in one capacity or another for the last twenty years.
I have seen numerous children go through the ministry having professed faith in Christ, maybe
even shown some evidences of true salvation and repentance but 20 years later never darken the
door of a church or claim to know Him as their Savior.
There was one young lady a few years ago who was caught by her parents in some serious
immorality and once confronted by her parents she still claimed to be a Christian. Add to that the
number of children in our Sunday schools or AWANA clubs that claim Christ but when they get
older either don’t remember or don’t want to remember. Some parents try to remind them of their
profession in the hopes of their children desiring the things of God.
Therefore if children are giving themselves to the Savior as young ones what happens when they
get older? Do they loose their salvation? Are they just “backslidden” Christians? Did they ever
get saved? What does it mean for a child to desire the things of God one day and in the years to
follow never have any desire for the things of God? Another question that needs to be answered is
whether the gospel is any different for the children? Is the gospel any different for the child?
What do they need to know in order to be saved? Hopefully these and other questions will be
answered here today.
While this discussion concerns mainly a child’s profession of faith and it’s implications to folks
within your congregation it never excludes your responsibility as a grandfather, father, uncle or
brother for the children God places under your influence.
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things.” Children are immature in their speaking, thinking and
reasoning. Paul gives a warning later in this same letter for the church
about their thinking. 1 Cor. 14:20 “Brethren, do not be children in your
thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.” Dennis
Gundersen in his little book called “Your child’s profession of Faith”
said, “We realize that children lack maturity of mind to properly
understand the choice they say they want to make.
3. How can we know for sure that our child has come to saving faith in
Jesus Christ? As I mentioned earlier I can give you example after
example of kids from good families who have professed faith in Jesus
Christ and could even articulate an accurate Biblically sound
understanding. Yet those same children have absolutely nothing to do
with God or the church today. (Illustration) We really cannot be sure of
a child’s profession of faith. They so desire to please their parents,
teachers, youth group leaders and sometimes even their friends that
they make a profession. I remember when zealous seminary student
who came to me one Monday morning to tell me how this ten year old
had given his life to Jesus Christ the night before in our Discovery
Ministry. I made it a point to follow up with the young man that week
and asked him what happened on Sunday evening. He told me that the
game time was really “cool.” I asked specifically what transpired
between he and this enthusiastic seminary student. “Oh yea we had a
really cool talk.” I asked about what and he told me he couldn’t
remember. Yet another incident among thousands that a leader desires
so much to see children come to Christ they unfortunately count them
in the kingdom when the King hasn’t declared them in the kingdom.
4. Oversimplification of the gospel can cause problems. Since a child’s
comprehension is less developed than an adult’s the temptation for the
parent is to oversimplify the message and therefore obliterate that
which is necessary for their comprehension.
5. A profession of faith does not equate with a true confession of faith.
The solicitation of a response from children occurs often and is not
profitable for a good presentation of truth to children. The sinner’s
prayer is often coerced out of the child because the parent or children’s
worker has such a desire for the child’s salvation. Parents and
children’s workers should be faithful to present the truth of God’s
Word not neglecting any aspect of the gospel just because they are
children.
6. Don’t assume a profession is regeneration. Just because a child
responds positively to the gospel does not mean they have saving faith
(illustrate 400). One can never assume the profession of faith as
reflecting the genuine work of God. Children desire to please parents
and teachers or because of peer pressure or because parent pressure
them to respond positively. Charles Spurgeon said that 60 percent of
his church was not saved. These were adult church going folks who in
Spurgeon’s estimation did not know the reality of true faith in Jesus
Christ.
7. Don’t assure a child of salvation. Often parent seek to give their child a
verbal assurance of their salvation. As a consequence the church is
filled with teenagers and adults whose hearts are devoid of real love for
Christ, but who think they are genuine Christians because of something
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they did as children. (Christian High School.) This assurance is better
left up to the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:15-16). The church today is cluttered
with many folks who truly do not know the Savior only a remembrance
of what mom or dad told them they did.
The gospel has become cheapened by the modern approached today evangelism. All
that a person has to do is walk an aisle, raise a hand or just show up at church once in
a while. You know the people I am speaking of, you have met them, and they believe
they are Christians because they once gave assent to Jesus Christ.
A. The character of the gospel–The gospel in not about a plan but about a
person. It is not a formula that must be prescribed to sinners in a set of tapes.
It does not call for a mere decision of the mind, but a surrender of the heart,
mind, and will–the whole person–the Jesus Christ.
1. Teach them about God’s holiness–God is holy and you are not.
Children need to develop a “fear of the Lord.” “The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10, Job 28:28;
Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Micah 6:9). God loves you and will save
you from hell no matter whose plan you chose for your life (Ill.
of Conference Speaker). The remedy for such thinking is the
biblical truth of God’s holiness. God is utterly holy, and His law
therefore demands perfect holiness: “I am the Lord your God.
Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am
holy. . . You shall be holy for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44-45). “You
will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a
jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins”
(Josh. 24:19). “There is no one holy like the Lord, indeed, there
is no one besides Thee, nor is there any rock like our God” (1
Sam. 2:2). “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy
God?” (1 Sam. 6:20). God requires holiness “You shall be holy,
for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). “Without [holiness] no one will see
the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).
2. Show them their sin. Gospel means “good news.” What makes it
truly good news is not that heaven is free, but that God’s Son has
conquered sin. Sadly, it has become stylish to present the gospel
as something other than a remedy for sin. “Salvation” is offered
as an escape from punishment, God’s plan for a wonderful life, a
means of fulfillment, an answer to life's problems, and a promise
of free forgiveness. All those things are true, but they are by-
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products of redemption, not the main issue. And when sin is left
unaddressed, such promises of divine blessings cheapen the
message. Sin makes the sinner worthy of death, James 1:15
“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when
sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” Romans 6:23 “For the
wages of sin is death.”
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g. Jesus dies on the cross to provide a way of salvation for
sinners–1 Peter 2: 24, “He Himself bore our sins in His
body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” Col.
1:20
h. Jesus Christ rose from the grave and triumphed over sin
Romans 1:4 “who was declared the Son of God with
power by the resurrection from the dead…” 1 Cor. 15:3-
4.
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not
come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to set a man
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies
will be the members of his household. He who loves father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son
or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does
not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me”
(Matt.10: 34-38).
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III. What we can do if our children profess faith in Jesus Christ
1. Encourage them–encourage every sign of faith and use every
opportunity to teach them about Jesus Christ and His gospel.
2. Correct them–correct their behavior always pointing them to the need
for the saving work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.
3. Teach them–point them to the need of a Christ-centered life. They need
to live a life of integrity. They need to make church life part of who
they are and how they act.