“When I was four or five, my mother prayed with me to accept Jesus as my Savior. When I was twelve, I went forward and rededicated my life to the Lord. College was really hard on my faith as I fell in with the partying crowd. Then I went through an ugly divorce (or more) and fell away from the Lord. But now I want to get back to church and do what I know to be right.”If I have heard that testimony once, I have heard it 20 times. It is often followed by the person coming to church for a few weeks and then they begin to miss a few Sundays for work, camping, and family in town, followed by 2-6 months of no-shows, and then usually, they wind up at another church for a brief season of no commitment.
So let me get this straight. God saved you at 4 and you proceeded to live the majority of the next 40 years of your life in rebellion to Him?
What about the verses in the Bible that teach when God saves a person, He does it to conform them to the image of His Son – to make them look more and more like Jesus? Romans 8:29
What about the verses that talk about how when you become a good tree, you will produce good fruit and cannot bring forth bad fruit? Matt. 7:17
What about the verses in the Bible that talk about when God has a Son that He loves, He will chasten them and bring about sanctification in their life? Heb 12:6 FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, AND SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
I believe the answer to these questions is that you need to examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith or not. You can say whatever you want to but I do not believe that children are converted at the ages of 4-5. God can do whatever He wants and save whoever he wants, but a 4 year old needs to be converted just like a 40 year old with the same gospel, and I don’t see it happening with ANYWHERE near the frequency that so many claim. I have children that are bright and surrounded by the gospel and Scripture more than many I know and the fact is they are not spiritually able to discern the weight of the gospel.
Decisional Regeneration is a plague upon the name of Christ and is filling our churches with lost people.
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Joe, I used to believe in an age of accountability but Ive changed positions on that for lack of a biblical basis. Upon my conversion and understanding of the Sovereignty of God in salvation I have had to resist the urge to lead my children in "the sinners prayer". I think a better approach is to take them to the scriptures in the Bible dealing with salvation and have them read them to me. And as John says, pray with them that God will give them understanding of the verses and what salvation really is.
To God be the Glory!
I know of a deacon of a baptist church in your area that had a year long affair with the pastor's wife, and he hasn't had anything go wrong with his life.
He kept his marriage, his job, his church, his friends. Nothing.
Has he been chastened?
Meanwhile, the girl he slept with life has been ruined. Not to mention the husbands...
Do you think he's saved?
Matthew 7:16-20 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
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