TLP 322: Is Your Child a Christian?

How many people celebrate Christmas who don't even follow Christ? God forbid our family members sing about the birth of a

Savior in whom they don't believe. Welcome to Truth. Love. Parent.

Where we use God's Word to become intentional, premeditated parents. Here's your host,

AM Brewster. Today we discuss one of the most important parenting concepts. If you are a born -again believer, you obviously understand the supreme importance of knowing and following God, but what about your kids?

Some of you know your kids aren't saved and you're actively involved in evangelism parenting. I'm going to include a link in the description to all of our evangelism parenting episodes for those of you who would be interested.

But some of you are unsure about your children's faith. Even though your kids have made professions, you have an uneasiness about their faith in Christ.

And some of you are certain about your children's eternal destiny, but you really need to take a minute to reevaluate what you think you know.

Today's review episode should have something valuable regardless of into which category you fall. But before we start, let me thank

Kara and Taylor and an anonymous donor for making today's episode possible. We are a listener -supported ministry and we need gifts, great and small, in order to continue producing these resources.

Please consider how you may get involved. Just check out the five -way support TLP link in the description of this episode.

And also make sure you join us next time. I'll be reading the Christmas story directly from the scriptures.

Last year, tons of families from all over the world listened in on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to revel in the reason for the season.

There is nothing more powerful than God's story of redemption. So let's make sure we're intentionally and premeditatedly pointing our kids toward Christ this holiday season.

Now, let's talk about whether your child really is a Christian. I made a profession of faith when

I was five years old, and I was baptized shortly thereafter. Fast forward four years, and you'll find me and my mother standing in the living room of our house in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

I don't remember much from the conversation, but the gaps have necessarily been filled in by my sanctified imagination.

It started with my mom telling me, Erin, I'm not God, and I don't know your heart, but I don't think you're saved.

I remember my nine -year -old self being taken aback and mildly offended. And then she continued,

Christians aren't perfect, but for the most part, they want to live for Christ. They're not sinless, but they do sin less and less as they grow.

Erin, you prayed and asked Jesus to save you when you were five, but since then, you haven't changed. It seems that everything you do is motivated by your own selfishness.

Again, I don't know if my mom remembers the conversation going down that way, but that's what the years have left me with.

And you know what? By God's grace, I became a genuine follower of Christ later that year, was baptized for the first time because, you know, the other time

I just got wet, and slowly but surely started understanding what my mom meant about living for Christ and not myself.

Now, I've never been a perfect example of a believer. My teen years, in fact, were a pretty abysmal wreck at times, but God was genuinely at work in and through me during that time.

And that's the key. As you can imagine, the most important question you can ever ask your child is this, do you have a relationship with God?

Now, before we move on to the second question, I do want to address the terminology that we utilize to discuss this topic.

Think of all the ways we describe being a Christian. So, my friend just became a citizen of the kingdom of heaven when he asked

Jesus to be a savior and come into his heart. And now he's a follower of God and a spirit -filled Christian who's been regenerated and born again because he was saved into Christ and is now a believing child in the family of God.

And there may be more I missed. The point is, what does all of that really mean? Some of those concepts are actually biblical, and others like asking

Jesus into your heart aren't only confusing, but also not found anywhere in the

Bible. When discussing the single most important reality in all the world, we must be clear and biblical.

I prefer born again, follower of Christ, and relationship with God. I like born again because that's the phrase

Jesus himself used in his conversation with Nicodemus. It's so pregnant with meaning and generally doesn't get accidentally used by people who don't understand it, like Christian being in the family of God or one of God's children so often do.

Of course, it still needs clarification. Nicodemus himself was stumped when Jesus used it the first time, but Christ helped him understand.

I also like follower of Christ because far too many people believe that salvation is like an insurance policy.

If I sign on the dotted line, I can go about living my life. The only difference is now I don't have to worry about hell.

The term follower of Christ communicates the reality that we're supposed to be growing and being transformed into his image, going where he'd have us go, doing what he'd have us do, and speaking what he'd have us speak.

Lastly, I enjoy referring to a person's relationship with God because it encompasses both sides of the idea of being born into God's family as well as an intimacy that far exceeds a contractual agreement.

But these are just my personal preferences. The key is regardless of the verbiage you employ, please make certain your children understand the truth behind their relationship with God because Jesus warns us that in the last days, there will be many people who honestly believe they're born again who aren't.

They believe it so much. They will try to personally convince Jesus himself by listing out all the spiritual things they did, but Jesus will have to look at them and say,

I don't know you, depart from me. And then they'll be ushered into the lake of fire.

If that doesn't shake you to your core, I have to wonder about your relationship with God. Have you ever considered that you might find yourself in that situation?

Can you imagine having believed your entire life that you're a Christian only to find out that you missed the key component?

Can you imagine that happening to your children? I echo Pastor David Platt's heart when he says this verse sometimes keeps him up at night.

And I want you to hear what David has to say. So I've got this friend, I'll call him

John. John's first exposure to the whole concept of hell was when he was watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon when he was younger.

And what was intended to be this humorous cartoon all of a sudden turned into this hellacious nightmare when Tom did something bad to Jerry and was thrown into hell as a result.

And later, John was at his church and he was talking with an older man about what he'd seen. And the older man looked at John and said,

John, you don't want to go to hell, do you? John said no. So the man looked back at him and said,

OK, pray this prayer after me. Dear Jesus. John kind of paused, there's some awkward silence, and then he realized he was supposed to say exactly what the man had said.

So he said, dear Jesus, and the man continued, I know that I'm a sinner and I believe that you just died for my sins and I ask you to come into my heart and save me.

And then when they were finished, the man looked at John and said, son, now you can know that you are saved from your sins and you don't ever have to worry about hell again.

Is that true? Is this really what it means to become a disciple of Jesus?

Is this really what it means to follow him? You look back at the first disciples in the

Bible and when Jesus came up to them and said, follow me, that was not an invitation to pray a prayer.

That was a summons for these men to lose their lives. Somewhere along the way, 2000 years later, amid varying cultural tithes and popular church trends, we have virtually missed that call.

With good intentions, with sincere desires to reach as many people as possible for Jesus, we've taken challenging words from Christ and turned them into trite phrases in the church.

And in the process, we've drained the lifeblood out of Christianity and replaced it with a watered down version of the gospel that is so palatable, it's not even real anymore.

And the consequences are catastrophic. Scores of men, women, and children culturally identify themselves as Christians today who biblically are not followers of Christ.

Is that possible? Absolutely, it is. In fact, according to Jesus, it's probable.

He said in the end of his most famous sermon, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles and I will tell them,

I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers. Those are some of the most frightening words in all of the

Bible. As a pastor, I stay awake some nights haunted by the thought that many people, many people who are sitting in church on Sunday, will be shocked to stand before Jesus one day and hear him say to them,

I never knew you, away from me. We desperately need to take a look at our lives and our churches and ask the question, are we really, biblically, personally following Jesus?

Eternity is dependent on how we answer that question. You can watch this video by David Platt and find more information at the follow me link in the description.

And hopefully you're realizing that simply asking your child, are you a Christian, isn't a guaranteed answer because they may believe they are when they're really not.

And so how can a person know they're born again? How can you know your child is a child of God?

And that's where today's question comes in. The second most important question you can ever ask your child is this, how do you know you're born again?

Now here are the two most typical responses I receive when I ask this question of children and adults. The first is this, confused responses.

This includes, I don't know, what do you mean? And just the silent staring. This question doesn't register on so many radars because the concept often isn't discussed from the pulpit or explained by the individual sharing the gospel.

From my experience in family counseling and evangelism, I wouldn't be surprised if most professing

Christians have no idea how to answer this question. And the second is this, inaccurate responses.

Now it may sound harsh to suggest that any answer given in response to how do you know you're saved could be inaccurate, but many just are.

The easiest ones to spot are the unbiblical answers. The ones we know don't have anything to do with salvation.

For example, I go to church, I was baptized, I'm confirmed, I read my Bible, pray, give money to the church, or I'm just a good person.

You don't get saved by doing those things. But what if someone says this, I know

I'm saved because salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and I believe in Christ and asked him to be my savior.

Well, that's a pretty stellar proclamation, but is everyone who says that a child of God?

Here's the problem. Are there people who have prayed and used the words, Jesus, please save me, who didn't mean it, or who asked for selfish reasons, or who just didn't really believe it?

Does simply praying a prayer or making an accurate statement about the reality of Christ guarantee salvation?

There are a number of Bible passages that should give us pause. The first is the one I mentioned before about there being countless people who thought they were saved, who actually aren't.

Jesus says in Matthew 7, 21 through 23, On that day, many will say to me,

Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name?

And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

Then there's also the situation with Simon the sorcerer. This is a difficult passage because it's hard to tell what

Simon's spiritual state actually was, but no Christian would want Peter saying to them what

Peter said to Simon the day he tried to buy the Holy Spirit. And speaking of Peter, Peter made many professions concerning Christ, performed miracles, and sacrificed everything he knew to follow

Christ. And yet he wasn't born again until after the resurrection. The point is this, when

I ask, how do you know you're born again? And the person responds, I know I'm saved because I prayed a prayer.

That's like saying, I know I'm saved because I'm saved. It's circular and doesn't actually answer the question.

The proof of our salvation cannot simply be that we asked. I encourage you to ask your children this question and listen carefully as they answer.

You may receive the confused or inaccurate responses, and that's okay. At least you're arming yourself with the knowledge you need to parent your children.

And I know this is difficult. I've struggled devoting a mere 20 minutes to this discussion. No doubt there are some of you who are genuinely perplexed or even upset that I've suggested that there's a possibility your child could pray and ask

Jesus to save them and still be unsaved. But if they truly are not born again, isn't that something you want to know?

I encourage you to heed the words of the Apostle John. John was one of the first disciples to genuinely put his faith and trust in Jesus.

He was also described as being the most loving and faithful follower Jesus had during his earthly ministry.

If you haven't read 1 John or you haven't read it in a while, I strongly encourage you to read the short five chapters.

And here's why. In John 1 6, John says, if we say we have fellowship with him,

God, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

We could paraphrase it in this way. If we claim to be born again, while we consistently and unrepentantly live in sin, we're liars.

And you know, almost the rest of the book goes on to say similar things, constantly calling us out.

If you say this, but you do this, you're a liar. And it almost all has to do specifically with our relationship with God.

I also want to take a moment here to share John MacArthur's thoughts on this subject. He preached a sermon called,

What Kinds of Things Do and Do Not Prove the Genuineness of Saving Faith. I'll link the article in the description, but I want to make some comments on it here.

He identifies seven conditions that do not prove or disprove genuine saving faith.

And then he names nine that do. Here's his list. Number one, visible morality. Unsaved people can make moral choices.

Two, intellectual knowledge. Unsaved people can know a lot and know a lot about the

Bible. Three, religious involvement. Unsaved people can participate in religious causes.

Four, active ministry. Unsaved people can be involved in full -time ministerial service.

Consider Judas. Number five, conviction of sin. Unsaved people experience guilt because that's one of the main three roles the

Holy Spirit has in this world. Six, the feeling of assurance. Just like Jesus said, there will be many unbelievers who felt they were saved.

Feelings are capricious and they frequently lie to us. And seven, a time of decision.

On this particular note, Dr. MacArthur goes on to say, quote, So often people say things like, well,

I know I'm a Christian because I remember when I signed the card, or I remember when I prayed a prayer, or I remember when I walked the aisle or went forward in church.

A person may remember exactly when it happened and where they were when it happened, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Our salvation is not verified by a past moment. Many people have prayed prayers, gone forward in church services, signed cards, gone into prayer rooms, been baptized, and joined churches without ever experiencing genuine saving faith.

These are seven common conditions or tests that don't necessarily prove or disprove the existence of saving faith.

What then are the marks of genuine saving faith? Are there some reliable tests from the

Word of God that enable us to know for certain whether one's faith is real? Thankfully, there are at least nine biblical criteria for examining the genuineness of saving faith, end quote.

And then he goes on to name these nine things. Love for God, repentance from sin, genuine humility, devotion to God's glory, continual prayer, selfless love, separation from the world, spiritual growth, and obedience.

And I would argue that there are many, many more. But remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my

Father who is in heaven. And doing the will of my Father who is in heaven is a big category.

And then remember what John said, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

He goes on to say, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his

Son cleanses us from all sin. Now, please understand that this is not, I repeat, this is not a proclamation to works salvation, but simply a proof of salvation.

Doing good works doesn't save you, but if you're saved, you will do good works. And this is the beauty of the book of James.

Under the inspiration of God, James proclaims, someone will say, you have faith and I have works.

And James says, show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

It's easy to say something, but it's very different to back it up with your actions. I can tell you that I love roller coasters and believe with all my heart, they're not only the most exciting experience a human being could ever have, but they're also 100 % safe.

But if I refuse to ride one, you're going to rightfully question my quote unquote love for roller coasters.

My mom was right when she doubted my salvation. She doubted it because I lived day in and out with no higher motivation than my own pleasure.

Christians aren't perfect, but they cannot live consistently in that state of darkness. Look at the world around you.

If something's not biologically growing, it's either dead or it was never alive. The same is true with spiritual life.

There are so many lists in the Bible of characteristics that Christians are to have and be growing in, things that unsaved people cannot have and cannot be growing in.

I call them sanctification lists because as we become more and more like Jesus and live in the power of the

Holy Spirit, we will continually be set apart from the world and set apart to God. And that's the very definition of sanctification.

Now consider your children. If they haven't made a profession of faith, you know what your foremost goal is.

The most important question they need to answer is, what will you do with Christ? In the future,

I hope to discuss what it looks like to be an evangelist parent. Until then, continue consistently living in God's light and sharing it with your children.

Make the gospel the centerpiece of your family. If your children have made a profession of faith, well, you still need to make the gospel the centerpiece of your family, but you also need to start training them in what that means.

As an ambassador parent, you've been called to introduce your kids to God and lead them in their conformity to his will.

Helping them pray your prayer is just the beginning of your journey together. Now you have to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded you.

That's called discipleship. And here at Truth Love Parent, we want nothing more than for you to be an intentional, premeditated, disciple -making parent.

I know I may have inspired more questions than answers, and I'm sorry if my frailty got in the way of God's truth today.

Please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll do my best to explain what the Bible says about this subject, and if I have to,

I'll do another episode to address your questions and concerns. But to simplify the idea, here are the takeaways.

Number one, your most important task is to introduce your children to God and pray that they choose to follow him.

Help them answer the most important question, are you a follower of Christ? And two, you need to guide your born -again children through the sanctification process by discipling them.

If they can't answer the question, how do you know you're born again, then you need to help them understand the doctrine of sanctification.

I suggest starting in the book of 1 John and moving to James. Study them as a family so that everyone will understand that humans are saved by grace through faith, but true faith will always work itself out in conformity to God's will through God's power.

Please follow the link in the descriptions for our episode notes. Hopefully they will help. You can also check out David Platt's video and Dr.

MacArthur's sermon, and don't forget how important it is to rate and review us on iTunes. If you haven't done that yet, please take a handful of seconds.

Open up iTunes on your computer or device, search for Truth Love Parent, and click on ratings and reviews.

And we thank you in advance for partnering with us to apply God's truth to families. God offers salvation to all, but only those who actually want what

God is truly offering can have it. Don't hang your children's eternal destiny on a prayer, found it on the

Holy Spirit's work. Truth Love Parent is part of the

Evermind Ministries family and is dedicated to helping you become an intentional premeditated parent.

Join us next time as we search God's Word for the truth your family needs today.