“I’ve been talking about the gospel with my kids,” my friend said. “They know that Jesus died for their sins, but how can I be sure they truly believe?”
Sharing the gospel with kids can be tricky. We want to encourage our children to commit to Christ. We want to be careful, however, that we don’t “manipulate” them into a confession of faith before they’re truly ready.
After all, some of us grew up in churches where we were encouraged to “pray and ask Jesus into our heart” before the gospel was fully explained or understood. And so, we want our own kids to follow Christ because they love Him and understand the cross—not merely to escape hell and enter heaven.
How can we confidently encourage kids to respond to the gospel’s call, while avoiding manipulative techniques and remaining sensitive to their current spiritual state and level of development? Here are five suggestions:
1. Warn kids about their sin.
Children are glorious and beautiful gifts from God, yet within each child (and us!), there’s a fallen heart. Every child is a sinner, and must learn of the need to repent.
A child’s soul is in danger if he expresses confidence in Christ, but isn’t also learning to name his sins, confess them, and turn to Christ for forgiveness.
We must be direct with our kids about sin’s deadly consequences. English preacher Charles Spurgeon said it well:
“Do not flatter the child with delusive rubbish about his nature being good and needing to be developed. Tell him he must be born again. Don’t bolster him up with the fancy of his own innocence, but show him his sin. Mention the childish sins to which he is prone, and pray the Holy Spirit to work conviction in his heart and conscience.”
A child’s soul is in danger if he expresses confidence in Christ but doesn’t also learn to name his sins, confess them, and turn to Christ for forgiveness. Don’t hesitate to warn your children about sin for, as Spurgeon warned, “He will not else desire the remedy.”
2. Be clear about what Jesus has done to save us.
When teaching the gospel to children, it can be helpful to use a gospel presentation like the Wordless Book by Spurgeon, or The Bridge to Life illustration by The Navigators. Some of us may also be familiar with the ABC’s of salvation: (A) Admit you’re a sinner; (B) Believe in Jesus; and (C) Confess faith in him. These three points describe a biblical response to the gospel (see Romans 10:9–10).
But when using one of these resources to share the good news with your kids, don’t just tell them how to respond. Make sure you also explain how Jesus accomplished our salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. That’s the saving message.
A child who wants to please God can respond in many right ways—reading her Bible, keeping a journal, saying daily prayers—but she can still be discouraged in her faith. Aware of her sin, she may worry over these questions: Have I done enough? How can I be saved when I still get so angry?
This child needs assurance that what Jesus did for us wins our salvation. He saves us; we don’t save ourselves. As the Puritan Octavius Winslow wrote, “One simple believing sight of Christ will produce more light and peace and joy than a lifetime of looking within ourselves for evidences and signs of grace.”
This child needs assurance that what Jesus did for us wins our salvation.
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3. Invite your kids to respond to Christ again and again.
When we talk to our children about the gospel, response is the goal. At the same time, we must recognise that due to their different levels of maturity in Christ and their maturity in general, they’ll have differing levels of responsiveness. American Christian educators Lawrence Richards and Gary Bredfeldt outline five basic levels of learning in children:
- Rote: a child’s ability to repeat stories, verses, and biblical truth without thought of meaning.
- Recognition: a child’s ability to recognise biblical concepts that have been taught before.
- Restatement: a child’s ability to express new concepts in his own words, and to relate them to a biblical worldview and system of thought.
- Relation: a child’s ability to relate biblical truths to life, and see an appropriate gospel response or application.
- Realisation: a child’s ability and desire to put gospel applications into action in his daily life.
This outline reminds us that children typically learn the language of faith even before their faith is fully realised. Our job isn’t to get a 2-year-old to the realisation level after one gospel conversation. Even believing teenagers are still learning to put into practice what they know about God’s ways. Our goal, instead, is to encourage our kids to take the next step in their faith.
4. Don’t pressure your children for a public profession.
Sometimes, parents can be tempted to pressure children because we think getting them to make a public profession or come to the waters of baptism is exclusively our responsibility. It’s not. You don’t need to bribe your kids with ice cream to get them to “pray the prayer.” You’re not responsible for “closing the deal” because salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8).
Give your children an opportunity to respond to Christ, but trust God to work in their hearts to bring them to himself in His time and ways.
Your responsibility is to faithfully teach the gospel to your children, to encourage them to regularly repent from sin and commit to Christ. When you’ve done that, you can entrust the results to the Lord. Give your children an opportunity to respond to Christ, but trust God to work in their hearts to bring them to himself in His time and ways.
5. Don’t be afraid to give gospel assurances.
We don’t want to give our kids false assurances. We don’t want them to think they’re saved simply because they know Bible facts, are excited about Sunday school, or obey Dad and Mum. And we certainly don’t want our kids to use God’s love and promises as an excuse for sin (Romans 6:1–2).
But avoiding false assurances doesn’t mean avoiding assurance altogether. Christ has objectively accomplished salvation (2 Corinthians 5:18–19), so we can confidently proclaim His gospel promises to all people, including our kids.
This means we can teach our kids to memorise, recite, and sing Bible promises that give them personal assurance—passages like . . .
- “I know that my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25)
- “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1)
- “I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God” (Psalm 42:11)
- “[Christ] loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)
These are Christ’s words, so we can assure our children that to trust these promises is to trust Christ himself. If you hear your child assuring herself with one of these passages, it’s not a time for introspection. Instead, we can simply say with confidence: “Keep on believing. Keep on believing!”
Originally published on Gospel-Centered Family.
Adapted with permission.
