{"id":478,"date":"2023-09-14T16:31:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T16:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/blog\/conclusion-salvation-series\/"},"modified":"2024-01-10T07:07:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T07:07:55","slug":"conclusion-salvation-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/blog\/conclusion-salvation-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Conclusion\u2014Leading Your Little Ones to Christ: The Salvation Series (Part 6)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you missed the earlier posts included in the Salvation Series, find them here: Part 1<\/a>, Part 2<\/a>, Part 3<\/a>, Part 4<\/a> and Part 5<\/a>. Also, find the free gospel for children printable here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the key things to understand, is that leading a child to the Savior doesn\u2019t begin when they start asking questions. It begins long before that, when they are just babies and toddlers, by laying a foundation of God\u2019s Word in their little hearts\u2014because remember that verse in 2 Timothy\u2026the Scriptures will make them wise unto salvation. And, of course, it takes faith on the parents\u2019 part\u2014so much faith. Because we WANT them to be saved. We WANT them to go to heaven when they die, so it\u2019s easy for us to rush it. It makes so much sense for us, when they come to us the first time to say, \u201cOk, yes, let\u2019s pray!\u201d Be so so careful. We do not want to push them into a false profession of faith because we want them to get saved SO badly. God says, \u201cGive them Scripture, and let ME do the work in their hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Waiting until They Need a Savior<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So the next question is, what do I do when they come to me about salvation? Because I cannot tell you how many times I went through the plan of salvation with our daughter, and then I thought, \u201cOk, what next?\u201d She would sometimes listen and sometimes be very distracted. She obviously wasn\u2019t convicted or anything, so it was just weird and confusing for me in dealing with her. And SO MANY TIMES, actually EVERY SINGLE TIME I felt like I had no clue what I was doing. (Be sure to read the post, How to Know Your Child is NOT Ready to get Saved<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best advice I ever got from a friend who was years ahead of me was to wait until they HAD to get saved\u2026wait until they realize THEIR need for salvation ON THEIR OWN. Look, kids know they need a Savior because they hear us harp on it over and over and over again. Of course they want to get saved! Of course they want to go to heaven! Of course they want to please mom and dad. But have they come to a point where they need saving FOR THEMSELVES? Or is it just another religious ritual hanging on to mama\u2019s apron strings\u2026is it just another one of those \u201cchurch-y things\u201d we do in our family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That waiting period is so extremely scary. Sometimes, you might wonder, \u201cLord, am I doing the right thing?\u201d I cannot emphasize enough that you MUST rely on the Holy Spirit through this whole process. He will let you know when they are ready\u2026when they\u2019ve had that change of heart. They have to get to the point where they realize that their sin is SO wicked, and their sin is sending them to hell, and there\u2019s only ONE way for them to get to heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, they have believed in God for their whole entire lives; yes, they could probably tell you the whole plan of salvation by heart; yes, they\u2019ve probably told their neighborhood friends about Jesus many times, but that\u2019s not getting them anywhere. They must come to a place where they need a Savior for themselves! It reminds me of the verses in Matthew 7 where it says, \u201cLord, Lord, have I not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.\u201d<\/em> Can you imagine watching your child stand before God saying, \u201cI went to church! I knew who you were. I even witnessed to people! I sang all of those hymns! I believed there was a God!\u201d and hearing God say, \u201cI never knew you\u201d to them?!?! Woe unto the parent who does not take this into consideration when dealing with their children about salvation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Telling Kids They are Saved<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One other thing I would caution you very strongly about is telling your kids in the days and months and years following their profession of faith that they are saved. I\u2019ve heard stories of people whose parents told them for years they \u201cgot saved\u201d when they were such and such age, and it confused them for years. They also thought, \u201cWell, they think I\u2019m already saved, so I can\u2019t disappoint them and tell them I\u2019m not really!\u201d So they\u2019d quietly wrestle with the doubt and frustration and the feeling of \u201cno one understands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be the parent who causes that suffering. Don\u2019t be your child\u2019s Holy Spirit even when it\u2019s awfully tempting! Let GOD do the work in their hearts. If they\u2019re doubting their salvation in the future, don\u2019t squash that feeling by telling them they got saved when they were however old. Don\u2019t dismiss that doubt. It\u2019s valid. It\u2019s a big deal to them. And if they aren\u2019t saved, it\u2019s a HUGE deal! Their eternal destiny is on the line! Let them work through the doubt (work through the doubt with them), and let them find Christ to be who He has promised in His Word to be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helpful Resources<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1. A Book: Training Your Children to Turn Out Right<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One book that was extremely helpful to me in clarifying how to deal with children about salvation\u2014it\u2019s actually just a chapter that specifically deals with salvation, but the whole book is excellent\u2014is called Training Your Children to Turn out Right<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by David Sorenson. The chapter I\u2019m specifically referring to is Chapter 9, called \u201cFruit Inspection.\u201d He covers so many good things such as why children doubt their salvation, and how to deal with confusion. There are some really solid points that help us as parents get everything straightened out in our own minds. I poured over that chapter when dealing with our daughter. I\u2019d highly recommend you get that book even if it\u2019s just for that one chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A Sermon: Leading Children to Christ<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another resource is this message that a friend told me about recently called Leading Children to Christ<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. It is a great practical sermon explaining how to deal with children about salvation. It was given primarily for Sunday School teachers and anyone who works with children in a church setting, but it is also very applicable to parents as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young adults are leaving the faith of their childhood in massive numbers\u2014more than ever before. They grow up in Christian homes and leave everything that they have ever known. It makes me wonder, \u201cIs it just because it was only head salvation and not heart salvation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Raising children to first get saved, and then to live to love and serve Christ with all of their hearts and souls and minds, is our greatest responsibility as Christian parents. So let\u2019s remember Timothy, that as a child he knew the Holy Scriptures, and they made his wise unto salvation. I pray that God would bring our children to salvation and then perfect that work which He started in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope this series has been helpful to you as you navigate leading your little ones to Christ. I\u2019m looking forward to diving into teaching our children how to walk in the Spirit for our next series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the key things to understand, is that leading a child to the Savior doesn\u2019t begin when they start asking questions. It begins long before that, when they are just babies and toddlers, by laying a foundation of God\u2019s Word in their little hearts\u2014because remember that verse in 2 Timothy\u2026the Scriptures will make them wise unto salvation. And, of course, it takes faith on the parents\u2019 part\u2014so much faith. Because we WANT them to be saved. We WANT them to go to heaven when they die, so it\u2019s easy for us to rush it. It makes so much sense for us, when they come to us the first time to say, \u201cOk, yes, let\u2019s pray!\u201d Be so so careful. We do not want to push them into a false profession of faith because we want them to get saved SO badly. God says, \u201cGive them Scripture, and let ME do the work in their hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152,274,275,276,272,273],"tags":[267,269,400,265,266,50,37,31,264,270,262,263,268],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children","category-gospel","category-motherhood","category-parenting","category-salvation","category-salvation-series","tag-gospel","tag-gospel-centered-parenting","tag-holy-spirit","tag-leading-children-to-christ","tag-leading-little-ones-to-christ","tag-motherhood","tag-mothering","tag-parenting","tag-plan-of-salvation","tag-repentance","tag-salvation","tag-salvation-series","tag-the-gospel"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/iStock-176826938.jpg?fit=1920%2C1440&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2840,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/2840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulandflourishing.org\/staging\/9315\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}