Recently, I have had several Christian people approach me in genuine concern. We share that we work as missionaries evangelizing children with the gospel of Christ. Immediately, assumptions are made, and questions are asked. I want it to be clear that I am not mad at anyone for asking questions or challenging us. I am glad to be asked. We are delighted to answer any questions, and want to put all concerns at rest. My goal in sharing this isn't to criticize those expressing concerns, but to just show where these concerns come from, and put everyone at ease. Here are a few assumptions I am getting from people, and what it shows me about theological trends in this day and age.
You're forcing children who aren't really ready to make a decision.
When we say we are evangelists to children, we mean that we are evangelists to children. We share the same gospel message with them that we would with adults. If you were sharing Christ with an adult, you would ask them questions to gage their understanding, and if they showed hesitation or lack of desire or understanding, you wouldn't proceed. The same is true with these children. We share the gospel message, and give them the chance to speak with us about what it means to trust in Christ. Upon talking with them, we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to them, and make us aware of their readiness. No one is forced or coerced. No one can ever be saved by coercion. It has to be a real choice on the part of the child (or adult). However, we know that children are often the most ready to embrace the salvation Jesus offers...because they are ready to embrace Jesus! Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Exactly one chapter earlier, Jesus said some even more compelling words: Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:14). Jesus commanded us to evangelize the whole world (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8), and He never put an age limit on it. Some church traditions have put age limits on it, but the Bible does not. Also, there are instances in scripture of children having saving faith. Matthew 18:6 refers to those who offend children who believe in Jesus, and the word "believe" here is the same Greek word as is used in other scriptures (such as John 3:16) for saving faith, πιστεύων . This means that the children in question have savingly believed in Christ. The epistles, which are clearly written to saved people, address children as well as adults (Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20, I John 2:12), leaving us to conclude that children in the early church were saved. This leads us to believe we should evangelize everyone, and let the Holy Spirit work. If someone (regardless of age) expresses an understanding of what Jesus did for us, and a desire to receive Him, the Bible leads us to believe that they should be led to that point of decision. Statistically, 85% of Christians report to having come to salvation between the ages of 4 and 14. We are never technically commanded in scripture to go out and lead children to the Lord, but neither are we commanded to go out and lead all the adults to the Lord. Age is just a number to God!
You're teaching children to "ask Jesus into their hearts," which isn't a biblical phrase for salvation.
First of all, our particular ministry seldom uses this phraseology anymore, and there is a reason. When we give a gospel presentation, we use what is called a "Condition-Promise" verse. This is a verse which gives the condition you and I must meet in order to have eternal life, and the promise that we receive when we meet those conditions. For example, Acts 16:31 tells us to Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved... The condition we have to meet is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The promise we receive is that we will be saved! There are many other verses that we use, but this is one of my favorites, because it is simple and short. We use a condition-promise verse, then explain salvation in terms of the verse we used. If we use Acts 16:31, we explain what it means to believe on Jesus and be saved. If we were to use John 1:12 (Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.), I wouldn't use the phrase "believe on Jesus and be saved." I would instead explain salvation in terms of believing and receiving Him, and becoming a child of God. Do you see where I'm going? There are many verses in scripture that explain salvation. Different terms and imagery are used. We explain salvation biblically, using terms right out of scripture.
However, I am going to add something. I am going to defend the idea of inviting Jesus into our hearts. When a child (or anyone) asks Christ into their hearts, fully grasping their sin and need for Him, this is salvation. Romans 10:13 says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. If someone is truly calling on Jesus for salvation, their wording doesn't matter. It isn't about phrasing. It is about embracing Jesus. Additionally, Ephesians 3:17 tells us, That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Combine this idea with 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... For this reason, I am not against the idea of inviting Jesus into our hearts. If you don't like that imagery or phraseology, don't use it. The Bible gives many other phrases to choose from when describing salvation. Use another if this one doesn't suit you or your witnessing opportunities. But please don't imply that those of us who got saved "asking Jesus into our hearts" are not saved because we didn't use the terminology you prefer.
You're teaching children that praying a prayer saves them.
Again, this is a a false assumption. We teach children that Jesus saves them! Here is an analogy. We don't share this with the children, but just follow me a minute here. We need food to survive. Imagine a delicious dinner set before you. But in order to grab hold of that food that nourishes your body, you need a fork. Does the fork feed and sustain you? No, the food does. But the fork is the means by which you grab hold of that life-giving nutrition. The same is true for faith. Jesus saves you. The means by which you grab hold of that salvation is by faith. Faith is our "fork." The real credit for salvation goes to Jesus, not our faith, not our prayers. His grace enables us to have the faith to believe. Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God (bold emphasis mine). Even our "fork" of faith is a gift from God. We didn't conjure it up ourselves. It is true that the faith in our hearts, not the words we say, is how we grab hold of salvation. However, the reason we have the children pray isn't because we believe the words are magic. As I just shared, Romans 10:13 tells us to "call on the name of the Lord." Likewise, a few verses earlier in Romans 10:9-10, we are told If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. The heart and mouth go hand-in-hand here. We make a profession of our faith at salvation. When we explain salvation to children, and they tell us they believe in Jesus, we tell them, "Why don't you tell God what you just told me?" They pray to the Lord, confessing the faith they have just expressed in their hearts. We don't get hung up on the mechanics of salvation from God's perspective. We focus on what is man's responsibility, as stated in scripture. When we get too focused on the mechanics, exact wording, having all the perfect theology, it can become a form of legalism.
You're making it too easy!
Salvation is simple (for us). It wasn't easy for Jesus. He endured the cross, bearing our sins, and enduring broken fellowship with the Father. All God's wrath on our sin was put on Jesus, so we wouldn't have to bear it. Because He did that for us, salvation is simple. We believe in Christ! That's it. It's done. We don't want to make light of it, but we also shouldn't add red tape to it and make it difficult. Salvation is received by grace through faith--not through modified behavior, not through religious activities, not through good deeds, not through making a commitment to read through the Bible in a year, not through joining a church. It's faith in the finished work of Jesus. It isn't what you do. It isn't what you don't do. It's what's already been done by Christ!
You are giving children false assurance.
In fairness, once I have talked someone through the previous objections, they seldom still use this one. This is one they tend to say at the beginning, before I have explained a few things. But I do want to address the idea of false assurance. I have heard a lot of people talk about false assurance. I am going to talk about what the Bible says about assurance, but first, I will explain that we don't ever tell a child, "Now you're saved! Hooray!" Or whatever is being assumed. We ask them, "If you really meant that, what did Jesus just do for you?" The child will probably say something like, "He saved me, "or "He made me His child." It depends on what condition-promise verse we used. We will say, "Yes. Let's go back to that verse," and then we take the child to the same condition promise verses. If we used Acts 16:31, we'll reread it, and say, "Did you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?" The child will say yes, We then tell them, "Then this verse says that if you did that, you are saved!" We are putting the burden of assurance on the Word of God, not ourselves.
As for what the Bible says about assurance, we read in Romans 8:16, The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. Likewise, First Corinthians 2:12 tells us, What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. It is the Holy Spirit's job to give assurance. If someone is really saved, the Holy Spirit gives assurance. This doesn't mean we don't sometimes "make assurance" of our salvation. In fact, that is a good thing to do. Second Peter 1:10 says, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. So, in addition to it being the Holy Spirit's job, it is the person's own job to make assurance of their salvation. There is nowhere in scripture where "false assurance" is mentioned. We are never cautioned to be afraid or worried about doing this. I believe this is a modern fear and phenomena. We should be mindful not to just tell someone they're saved when we don't know, but we are not to live in constant fear or bondage to that. If someone is trusting in the fact that you told them they're saved to give them assurance, God will work with them. We do our best, but God overrides our mistakes. No one is the perfect evangelist, but the Holy Spirit is the one who works through us. He saves the person. He gives assurance. No one will be in hell because you gave them false assurance. You're just not that powerful. Do you best, but leave the results up to God. He is fully able to communicate with that person. I have known people who are so scared of offering false assurance that they never witness--which we are commanded biblically to do!
In Conclusion
Truth and theology are very important, and I am not in any way diminishing the importance, but I am suggesting that God's grace, per God's word, gives us salvation. Someone using less-than-perfect terminology, putting emphasis on the "wrong part" of the mechanics of it, or stating it differently than you prefer doesn't mean it isn't being used and blessed by God. God can use anyone or anything (He used a talking donkey in Numbers 22:21-35).
My dad was saved as a little boy in VBS. He responded to an invitation the preacher gave, and he was told to go talk with a teenage girl in the hall. Several other kids followed. This teenage girl told this group of kids, "The Bible says the only way to get to Heaven is to ask Jesus into your heart." She looked at my dad, "You go first," Not sure what to say, my dad (age nine) said, "Jesus, save me!" The next child repeated this phrase, as did the rest of the kids. When they were all done saying, "Jesus save me," the teenager smiled and said, "Now you're all Christians, and you're going to Heaven!" She then took them back to the main group. Now, as a professionally-trained missionary/evangelist, I would say she should have had more training, but God used her anyway. My dad really was saved that day. The Holy Spirit bore witness with his sprit that he was saved. When he was a little older, he made assurance of his salvation. This teenage girl working in VBS was perhaps ill-equipped, but she was trying. God used her, in spite of her imperfections. He uses us too! It's in His strength, not ours.
After I invited Jesus into my heart (yes, my salvation involved inviting Jesus into my heart, as well as being "born again"), I immediately knew I was saved and forgiven. The Holy Spirit bore witness with me. I thought right away, "Everyone needs to do this!" And I became a little evangelist. I shared Christ with my doctor at my next appointment. I told kids in the park about Jesus. I talked about Christ with my neighbors. I especially witnessed to my little brother. The first time I successfully led someone to Christ (that I know of), I told a little girl in my neighborhood, "If you don't invite Jesus into your heart, you'll go to hell!" She looked terrified. Following this startling statement, I quoted John 3:16 (For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life), and then made her repeat the verse after me, phrase by phrase. I then said, "Jesus died for you, but you deserved it, but He did it instead, so you could be saved. Now let's pray!" I told her how to invite Jesus into her heart. Do I think this was the best way to evangelize? No! But I was an elementary student in the 80's. I have come a long way in over 30 years of evangelism trainings! But God used what I gave as a child, and this girl was saved, in spite of my weak evangelism. She grew in faith, and there was evidence of her salvation.
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| Me as a young evangelism in the 80's |
A very kind man I know felt burdened for his coworkers. One day, he gave a talk in the lounge at his job, and told everyone, "If you want to say the sinner's prayer, you can do it with me now!" He didn't even really explain much about what that meant, but surprisingly, many were saved that day. Arguably, they must have already known who Christ was, because that sentence he said to them didn't explain enough for understanding, but many people know facts about Jesus, so realizing they needed to make their commitment to Him might have been all they needed to hear. If they truly meant the words they were praying in that sinner's prayer, they were truly saved. There was evidence of their salvation being real as well. Again, not ideal evangelism, but God used it!
I have read so many testimonies of people coming to Christ in a way that was less than "textbook" perfect, but what they were believing about Jesus and salvation was totally biblical. In fact, I sometimes wonder if some of today's theologians would nit-pick some of the Apostle Paul's evangelism!
My point is, there is a trend today toward a fear of doing evangelism wrongly somehow, whether it's using the wrong words, forcing someone, or giving "false assurance." Yet all throughout history, people have put their eternal hope on the finished work of Christ. The Holy Spirit saved them, not the evangelist. We don't do it in our own strength. We want to be used of God. We do our best, but God fills in the gaps. We do what we can, and He does what we can't. I'm so glad He does that! Our job is to get busy sharing Christ! What are you waiting for?
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