How Do I Know My Child is Saved?
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Do They Understand the Gospel?
Do They Understand the Gospel?
God, the Holy and Righteous Creator.
God is the creator (Genesis 1:1).
God is holy and righteous (1 John 1:5; Matthew 5:48).
God requires perfect obedience to his law (James 2:10).
Man, the Sinner.
Man has broken God’s law (Romans 3:10, 23).
We have committed treason and rebellion against God.
Man will pay the eternal penalty for sin (Romans 6:23).
Man cannot save himself by good works (Titus 3:5).
We can do nothing to save ourselves or earn God’s favor and forgiveness.
Jesus Christ, the Savior.
Christ came to the earth as both God and sinless man (Colossians 2:9).
Christ demonstrated God’s love by dying on the cross to pay sin’s penalty (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Christ rose from the grave and is alive today (1 Corinthians 15:4).
Response, Repentance and Faith.
We as sinners must respond in repentance of all that dishonors God (Isaiah 55:7; Luke 9:23).
Six Ingredients of True Repentance-Thomas Watson
Recognition of sin (Luke 15:17; Acts 26:18)
Sorrow for sin (Ps. 38:18; 51:17; Zech. 12:10; Luke 19:8)
Confession of sin (Neh. 9:2; 2 Sam. 24:17; Dan. 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:31)
Shame for sin (Ezek. 43:10; Luke 15:21)
Hatred for sin (Ps. 119:104; Ezek. 36:31; Rom. 7:15, 23)
Turning from Sin (Isa. 55:7; Eph. 5:8)
We as sinners must respond in belief in Christ as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9).
Difference between false faith and saving faith (READ-James 2:12-26).
Three aspects of genuine faith:
Knowledge
Agreement
Personal Trust
This faith leads to works.
Allegiance to Jesus. . . not perfection, but taking sides.
Can your student explain and depict the gospel to you in this way?
Difference between Assurances of Salvation and Evidences of Salvation
Difference between Assurances of Salvation and Evidences of Salvation
True assurance must ultimately be found in looking at Christ, not by looking for evidences of grace in our or our child’s lives.
Assurance is the confidence that what God says, God means. It is the belief that a promise that has been made is a promise that has been kept.
Assurance is often on shaky ground because we put our assurance in the wrong place. . . we cannot put our assurance in the fruit of our lives or the strength of our faith but the object of whom we are putting our faith in.
It is not believing that you are good enough but believing in Jesus that he is enough and he has done everything to make you righteous in God’s sight.
It is fully trusting in the perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus saves. Period!
We must know and teach our children that since we have done nothing to earn our salvation, there is nothing we can do to lose our salvation.
When it comes to evidences of salvation, we cannot just based our salvation on how we feel but more objectively on what God says.
God wants you to know you have salvation, not through how you feel, but rather through believing what Christ has done.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Non-believers are normally not wrestling with the question of whether they are saved or not. So, if you or your child is wrestling with their salvation, that is a good sign that they may have been regenerated.
If the Spirit of God is convicting you, he will be drawing you near to God. . . not pushing you to run away from God.
If you child is not wrestling with their salvation or even cares, that may be a sign that they are not regenerate.
For some, Satan seeks to keep people from following Jesus by deceiving them to think they are saved and to have false assurance. . . i.e. they never wrestle with the assurance of salvation.
Three Evidences of a Genuine Believer
Three Evidences of a Genuine Believer
However, the Bible still instructs us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).
Evidence of being born again by the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5)
Paul says that the Thessalonians showed evidence of their faith through their work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ.
They received the gospel and it was made evident through the power of the Holy Spirit that had transformed their life.
Paul knew the Thessalonians had been chosen by God by seeing the power of the Holy Spirit in them and that they had full conviction.
What are some evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you have the fruit of the Spirit?
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control?
Ways you know you are walking in step and have been transformed by the Spirit:
Read and rely upon the Word of God.
Have a deepening prayer life.
Have a desire for the message of the gospel to transform others and share the gospel with others.
Will want to be with the people of God (desire to go to Church).
Receive correction from authority figures with humility.
Evidence of present and active trust in Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8)
Paul says the Thessalonians continued to demonstrate their faith in seeking to imitate Christ and to continue to trust in Jesus, even in the midst of suffering and opposition.
They did not claim faith in Christ and then fold when persecution happened but remained faithful when difficult times came.
You should not say, I trusted Christ back then, but ask, am I presently trusting in Christ now for my salvation?
The Thessalonians active and present trust was so strong that it became an example to all the believers in the regions surrounding them…it was even spread so far that Paul said it has “gone everywhere.”
Do the people in your circles of influence receive your faith by the way you live around them…could what Paul said about the Thessalonians be said about you to your friends and family members?
Evidence of a pattern of growth (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
The churches in Macedonia and Achaia reported that they continued to see a pattern of growth in the Thessalonians.
They continued to imitate Paul, they had turned from false idols to serve the one true God, and they were continuing to await the coming of Jesus Christ.
This fact also shows the importance of the local church in helping us in our assurance.
Final Considerations
Final Considerations
Be cautious about affirming your child’s salvation too early.
“An untimely or unwarranted assurance can act like a vaccine against true faith. Call children to believe. Teach them and build them up in the faith. When they express faith verbally, celebrate. But remember that the true evidence of faith is trust, and trust needs time and opportunity to demonstrate itself. There’s no set age for this. For some, genuine trust will be evident early. For others, it may take longer. Any delay its not about the possibility of a child’s regeneration, but about a church’s ability to confirm his or her faith with confidence.” -Michael Lawrence
Be Careful about baptizing your child too early
False assurance normally stems from being baptized at a young age. As they get older and doubt their salvation, baptism gives them assurance, not repentance and faith in Jesus.
It is better to wait until you see a pattern of repentance, obedience, and fruit in their life as opposed to baptizing them when they are 5 or 6.
Fruit takes time to produce.
Be realistic with your child in what it means to follow Jesus.
You will still face struggles with sin and temptation after you choose to follow Christ.
Life will not be easy and perfect when you come to Christ.
“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”
What if my child seems to have no desire for the Lord?
Read excerpt from Paul Trip
Pray, Practice Family Worship, share the gospel with them, Love them.
Read through the letter of 1 John as a family.