Post by Cindy on Mar 29, 2018 11:16:05 GMT -5
Often when I've talked about how God makes us a new person at Salvation and the ways that we can be assured that we have been saved, people tell me that they've never been able to tell because they were saved as a young child. This really troubles them. They tell me that because they were so young and were raised by godly parents, they've never been aware of how God changed them when they were saved. That's certainly understandable in those circumstances, but I know that the Lord wants us to know for sure, so there had to be a way for them to know as well. After much thought and prayer, I finally realized that we were looking at it the wrong way. A young child is still developing their personality and character, so what we need to look at is other children, especially children that we know are not saved.
Let's say that the person was only 7 0r 8 years old when they were saved. The way they can examine themselves and make sure of their salvation, is to look at their peers in school and see if they act and think the same way those other children do. Do they consistently disobey their parents or teacher like the other children do? Are they consistently mean to other children, like other children are? Are they consistently disrespectful toward their parents, teachers, principal, bus driver, etc? Do they consistently speak badly about other children (gossip) or shun other children or bully others? Or are they consistently loving and helpful to others? Do they obey those who are in authority over them? Do they encourage other children who are having a hard time? Is God a part of their life at school, or is He only part of their life at church or home? Do they talk about God to their classmates and friends? Does it bother them that their friends don't know the Lord? When other children tease them about God, does it cause them to turn away from God or does it make them feel badly for that child? Do they use cuss words? As they get older they can add questions such as, do they dress provocatively? Do they want to do drugs or drink alcohol, get drunk, or do other things like that that many of the other children do?
I'm sure you noticed that I kept putting the word "consistently" in those questions. That's because we all sin and even as a saved child, they will still sin sometimes too. What we're looking for is what they're regular, normal behavior is, not at something that only happened once in a while. By comparing their behavior with the behavior of other children who aren't saved, it should be fairly obvious to them that they aren't like those children. When they examine their life against the life's of other children, they will soon see that they're different - they don't quite fit in anymore. (if they ever did) and that is a great indicator that they have indeed been saved! Being a child doesn't change the fact that they became a new person when they were saved. Nor does it change the fact that God expects them to obey Him and not live the way the rest of the world does. And they must read God's Word daily in order to know what God expects of them. We can't very well obey the Lord if we don't know what His Word says! I hope this helps those who were saved as children to be able to look back at their childhood and see how they were different from the other children, and therefore be assured of their salvation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
““If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:14–16)
Let's say that the person was only 7 0r 8 years old when they were saved. The way they can examine themselves and make sure of their salvation, is to look at their peers in school and see if they act and think the same way those other children do. Do they consistently disobey their parents or teacher like the other children do? Are they consistently mean to other children, like other children are? Are they consistently disrespectful toward their parents, teachers, principal, bus driver, etc? Do they consistently speak badly about other children (gossip) or shun other children or bully others? Or are they consistently loving and helpful to others? Do they obey those who are in authority over them? Do they encourage other children who are having a hard time? Is God a part of their life at school, or is He only part of their life at church or home? Do they talk about God to their classmates and friends? Does it bother them that their friends don't know the Lord? When other children tease them about God, does it cause them to turn away from God or does it make them feel badly for that child? Do they use cuss words? As they get older they can add questions such as, do they dress provocatively? Do they want to do drugs or drink alcohol, get drunk, or do other things like that that many of the other children do?
I'm sure you noticed that I kept putting the word "consistently" in those questions. That's because we all sin and even as a saved child, they will still sin sometimes too. What we're looking for is what they're regular, normal behavior is, not at something that only happened once in a while. By comparing their behavior with the behavior of other children who aren't saved, it should be fairly obvious to them that they aren't like those children. When they examine their life against the life's of other children, they will soon see that they're different - they don't quite fit in anymore. (if they ever did) and that is a great indicator that they have indeed been saved! Being a child doesn't change the fact that they became a new person when they were saved. Nor does it change the fact that God expects them to obey Him and not live the way the rest of the world does. And they must read God's Word daily in order to know what God expects of them. We can't very well obey the Lord if we don't know what His Word says! I hope this helps those who were saved as children to be able to look back at their childhood and see how they were different from the other children, and therefore be assured of their salvation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
““If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:14–16)
!!
