Children signing spiritual affidavits

I have never heard of that, but my initial response is God would not want us to profess falsely our love of him at any age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Galatians2:16

16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Signing a paper doesn't make a child have faith.

I personally think it's enough for a child of 5 or 6 to pray the prayer of salvation and be excited about Jesus. There shouldn't be anything formal about it~ a piece of paper isn't going to make them anymore saved or not... and it could drive them away from the Lord because it's too formal....

jgonz said:

I personally think it's enough for a child of 5 or 6 to pray the prayer of salvation and be excited about Jesus. There shouldn't be anything formal about it~ a piece of paper isn't going to make them anymore saved or not... and it could drive them away from the Lord because it's too formal....

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I agree.

I would fight against it even being raised as an idea in my church. If it was allowed to get as far as asking the kids the church leadership and I would be having a serious discussion about what is,a nd what is not, within the bounds of the church's authority concerning the children in our congregation.

God doesn't need it in writing. I'm not ok with my child feeling as though they need to prove their faith in anyway to anyone else.

I don't know, is this in a way similar to a baptism certificate?
if so, I see nothing wrong with it.

jgonz said:

I personally think it's enough for a child of 5 or 6 to pray the prayer of salvation and be excited about Jesus. There shouldn't be anything formal about it~ a piece of paper isn't going to make them anymore saved or not... and it could drive them away from the Lord because it's too formal....

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A neat idea they should do with that is make them put their thumbprint on the paper & it can be a reminder to them. Makes it more personable. A church we use to attend did this to the whole congregation in our Bibles. It was really neat.

MsDahl said:

It is a requirement in order to be part of my local Christian homeschooling group. It didn't settle right in my spirit though. I wasn't sure if I was being too analytical though (I can be guilty of this occasionally).

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That wouldn't sit well with me either.

Gasp, what would they think if they found out you had an affinity for a deceased actress with a questionable reputation.

MsDahl said:

It is a requirement in order to be part of my local Christian homeschooling group. It didn't settle right in my spirit though. I wasn't sure if I was being too analytical though (I can be guilty of this occasionally).

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I would be really unhappy with this. Is there any way you can still be a part of the group without getting your child to sign this form. It doesn't seem right to me. I don't think God would be worried about paper forms, he looks at the heart. Also why are they asking for this to be signed by a child? It is enough for a young child to learn about Jesus and have a desire to want to know more and learn to pray, they shouldn't be expected to sign a form like this.

Personally I would be looking at attending another group if it was an option.

It's a Requirement?! Yikes, I'd be running the other direction.....

Absolutly Not! At 5 And 6 I Do Not Believe They Have The Full Understanding Yet As To What It Is They Are Signing, Nor Do I Believe They Fully Understand The Meaning Of Signing Such Things. They Are Only 5 And Or 6. At That Age I Didn't Even Fully Get Right From Wrong, Or Understand The Full Meaning Of Consequences (?sp) If You Know What I Mean. Um I Knew A Little About My Belief But Not To The Extent Of What I Did When I Was 8 Or 10 Or Even Now. I Know The Basics That Jesus Died For My Sins And That We Need To Be Good And Do Our Best To Follow His Comands (10 Commandments) The Basics But Nothing In Depth. Hope This Makes Scence

That is far too young for a child to be making an actual decision on his/her own....which is how Jesus would like people to make their decisions for him, no? It's a manipulative and ignorant requirement, IMO.

I think it's a little weird.

At this stage my children are soon to be 7 and 3. Both are too young to stay at home, so therefore they come to church with me.

The other way I look at it is that at church they are taught to live a Christian life, they are not forced to make a decision (if they were forced to make a decision in Sunday school we would really be annoyed) when they are old enough to stay home by themselves, then that is what we will let them do. At this stage we are happy to say that both kids love coming to church, and love the kids activities that they attend, so for now we all attend as a family and that's the way it is.

peace in the vally said:

Absolutly Not! At 5 And 6 I Do Not Believe They Have The Full Understanding Yet As To What It Is They Are Signing, Nor Do I Believe They Fully Understand The Meaning Of Signing Such Things. They Are Only 5 And Or 6. At That Age I Didn't Even Fully Get Right From Wrong, Or Understand The Full Meaning Of Consequences (?sp) If You Know What I Mean. Um I Knew A Little About My Belief But Not To The Extent Of What I Did When I Was 8 Or 10 Or Even Now. I Know The Basics That Jesus Died For My Sins And That We Need To Be Good And Do Our Best To Follow His Comands (10 Commandments) The Basics But Nothing In Depth. Hope This Makes Scence

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tiredwalker said:

That is far too young for a child to be making an actual decision on his/her own....which is how Jesus would like people to make their decisions for him, no? It's a manipulative and ignorant requirement, IMO.

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I do not think it's right to make a child sign an affidavit of faith, no...I'd never want to be part of a group that seemed so legalistic.

BUT, my own children chose Jesus and were baptised at what many would probably consider a young age. My oldest was 7...my youngest was 6...separate occasions...when they professed their faith. They were both baptized soon after.

I would NEVER question their faith. And I would never question their status in the eyes of God. Their relationship with Him is their own. They were not pressured into professing their faith. And my oldest very clearly heard God speaking to her...calling her to Him. She was 7...very young in the eyes of some...but she was obedient to Him.

God does not require "full understanding" before we're saved, or before we accept Jesus. He calls to us and reaches out to us...and hopefully we listen. He doesn't with hold His gift from us until we have "full understanding"...in fact, most adults I know don't have anywhere close to "full understanding."

He asks us to come to Him with the heart of a child...pure and trusting...relying not on evidence that we've compiled and the knowledge that we've gathered about Him...but on pure faith.

The innocent heart of a child, IMO, is therefore just as worthy, if not more, of receiving the gift that God offers to us all. I think often we don't give children enough credit for "understanding" the nature of God. Sometimes I think they understand it all much more clearly than any of us with "full understanding" do.


I'm not being argumentative, lol...I only quoted the above posts because they make the gears in my head start turning.

No I dont think its right. I would post my reasons but they mirror what everyone else has said.