Notes from R. C. Sproul Jr pre-conference session on ‘Evangelising your Children’ from the Ligonier Ministries 2008 National Conference.
Different denominations have different perspectives on the state of their children in the kingdom of God (Anglican – already ‘in’; Presbyterian – in the church but not sure whether they are all the way in; Baptist – outside). But all regardless of which camp you’re in, the same obligation applies, we must preach the gospel. Children need to hear the gospel because they need to repent and believe. The gospel is not something we master once. Repent and believe the gospel is the answer to every problem there is.
Model Repentance
We need to model for our children what the Christian gospel is like. We need to model repenting and believing. One way is by modelling repentance for our sinfulness within the home.
Model Forgiveness
We need to model for our children what forgiveness looks like. In the process of disciplining your children, do your children walk away forgiven and knowing they are forgiven? Do you take the opportunity to remind them how their heavenly Father feels about their sin and instead of them being punished, God punished his son. R.C. Sproul Jr. says that after he disciplines his children he gives them a big hug, a kiss on the check, and then tells them that he forgives them and that he loves them, loved them while disciplining them, and will always love them.
When do you do this? All the time from the moment the child is conceived (Deuteronomy 6). Our homes should be infused with a Christian culture. We need to tell our children the gospel truth from the beginning, to speak of these things all the time, even before they are born. None of us have it in us to embrace and believe the gospel. The only way is a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. So who are we to think that a child in the womb can’t be saved by God?
The single most important thing we can do is pray for our children. Augustine’s mother prayed daily and fervently for her son. Our prayers can and do change the world.
Alex Chediak live-blogged this session HERE.
