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Can a young child become a Christian?
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I'm confused.
You mean because God told them to not eat of the tree, he was setting them up for failure?
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concretecamper
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People become Christian through the Sacrament of Baptism. So yes, infants/young children can become Christian.Can a young child truly be saved and on their way to Heaven? Can he or she be in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, one of those who is a genuine believer?
A Christian educator once said that the faith of a child — up to age 12 — could be called a “borrowed faith”; this faith could be borrowed from his parents or a Sunday school teacher. Then, in his early teens, the child would develop their “chosen faith,” ultimately moving on to their “owned faith.”
Now, when we think of a borrowed faith, do we also think of it as a saving faith? Not exactly, and not something you’d want to count on when you’re not totally confident.
Let’s see what Jesus had to say about children’s salvation. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-4).
Okay, so the disciples have a different question than I originally posed; they want to know who’s the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus calls a little child. In case you question whether this really is a young child, the Greek word is paidión, which means “little” or “young.” So, he didn’t just call a child, he called a little child. Now remember, in that culture, a 13-year-old boy enters manhood. Young people were married at 16. So, if they are calling a child little, they mean little.
Continued below.
Can a young child become a Christian?
Can a young child truly be saved and on their way to Heavenwww.christianpost.com
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johansen
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children are not saved until they are born again, and from a more stringent position that some on this forum have argued about:
no one is saved until after they are ressurected, so, no one has been saved yet.
so with regard to children who have no knowledge of their own sin, (which is like 1 year of age) they, under the law or the rules, do not become guilty of sin until they become aware they have sinned.
children who die are more likely to accept Jesus' offer of forgiveness after they die than adults are, who intentionally sinned, hardened their heart, and refused to acknowledge Jesus.
so yes, technically i believe salvation for the innocent after death. but we need to define these terms better.
many Christians believe they are saved, but are not born again and do not understand the internal regeneration available to them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. they, like my mom for decades of her life, pray to jesus for forgiveness of sin, they feel at peace.. and thats it. their relationship goes no further. i presume they will be "saved" and end up in heaven.
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johansen
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you need to define these terms better so people don't ague about it.
what is baptism to you? is it a cerimony performed in a church? is it only in a catholic church? do you have to have full immersion? does the pastor have to say all the words correctly? what if he forgets to say one of them?
or do you mean people become christian by being born again? (baptism of the heart through the transformation power of the Holy Spirit)
these are all things people have pedantically argued about on this forum and many others and it divides many denominations.
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concretecamper
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I think I was pretty clear when I said THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
1. It doesn't matter what it is to me.
2. It doesn't have to be only on the Catholic Church
3. Full immersion, where do you get that requirement?
4. The words are important, just as Christ commanded
5. Christ gave us the words, it is therefore imperative.
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johansen
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and yet.. you didn't actually answer the most important question:
or do you mean people become christian by being born again? (baptism of the heart through the transformation power of the Holy Spirit)
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concretecamper
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I answered your question.
The ONLY WAY people can become CHRISTIAN is through the Sacrament of Baptism.
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johansen
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well, no you didn't. and, don't seem to want to, as everything in the text is a physical thing people do. lots of folks get baptized. some as infants. some even turned into serial killers.
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d taylor
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Actually this thread is misnamed as to what i believe the actual question is. The title of the thread is asking this question - Can a young child become a Christian?
So according to The Bible a Christian is a believer who is following Jesus in their lives as they are committing to lie as Jesus lived.
A Christian is not a person who has believed in Jesus for Eternal Life, that is a born again child of God (a believer). The Christian is a mature believer who is living their life as Jesus lived.
But not every believer is a Christian
So if a child is already a believer and then they are living their life as Jesus lived His, then they can be called a Christian. If they are not living a life like Jesus then they are a born again child of God but not actually a Christian.
A believer can be a Christian, but also a person who identifies as a Christian. May have never actually believed in Jesus for Eternal Life. So they may identify as a Christian but they are not even actually in the family of God, because they have never believed in Jesus for Eternal Life and received God's free gift of His life.
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Just as an FYI and to be clear, the majority of the Christian world does not accept your view of what it means to be "born again". The Catholics, the Orthodox, and the groups of Protestants who derive from the original splits (Anglicans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians etc) all understand Christ is speaking about literal Baptism here with water. We are "born again" through the Sacrament of Baptism. It is a minority view that he is not speaking of literal Baptism.
There is no such thing as "baptism of the heart" mentioned in Scripture. Just Baptism. And Baptism by definition is a ritual with real water.
Jesus chides Nicodemus for being a teacher of Israel and yet he doesn't understand that to be 'born again' of water and the Spirit means that once again, the Holy Spirit and water (literal water) must come together to recreate us. The Old Testament is full of these examples, beginning in the second verse when at the first creation "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters”. Our first creation is literally by water and the Holy Spirit. We see it at the great flood when water (literal water) destroys the earth and recreates it (and Noah sends forth a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit to see if the work was completed (Genesis 8:8-12). Water (literal water) and the Holy Spirit creating and re-creating.
Prior to this encounter with Nicodemus in John's Gospel we have just seen the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove at the Baptism of Christ (literal water) in John 1:32. Immediately after we see Jesus and his disciples beginning to baptize people (John 3:22-23) with literal water. But since this is the baptism of Christ instead of John, we know it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). Water (literal water) and the Holy Spirit are how people are being "born again".
Being "born again" means becoming a "new creation" as St. Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:17. And he is quite clear throughout his writings that the way we become a new creation 'in Christ" is through Baptism ((Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:27).
A correct understanding of what it means to be "born again" would seem to me to be the most important question.
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He knew they had free will. But they also had an intimate and close relationship with God and therefore the capacity to exercise that free will to choose Him over sin. Their failure to do so placed not only themselves but the entire world under the bondage of sin. It's why the entire world has been "groaning in travail" as St. Paul puts it in Romans 8:22. We do not walk in the freedom they had to choose God. We are dependent upon God's grace to restore and save us.
And that would include infants who are born into a fallen world. They too are part of the entire world who is "groaning in travail" because of the acts of our first parents and must be saved from the human condition.
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I'll ask you the same question still not answered:
St. Paul wrote
Rom 10: 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If the ONLY WAY is through Baptism - why did St. Paul not mention Baptism?
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Fortunately for me, you are not the One who can judge that.
I would however caution against believing that you can put yourself in His place by making such a claim.
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johansen
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go read the chapters.. they talk all about it.
heart of flesh to replace your heart of stone.
a new spirit that calls out to your father..
etc.
its pretty simple, those chapters are fulfilled in Jesus's baptism of the Holy Spirit.
there was a partial fulfillment in John's baptism for repentance. which seems to be what many are stuck in.
anyone can walk into a church and get baptized. it doesn't do anything for someone who is not willing to actually follow Jesus.
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RamiC
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"The baptism of the Holy Spirit may be defined as that work whereby the Spirit of God places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was predicted by John the Baptist (Mark 1:8) and by Jesus before He ascended to heaven: “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4); for the first time, people were permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and the church had begun."What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? | GotQuestions.org
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