For any earnest parent, there is a tension between the desire to bring a child to Jesus and the fear that a child is too young to decide. I well remember how I felt when each of my children was at the age when I wasn’t certain how much he understood, but I knew that he was close.
In fact, I was so cautious not to force a decision on my youngest son, that he became discouraged. He knew he was a sinner (we all did), he knew that Jesus was the Savior, and he wanted to be saved!
Lead your child to Christ! How? May I give you three keys that I have observed successful parents using and which I believe have been a help to me and my wife?
1. Start early. In I Timothy 3:15, Paul reminded Timothy “that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” When did Timothy learn the Gospel? The answer is, “from a child”. The word “child” literally means “infant”! Timothy was learning about God’s salvation from the earliest age.
I remember one six-year old boy explaining to me that he wanted to be saved, but that he had not yet reached the age of accountability. Anyone old enough to explain to me that he is not old enough to be saved is probably old enough to be saved!
When did your child first hear the Gospel? How important is the Gospel to you? We teach what is important to us; we learn what is important to our parents. You can’t start teaching the plan of salvation too soon. Why? There are two reasons:
- •Little kids are big sinners. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. Kids are old enough to be bad but not old enough to be good! (Neither am I.)
- •Childlike faith does not grow with age!
2. Develop a conscience of sin. The word “salvation” in I Timothy 3:15 means “rescue or deliverance from an enemy”. Paul states that God’s Word made Timothy “wise unto salvation” even as a child. No one is ever good or smart enough for salvation. Salvation comes from realizing that you are a sinner, not from learning how to be good! What develops this conscience of sin?
- •God’s commandments develop the conscience. Teach your child how holy God is and how disobedient we are. God’s perfection demonstrated by God’s commands highlights our sinfulness.
- •Your own “commandments” develop the conscience of your child. No child who has parents who lovingly hold him to a standard will live under the illusion that he is perfect. He needs to understand that he is a sinner and that sin gets punishment. Your rules and discipline in the home teach this.
3. Hammer faith. The answer to bad deeds isn’t good deeds when it comes to Heaven. The Answer is Christ! Timothy was made “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” It is childlike faith and not man-like virtue, work or complexity that saves a person.
Faith may be an abstract concept, but children exercise it all the time. When my son asks me for help tying his shoes, he is demonstrating faith, even if he has not identified it as such. He believes that I can help him and he trusts me to do so, something he demonstrates simply by asking.
How often should you “hammer faith”? Hammer faith until you drive it home. Home is where a child’s conscience should be formed, and home is where your child should hear the Good News first. What will you do today to shape your child’s eternity?