- I don't think that there's a one size fits all age
of when a person can come to faith in Christ.
I think with different testimonies,
you have different people talking about
when they became a believer.
I know there are some people who confessed
that they believed they were a believer
at the ages of seven or eight.
What the person would need to be able to do
is to be able to conceptually process the Gospel,
to be able to understand at the age in which that child is
what sin is, understanding that that child is a sinner,
understanding that Jesus died on the cross for sins
and God raised him from the dead
so that sinners can be saved.
And I think whenever a person is able to process that
in a way that allows that child
to turn away from his or her own sin
and recognizing he or her as a sinner,
he or she as a sinner, then that child can be saved.
It's not always easy to discern
whether a child has been converted
because what I'm learning as a parent is
is that sometimes the child wants to read the Bible,
wants to pray because the child knows
that makes mommy and daddy happy
and then there are other occasions
where the child wants to read and wants to pray
and wants to obey Jesus
because there is something happening in the heart.
And so then practically,
what about those of us who have young children
who think they are believers?
Are they believers because they prayed for Jesus
to come into their hearts?
Is that what we look for?
Or is it a pattern of lifestyle
that we're trying to help shepherd them in to discern
whether there's been a genuine conversion experience?
As a parent of a child, of an eight-year-old,
one of the things that I try to do to discern
whether or not there's been a genuine conversion
is to constantly emphasize to him the Gospel,
to have conversations with him about the Gospel.
You learn a lot about what your child thinks about God
by asking him questions about God
or questions about Jesus or questions about sin
and making that conversation, those kinds of questions,
part of the shepherding and discerning process
can help create the kind of certainty or assurance
that we want as parents
as to whether there's been a genuine conversion experience,
but then also helping him to understand
that if he has committed his life to Jesus
and believes by faith that those things are true,
then a Christian also obeys Jesus' teaching
and so I think with children especially
it's important to make sure we don't become content
with believing that there's a genuine conversion experience
just because the child's prayed a prayer.
As we know, Jesus says, "Follow me."
He doesn't say, "Ask Him to come into your heart."
He says follow Him
and so one of the things I try to emphasize with my child
is the importance of giving his entire self to Jesus.
That means my son has a responsibility then
to show his faith in an eight-year-old way
that he follows Jesus by doing basic things
like obeying his parents,
loving his neighbors, loving his friends.
So of course for a child who has expressed faith in Jesus
and who follows Jesus and loves Jesus,
that love will be an eight-year-old love
or a seven-year-old love or a 10-year-old love
and the point is not does my child's faith
or another person's child's faith
resemble a mature 25 or 39 or 50-year-old faith,
but is there a genuine desire for Jesus and to follow Him
and is that being worked out in that child's life?
And as parents, I think we need to rest in
looking at the child's life holistically
and not get fixated on our child
asking Jesus into their hearts.
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching Honest Answers.
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