Can young children be saved?

Can young children really be saved and go to heaven? Will he or she, a true believer, be able to be in heaven on earth?

A Christian educator once said that a child’s faith before the age of 12 could be called a “borrowed faith.” This faith may have been borrowed from your parents or your Sunday school teacher. Then, in the early teens, the child develops a “chosen faith” and eventually transitions to a “own faith.”

Now, when we think of borrowed faith, do we also think of it as saving faith? Not exactly, and it’s not something you want to rely on when you’re not completely confident.

Let’s look at what Jesus said about the salvation of children.

Let’s look at what Jesus said about the salvation of children. “Then his disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

And calling the child, he placed him in the midst of them and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Those who humble themselves like this child are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1-4).

Now, the disciples are asking a different question than the one I originally posed. They want to know who is the greatest in heaven. Jesus calls a little child. If you’re wondering if this is really a young child, it’s called paidion, which is Greek for “small” or “young.”

So he didn’t just call a kid, he called a little kid. Now, remember that in that culture, a 13-year-old boy becomes an adult. The young man was married at the age of 16. So even if they call the child small, it means little.

Jesus did not immediately answer the question about greatness. First he said: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” So basically he is saying this. “Folks, before we talk about the wonders of the Kingdom, let’s start by entering the Kingdom.

How do you enter the kingdom?

How do you enter the kingdom? Change and become like a little child. ” Children have an important element of humility that prevents pride from getting in the way of trusting in Jesus.

Let’s go to Mark 10:13-16. “And they were bringing children to be touched, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, he was angry and said to them, “Let the children come to me; let them come to me.” Do not hinder them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such people. Truly I say to you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. ”And he took them in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them. ”

How can we embrace the Kingdom of God like little children?

How can we embrace the Kingdom of God like little children? With simple faith in what Jesus has done for us. It’s a very simple faith. No little child will give you a treatise on faith, but he will respond with faith to the truth.

As adults, we must approach it with the simple faith of a child. So who owes whose faith here? As an adult, I borrow the simple faith of a child. I give up my desire to know and receive any kind of explanation and just put my trust in Jesus.

I’m not advocating throwing your head into a neutral state. If you have a question, you’ll get an answer. But when the time comes to make a decision, the kind of faith that pleases God is the kind of faith that renounces all my actions and truly trusts in God’s ability to remove sin in my place. I am as helpless as I am to do this myself.

The Holy Spirit has the power to change the human spirit in ways we cannot understand or measure.

We can become so immersed in the educational process that we explain away the Spirit of God who stirs our hearts to recognize and respond to truth. He is not limited by age or the growth patterns of the human mind and body. The Holy Spirit has the power to change the human spirit in ways we cannot understand or measure.

So believe the Bible, share the gospel with your little ones, and encourage them to trust in Jesus and accept their statements of faith.

Fred Pry is Vice President of Administration for Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF®), the world’s most influential children’s evangelism ministry, reaching more than 27.4 million children in in-person ministry in 2024. Fred joined CEF in 2003 as Regional Director for Pennsylvania and was later appointed State Director for Virginia. He was then invited to lead the U.S. Department and will serve as Vice President for Administration starting in 2024, providing additional leadership to the organization as a member of CEF’s executive staff.