How To Talk Salvation To Children

How Do You Talk To Your Children About Salvation from charles e. whisnan t on Vimeo.

How Should We Talk To Our Children About Salvation Pt 2 from charles e. whisnan t on Vimeo.

The Outline Forthcoming.

An Appeal for Biblical Accuracy in Child Evangelism

• My son Eric was visiting us Sunday with his wife Leslie and their little dog. We had a talk about this very subject about salvation and inviting Christ in to your heart at such an early age. Eric said, "Dad that is what I did." And I said, "I did the same thing as well." Well were we saved? My answer to both of us was "yes." Salvation is a process in which Christ continues to produce in us unto perfection in us.

Let me finish this article today with this point:

Becoming a Christian is much like joining an army. It costs nothing to join but the good soldier is willing to obey and even lay down his life for the general. When somebody does join the army, their life is no longer their own. When somebody joins the army, they surrender their rights to their leader. That's what God expects of us. Look at what Jesus said about becoming a Christian (follower of Christ):

Matthew 16:24-25, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

In order to become a Christian your will must be broken because it is naturally at war with God! In fact, the Bible says that our condition is pretty miserable, for we are born into this world:

1. An enemy of God —— our will is against His will (Rom. 5:10)2. Dead in sins (unable to anything that pleases God —— Eph. 2:1)3. Held captive by a foreign power greater than ourselves (Eph. 2:2)4. A child of wrath (someone destined for eternal judgment —— Eph. 2:3)

Have you ever seen a football game? There are two teams, each with different wills. One team desperately wants to run one way, and the other team wants to go the other way. They have opposing wills. We are born with a will that wants to do anything except turn from our sin and trust Christ for forgiveness! That's why becoming a Christian is primarily a surrender of your will!

This is an excellent example of communicating to children the truth about salvation. I truly believe that if we are more careful and clear in communicating these truths to the minds of children, we will be able to avoid long periods of time in people’s lives when they aren’t sure of their salvation or have to keep making professions of faith to be sure. Now, I do think it’’s important that if a child wants to express faith in Christ, we should encourage it—each and every time that desire occurs. At some point along the way, true faith will likely be expressed and assurance will come. We cannot see their hearts and must not put any stumbling blocks in their spiritual journey.

Ironically, four years before penning Into My Heart, Harry Clarke had written the music to another song entitled "What Must I Do?" I like the message of this song much better:

"What must I do?" the trembling jailer cried,When dazed by fear and wonder;"Believe in Christ!" was all that Paul replied,"And you shall be saved from sin."

• REFRAIN:Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,And you shall be saved!
  
• What must I do! O weary, trembling, soul,Just turn today to Jesus;He will receive, forgive and make you whole;Christ alone can set you free.
  
• His blood is all your plea for saving grace,The precious fount of cleansing!O come, accept His love, behold His face,And be saved forevermore.

"Ask Jesus into your heart."

On the August 8, 2007 edition of The Albert Mohler Program, a called asked Dr. Mohler: "Could you inform me where the term ‘ask Jesus into your heart’ came from and is it the proper way to be converted?"

The following is an edited transcript of Dr. Mohler’ helpful response:

The phrase "Ask jesus into your heart" comes out of the emotionalism of Revivalism. Revivalism is a very important movement. I came out of churches very much affected by revivalism. There is much to be thankful for there; there is also much to be concerned about there in terms of their understanding of conversion as something that is more emotionally driven than is described in the Scripture in terms of the faith that justifies. The faith that justifies, the faith that saves is a faith that means trusting Christ and his promises and receiving the promises of salvation.

Let me tell you the danger in the phrase "ask Jesus into your heart." Is it heresy? Absolutely not. It’s not heresy. It’s not a false way of describing the gospel. It does, for instance, on the positive side get to the fact that the heart must be involved. In other words, saving faith is demonstrated in the individual’s life coming to Christ when they do believe, and there is a decision made within the heart to believe. There is a yielding to Christ, a trusting that is a decision of the heart.

Of course, the big question is where does that decision come from? How does the heart become ready for that positive response, that trusting response to Christ? "Ask Jesus into your heart" is wrapped up in evangelical sentimentality. It’s not wrong. But it is not the best way of describing salvation.

The phrase comes back to a misuse of a biblical text in Revelation. "Behold I stand at the door and knock.""Is Jesus standing ready for all those who respond to him in faith? Absolutely. But he’s not just waiting and watching. The New Testament picture of Jesus, the biblical portrait of God is not just of a god who waits and watches but rather of a God who saves.

Is the heart involved? Absolutely. It’s emotional language. And we’re an emotional people. Especially in a movement like revivalism that became very adept at reaching people on an emotional level, it’s not wrong; it’s just not as right as it could be. It’s not wrong when someone says, "I became a Christian when I asked Jesus into my heart." It’s not wrong. But you need to make sure they really understand what they’re doing there.

[Salvation is] not just saying yes to a relationship. That is the sad and minimal part of this that people don’t understand. It’s trusting Christ and his promises. You know in the New Testament, there is this whole idea of fiducia, faith –– I love the way the Puritans put it when they said: "it is finally resting in Christ." So it’s more that we are in Him than that He is in us. Of course, he does dwell within us. But it’s not as if we are the host and he is our guest. He is the Lord and we acknowledge him as our Savior.

An Appeal for Biblical Accuracy in Child Evangelism
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

part 2

CONCERN #3: IT EASILY CONFUSES CHILDREN.

Easy-believism angers me. Careless Bible study frustrates me. But taking the most important message in the entire world and making it confusing for little ones both angers and frustrates me.

Bob Wilkin in his book Don’t Ask testifies of the confusion this inaccuracy has wrought among children when he writes,

I had my students write out their testimonies after I had explained what I have recounted above. I found that quite a few of the students went through years of confusion because someone told them as children that if they asked Jesus into their hearts they would be saved.

They wondered if they had done it right. They wondered if they had been sincere enough. So they asked Him in over and over again for years. They couldn’t gain assurance. Finally someone shared with them that to be saved they had to trust in Christ alone. Only then, by their own testimony, did they come to faith in Christ. Years of inviting Him into their lives had only confused and frustrated them.

Consider as well this personal testimony from Dr. John MacArthur:

• And every time, as a little kid, that somebody said, "Ask Jesus in your heart," I can remember saying, "Jesus, please come in my heart." I can remember that over and over: "In case you’re not there, please come in today." You know? I mean, I did that as a kid. I’d go to camp, the guy would give a message, and just to be sure, you know, I’d say, "Lord, if you’re not in my life, please……"

Then, of course, there is the problem that children are not generally able to think in the abstract until about age seven. So, we should not be surprised when children take "asking Jesus into their heart" in a literal way. We must be absolutely clear when dealing with children about their eternal souls. Remember, the Bible tells us that child-like faith is essential, but it does not say the same about child-like intellect. While many children are saved at a young age, they must understand the essential truths of salvation in order to properly direct that precious faith in trusting Christ.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Making sure children learn the doctrine of God’s Word. Allow me to condense his article to just the main points.

1. God wants you to honor and serve Him.

2. Your sin (breaking God's rules) keeps you from pleasing God.

3. Sin is paid for by death and separation from God.

4. You cannot get to heaven by being good or doing lots of good works.

5. Here's the best part. Christ paid for your sins.

6. Accept Christ's payment for your sin.

7. Turn from your sin. Want something completely different than your sin.

8. God has made you a promise––eternal life.

Becoming a Christian is much like joining an army. It costs nothing to join but the good soldier is willing to obey and even lay down his life for the general. When somebody does join the army, their life is no longer their own. When somebody joins the army, they surrender their rights to their leader. That's what God expects of us. Look at what Jesus said about becoming a Christian (follower of Christ):

will finish on Sunday

Come into My Heart, Lord Jesus???
An Appeal for Biblical Accuracy in Child Evangelism

part one

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Harry Clarke, Welsh song leader for Evangelist Billy Sunday, wrote these words in 1924. Who hasn’t heard these words sung at the end of an evangelistic challenge? I’’m still amazed that many Christians still sing the lyrics after they already know the Lord.

The language of "asking Jesus into one’s heart" is part of a soul winner’s basic vocabulary, at least in my experience. It is firmly entrenched, it seems, especially in children’s ministries today. Consider this recommended prayer for children given by one church:

Dear God, Thank you for making a way for us to turn from the wrong things that we have done. I know I have done wrong things, but right now I want to look upon Jesus so that you will forgive me for the things I have done. Please let Jesus come into my heart, to live forever there. I want to live forever with God. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen

Now, to be fair, this prayer does deal with forgiveness of sin. It acknowledges the love of God. But what it fails to do is to lead a child to verbalize trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Isn’t that what the Gospel is all about?

Before I try to persuade you to stop using this terminology in your personal evangelism, let me assure you of two things:

• 1. Some people are genuinely saved when asking Jesus into their hearts.

• 2. There are many wonderful Christians who take the time to explain salvation clearly to children even if they use the "into my heart" phrasing.

Now, I know some of you are thinking right off the bat: this is just semantics. But is it? I was talking with a father in our church just last week, and he related to me how his young, preschool son firmly believes that Jesus lives in his real, physical heart. Just semantics? I don’t think so.

There are some legitimate concerns I have about the concept of "asking Jesus into our hearts." Let me share them with you in the hope that, if nothing else, you will become even more committed to the precision we must have in communicating the Word of God.

CONCERN #1: IT TENDS TOWARD EASY-BELIEVISM.

• There are Christians who are more interested in acquiring decisions for Christ than they are in making disciples of Christ. Often, "asking Jesus into your heart" becomes the magic formula for easy spiritual decision-making. Unfortunately, much of the time, these witnesses give an unclear and incomplete Gospel presentation. Consequently, many of the "decisions" made fall away in short order and were likely never genuine.

CONCERN #2: IT IS EXEGETICALLY UNFOUNDED.

Search the Scriptures. You will not find a passage through either precept or pattern where "asking Jesus into your heart" is employed in evangelism. Not once. Surely that must account for something. How can we be comfortable in using so consistently an expression that lacks ANY Scriptural support?

Some will ignore context and appeal to a passage like Revelation 3:20.

• Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
  
• Although this verse is used heavily in evangelistic methodology, it is often taken out-of-context. In context, the Christian will find that Jesus is speaking to a church, a lukewarm church that has lost its fellowship with Christ. In John’s vision, Jesus tells this church He is knocking on their door and pleads with them to open the door and resume fellowship. It’’s not about salvation.
  
• Sometimes, instead of taking things out-of-context, we simply take them out-of-order. Such is the case for other New Testament verses where the result of salvation is turned to become the means of salvation. What about these verses?
  
• But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:12)
  
• To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27)
  
• I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)
  
• Another popular Gospel song exclaims: "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart!" Does Jesus really come in?
• The short answer is "Yes, He does." We can’’t dispute the clear teaching of these verses. But while Jesus’’ indwelling is certainly a result of salvation, there is simply no biblical evidence that His spiritual entrance into our lives is part of the means of salvation

Part one of this article, will finish part two (3) later than I will give you Al Mohler's point of view of this article later as well.

CHILDREN CAN BE SAVED AT AN EARLY AGE. I WAS 7.1 YEARS OLD WHEN THE LORD TOUCH MY MIND AND ALLOWED ME TO UNDERSTAND THE NEED OF BEEN SAVED. WILLIAMSROAD BAPTIST CHURCH, ROANOKE VIRGINIA

ACCEPTING JESUS INTO YOUR HEART" THE SEARCH CONTINUES

ATLANTA, GA - When in church, we are often told that the bible is full of amazingly wonderful things. We are exhorted to read our bibles because not only does this help us know and serve God better, but also because the riches of scripture can never be exhausted. The pastor informs us repeatedly that no matter how much we study, we will always come away with something new.

Others, however, are more interested in finding something in the bible that many just assume is there. They are determined to find the answer to the age-old question, "Where exactly does the bible tell us to accept Jesus into our hearts?"

A joint venture to find this elusive phrase was initiated by the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) back in 1994. The GBC, in partnership with Moody Bible Institute, Southwestern Baptist Seminary, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, and Lakewood Church, has been focused on this task for the past thirteen years.

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According to Dr. Daniel Moore, head of the GBC, "For years we have been telling people that they need to accept Jesus into their hearts. It is what we tell folks they need to do when we're out on Tuesday-night visitation. All of our VBSs focus on this. I've even given my personal testimony of when I was eight-years-old and accepted Jesus into my heart. Well, the GBC was asked in 1993, by a local layman no less, where in the bible this could be found. We laughed at first, but then realized we were in trouble. We determined at that point in time to find it.

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The search continues to this day. TBNN has learned that the group effort of churches, agencies, and seminaries has poured over two million dollars into the project. How can this be defended?

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Dr. Moore answered, "To us, this is the heart of the gospel. If we can't tell people to accept Jesus into their hearts, then what good news do we have? This is about our core doctrine. If there is no gospel, what are we even doing here? TBNN decided to go to some of the investigators. Dr. Donald Haskins, professor of biblical languages at Southwestern, told us, "A group of our experts, myself included, has scoured the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to the best of our abilities. So far, we haven't found a blame thing. Bibleworks couldn't even find it. More significant than any of that, it isn't even in the KJV

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Haskins told us that out of desperation, they have sent several researchers to Israel to dig for better manuscripts of the old and new testaments. "I know it is a long-shot, but it must be there somewhere. We'll just have to keep digging until we find it."Dr. Michael Sanders, at one of the dig sites near the Dead Sea, informed TBNN, "We have found several pieces of pottery and a few coins. So far, though, no bible.

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Back in the USA, Dr. Moore of the GBC seemed almost resigned to the inevitable conclusion. "I told myself that I would find the phrase 'accept Jesus into your heart' somewhere in the bible. I started over a year ago and still haven't found it. I've read the whole NT three times and the OT once. I just can't find it."Moore continued, "To be sure, I found plenty of commands to 'repent and believe' and statements about 'confessing and believing.' Those sound good, but I'm afraid they leave out a bit of the beauty of a person inviting Jesus into their heart to live.

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What will the GBC do now?

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I don't know," responded Moore. "I suppose we are going to have to go back to square one and reexamine the gospel. I mean, do we even have it right? Do we know what we are talking about? I'm afraid that if we do this, we're going to have to deal with issues such as sovereignty, election, repentance, obedience, and other things of that nature. Ugh! But before we give up, we'll keep looking. I know it's there somewhere because I invited Jesus into my heart a long time ago, and once saved, always saved!"

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The question: "DO WE USE THE TERM 'WILL YOU ACCEPT JESUS INTO YOUR HEART?