The article appears at a time when several popular speakers and writers launched similar attacks on the "asking Jesus" or "praying the prayer" events that are found common in millions of Christians salvation experience over the years. These attacks are rooted in the Calvinist approach to Theology and are Reformed in their nature. They stem from a Protestant background with a disdain for the revival movements of years gone by. They make huge generic assumptions which seemingly reinforce their idea of how salvation works and the method of.
Young couples void of much background are quick to grasp at this different approach for several reasons. They have heard of abuse in the past when people were coerced into emotional responses to a sermon or event that said "if you want to go to heaven, do xyz". I understand that past and have fought to change the damage that a few have done. I also know first hand that this damage is NOT widespread. Evangelists have been men of honor and servants of the Lord for years. Though you can always find a bad one, the good ones far out number the bad! I personally detest the lumping of all evangelists into a bad category and find the generalizations that do appalling and arrogant; and lacking in Biblical conduct.
Parents who God has blessed with children have a huge spiritual responsibility. This begins with the sharing of God's plan for the world and the gift of Jesus. Teaching the Biblical truths of sin and the effects of. Clearly acknowledging that Hell is a real place and the place where sinners who have NOT experienced God's Salvation in Jesus spend eternity must be taught and reinforced. In this, parents beg for God to save their children. We pray and talk. We place them in vibrant ministry environments so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is heard over and over again. We desire with all our being for our children to experience salvation in Jesus Christ. And this we should do!
Enter time warp to NOW. Suddenly people in popular positions and influence are teaching that which is different than what we have been taught or are currently hearing. We read articles such as this that without a deep background in the Word of God would make us cringe and fearful. No where in the article is the "how to" told. No where is hope given that Salvation will come. I find this frightening. With all the complaints of the past ideas and approaches, with all the glory of the so called re-captured Gospel, there is NO plan. Tell the history. Just tell the history.
The reason for this is that the author, and those who think like him, actually believe that you are either born being saved or you are born with NO hope of ever being saved. No decision is required. It is a settled thing with God and Jesus only died for the elect. So you are either elect at birth or lost, damned to Hell for eternity.
Parents beware! The Bible does NOT teach this.
Jesus repeatedly offers salvation to all who will receive. John 3:16 is right the way you have heard it; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that who so ever believes on Him shall NOT perish, but have everlasting life!" The Bible goes on to say in Philippians 2:12; that we should "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling".
Salvation is too serious an issue to be tossed around with ideas that lead people down paths of NOT calling others to repentance; especially their own children. I know without a doubt that God knows who will be saved and who will not. He desires all. Yet He knows some will NOT respond to His Holy Spirit and accept His gift. But it is offered to ALL!
Our church has overhauled our ministry to children for this very reason. We do not coerce children into emotional decisions. We do however teach what the Bible says about sin, Hell, and Heaven. We teach that without repentance, their is NO remission of sin. That only Jesus can save you. We teach that when the Holy Spirit convicts, one needs to respond. We teach the Gospel from the Gospel perspective and NOT from a Reformed Protestant view. We give children and all people Jesus and call them to respond as God leads. We have two and often three staff members deal with children to make sure to the best of our human ability that the child is responding to the call of God and NOT making a decision out of fear of Hell or "wanting" to go to Heaven.
I cannot imagine the idea of a parent doing anything but the above. Nor can I grasp a church that would NOT do the same. I respectfully and emphatically deny that the article critiqued has any validity and I firmly believe it leads parents down a dangerous path, thus their children.
Parents beware! Your children's eternal destination is at stake. Don't put another stumbling block in front them.
4 comments:
" In this, parents beg for God to save their children. We pray and talk. We place them in vibrant ministry environments so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is heard over and over again. We desire with all our being for our children to experience salvation in Jesus Christ. And this we should do!"
I agree...but since you reject God's absolute sovereignty in the salvation of man, why would you "beg God to save" anybody? According to your theology, man makes the final decision in whether or not to be saved.
Shane, you wrote: "but since you reject God's absolute sovereignty in the salvation of man, why would you "beg God to save" anybody? According to your theology, man makes the final decision in whether or not to be saved."
No where have I ever stated this. Nice try and twisting the actual beliefs of some you do not know. But I am used to that.
I hesitate to post this because long-winded commenters rarely engender spiritual growth or edify the believers, which happen to be the two reasons you give for why you blog. But hesitation has to give way to action at some point, so I’d like to offer a few thoughts and hopefully an encouragement or two along the way.
I’ll list the quote from the post, then my reaction underneath…
“These attacks are rooted in the Calvinist approach to Theology and are Reformed in their nature. They stem from a Protestant background with a disdain for the revival movements of years gone by.”
===Kennedy’s article never once mentioned Calvin or any Reformed confession of faith. Nor did it denigrate any great revival moment of years gone by. One thing he does do is go to great lengths to show the plethora of passages related to salvation, giving special attention to the necessity of repentance and faith.
Does not the “sinner’s prayer” stem from a Protestant background? Don’t all Southern Baptists stem from a Protestant background? I, for one, am particularly fond of the Protestant backdrop…most of the time.
“Young couples void of much background are quick to grasp at this different approach for several reasons.”
===Jared is a pastor at a church that has hundreds of young couples, many of whom come from a theologically rich and vibrant past. I am one of them. His congregation is as biblically astute as any I’ve ever known [younger or older]. It seems a bit disingenuous to dismiss such a wide swath of people because they find a “different approach” to be more attractive in light of their conscience and biblical convictions.
“Evangelists have been men of honor and servants of the Lord for years. Though you can always find a bad one, the good ones far out number the bad! I personally detest the lumping of all evangelists into a bad category and find the generalizations that do appalling and arrogant; and lacking in Biblical conduct.”
===The article had nothing to do with good or bad evangelists. The article had more to do with the practice of preaching to and teaching children the gospel. The author was careful to point out that the phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” can be a dangerous way of calling someone to faith. It can be. There is a possible way to do this poorly. It had nothing to do with evangelists, many of whom I am sure Jared would be thankful and promote.
In praying for my own children, I often use it as a tool to teach them about God and the way he acts in the world…especially as it regards salvation. My kids are 3 & 1, which makes any amount of concentrated prayer with them almost as difficult as an Olympic decathlon, but I try pray for them the way the Bible teaches me to pray for myself. I figure that if I do that, then my prayers will probably be good prayers, and in the process my boys will also learn about God and how he works in the world.
Here is what I am thinking as I am praying for and before my children:
I pray that the Spirit would work in my son to open his heart and mind to God and his word. I know he is only a child, but what good would happen if God didn’t do this? I pray for this because that "want to" only comes from God. So I pray Psalm 119.36, "Incline my son’s heart to Your testimonies and not to gain." I want my son to know God as he really is and not just what I am able to fumble out of my mouth, so I pray Psalm 119.18: "Open this child’s eyes, that he may behold wonderful things from Your law." Then I pray that my kids would be made so happy, so filled with joy at the wonderful things of God that his heart would be moved to respond. Only God can make this happen, so I go to Ephesians 1.18, which teaches me to pray "That the eyes of his heart may be enlightened." But I don't just want my kids to be happy in their own little private world with the Lord. I want their happiness to overflow into love for others, especially their mother! I want them to be known for their joy in the salvation they have in Christ. Where does that strength and joy come from? It comes from God. So Ephesians 3.16 teaches me to pray, "That God would grant them, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit." And before I am finished praying for them I always make it clear that God wants them to live by faith, doing good deeds for others so that the glory of God will be seen in their lives. And in case they get anxious or seem burdened, I remind them of the One who produces these good deeds: God does. So Colossians 1.10 teaches us to pray, "That [we] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord . . . bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” We always pray these requests "in Jesus' name," because God gives these things to us only because Jesus died for sinners like us and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might "freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32).
I want my children to know that only disciples are truly converts. Jesus taught us this, and I want them to listen to Jesus. I want them to witness a life devoted to Christ in me, and I endeavor to display that to them in the way I pray for them and with them. The Sinner’s Prayer doesn’t equate to Easy-Believism, which is why Pastor Kennedy said that it “can” be dangerous. But it doesn’t necessarily stifle it either.
Let’s be clear about what we are doing before our children and why we are doing it.
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