Saved at the age of 3

[brosmith]

We had a missionary come to our church Sunday night and, while he was giving his testimony, he said that he got saved at the age of 3. I myself find this hard to believe and consider it to be an insult to my intelligence. We have 10 children and none of them were ready to be saved at 3, 4, or 5 years of age. My wife said that I should have asked him if he was still in diapers or was he potty trained when he got saved.

[Brother Rick]

You never know, I doubt it too, but God is the judge.

Either way, if He trusts in Christ for salvation, he's saved. Who cares when it happened.

My four year old wants to get saved. She calls it "asking Jesus". She stood on her top bunk bed yesterday, which put her about seven feet in the air, and said, "When I'm old I will be this big and I will ask Jesus." Our concern now is that she's in love with the idea of getting saved, and we hope that when the time comes she'll actually have the right heart for it.

[Pastor Matt]

While the majority of people are not ready to be saved at the age of 3, I do not think that it can be counted out as impossible. I've seen 3 year olds play the piano and sing better than me. Some kids brain at 3 is more mature than others.

If the brain is mature enough to understand that all he/she has to do is trust in Christ only for salvation, then it is possible.

[John81]

Such a statement does seem to stretch credibility and could certainly make some question the rest of what he says based upon that.

Even young children who think they love Jesus and want to be saved it seems often realize later in life that they really didn't understand back then as they come to true salvation in Christ in their teens, 20s or even later.

[heartstrings]

5And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.


2And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:2-6


One thing about a child; he may not understand everything about a subject, but he can sure believe without reservation. And if a child gets saved at a tender young age, he can begin his Christian life, having never known the depths of sin and the scars that go with it

Edited May 25, 2010 by heartstrings

[HappyChristian]

One thing about a child; he may not understand everything about a subject, but he can sure believe without reservation. And if a child gets saved at a tender young age, he can begin his Christian life, having never known the depths of sin and the scars that go with it

Exactly! It's one thing if a parent is badgering a child about getting saved and so the child will pray a prayer. But what if the child comes to the parent? What if the child comes to the parent and says, "I just asked Jesus to wash away my sins..." without any prompting from the parent? Children are full of wonder and belief - something that, sadly, wears off the older we get. If a child hears that they are sinners (and by 3, most know when they do wrong...) and realize that only Jesus can cleanse those sins and turns to Him, isn't that salvation?

I'm sure glad your wife didn't ask him whether he was still in diapers or potty trained...that just doesn't seem too gracious a comment to me!!

[CPR]

I was saved at the age of 5. I called it "asking Jesus to come into my heart." For me, as I think it is for many young children who are saved, I grew up in the church so that wasn't really a dramatic conversion experience for me. If a child understands that Jesus died for them and has faith, then they will continue to grow in understanding as they mature. I think sometimes people put too much emphasis on a conversion experience. If a child has faith and and prays to Jesus, then it's okay for it to be more of a journey to understanding.

[JerryNumbers]

We had a missionary come to our church Sunday night and, while he was giving his testimony, he said that he got saved at the age of 3. I myself find this hard to believe and consider it to be an insult to my intelligence. We have 10 children and none of them were ready to be saved at 3, 4, or 5 years of age. My wife said that I should have asked him if he was still in diapers or was he potty trained when he got saved.

I would not say its impossible, but its very doubtful. 3 year olds just do not have the understanding.

I know of several who thought they were saved at a young age, when older realized they were not. One of these expresses concern for those who make the claim of being saved at such a young age, the concern was he feared they had a false hope, yet hung on to this false hope feeling to embarrassment to admit they were not saved and redly accept Jesus as their Savior.

[John81]

I would not say its impossible, but its very doubtful. 3 year olds just do not have the understanding.

I know of several who thought they were saved at a young age, when older realized they were not. One of these expresses concern for those who make the claim of being saved at such a young age, the concern was he feared they had a false hope, yet hung on to this false hope feeling to embarrassment to admit they were not saved and redly accept Jesus as their Savior.

I agree.

All things are possible with God but most young children simply can't comprehend the Gospel fully.

Like you, I've know many and read of many more who thought, or were told, that they were saved as a child yet years later the Holy Ghost truly reached them and they realized they were not really saved. I've even read of several cases where pastors and pastors wives, who had been in the ministry for years or even decades, came to realize they were yet lost and in need of being born again.

[CPR]

I agree.

All things are possible with God but most young children simply can't comprehend the Gospel fully.

Like you, I've know many and read of many more who thought, or were told, that they were saved as a child yet years later the Holy Ghost truly reached them and they realized they were not really saved. I've even read of several cases where pastors and pastors wives, who had been in the ministry for years or even decades, came to realize they were yet lost and in need of being born again.

Most children and many adults can't comprehend the Gospel fully, but I don't think this is a prerequisite to salvation. All we have to do is trust in the Lord Jesus. Many children do this with a beautiful and innocent childlike faith that grows and matures as they do. Again, for people who have this experience it is more of a journey than a conversion experience. However, it is erroneous for us to assume that people who claim to be saved as young children are not really saved, thus causing them to question their salvation. I think if a child understands that Jesus died for their sins and rose again that's all that's needed for now.

[John81]

Most children and many adults can't comprehend the Gospel fully, but I don't think this is a prerequisite to salvation. All we have to do is trust in the Lord Jesus. Many children do this with a beautiful and innocent childlike faith that grows and matures as they do. Again, for people who have this experience it is more of a journey than a conversion experience. However, it is erroneous for us to assume that people who claim to be saved as young children are not really saved, thus causing them to question their salvation. I think if a child understands that Jesus died for their sins and rose again that's all that's needed for now.

That's one big "if".

We know from Scripture that many will stand before Chirst proclaiming they did this, that and the other for Him but He will declare that He never knew them and cast them into hell.

I know some Calvinists are more inclined to believe a very young child can be saved since it's their belief that God has predestined their salvation and also predetermined the day as well.

Many think they come to Christ but are not coming to the Christ of the Bible or as the Bible declares they must. A certain amount of understanding is necessary in order to avoid a false profession.

[CPR]

That's one big "if".

We know from Scripture that many will stand before Chirst proclaiming they did this, that and the other for Him but He will declare that He never knew them and cast them into hell.

I know some Calvinists are more inclined to believe a very young child can be saved since it's their belief that God has predestined their salvation and also predetermined the day as well.

Many think they come to Christ but are not coming to the Christ of the Bible or as the Bible declares they must. A certain amount of understanding is necessary in order to avoid a false profession.

I don't think it's that big of an "if".

Plenty of children grow up learning the story of Jesus from day one and come to an understanding and different times. Salvation is a free gift and all we must do is accept it. It really doesn't take that much understanding to take the initial step. According to the Bible all we must do is "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." A very young child certainly has the mental capacity to have faith in Jesus and understand that he died for his/her sins. The basic concept is pretty simple, but we like to complicate it as adults. Sure, there is much more to understand and since we love God we will study and increase our understanding. But that is what we should do whether we are 3 or 83. As long as there is faith in Jesus, the rest can be a process as the child matures. It has nothing to do with being a Calvinist or any other such label.

[John81]

I don't think it's that big of an "if".

Plenty of children grow up learning the story of Jesus from day one and come to an understanding and different times. Salvation is a free gift and all we must do is accept it. It really doesn't take that much understanding to take the initial step. According to the Bible all we must do is "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." A very young child certainly has the mental capacity to have faith in Jesus and understand that he died for his/her sins. The basic concept is pretty simple, but we like to complicate it as adults. Sure, there is much more to understand and since we love God we will study and increase our understanding. But that is what we should do whether we are 3 or 83. As long as there is faith in Jesus, the rest can be a process as the child matures. It has nothing to do with being a Calvinist or any other such label.

Being saved is indeed easy but it's not as simplistic as you make out. If such were the case the Bible would be untrue in saying that few will make it to heaven while most will be condemned to hell.

Hearing Bible stories about Jesus and truly understanding what it means to be saved, who Jesus really is and what that means are different. Millions have heard the Bible stories about Jesus and still don't know who Jesus really is or what salvation is really about. Of course, if you take a more Calvinist view, less understanding is necessary.

[Anon]

My mom was saved at the age of four but my kids so far have not been ready until age 5/Kindergarten age. I do think that the more mature your intelligence is, the better chance there is to get saved earlier on.

After all, if a 3 year old child is smart and God is convicting them of sin and their need for Christ, who are we to think they should wait? I hope that nOBody made him copy a prayer and then told him the rest of his life he was saved, but if he says he is saved, then there's no reason to doubt that because its between him and God. Unless his life does not show fruit of salvation, I guess, but it sounds like it does.

[Annie]

I was saved at the age of 5. I called it "asking Jesus to come into my heart." For me, as I think it is for many young children who are saved, I grew up in the church so that wasn't really a dramatic conversion experience for me. If a child understands that Jesus died for them and has faith, then they will continue to grow in understanding as they mature. I think sometimes people put too much emphasis on a conversion experience. If a child has faith and and prays to Jesus, then it's okay for it to be more of a journey to understanding.

Well said, CPR. I do not know the "date and time" of my conversion, but I've never doubted for a moment that I'm a child of God. My four year old insists that he is "saved." (My husband, after preaching a message which happened to include the gospel, looked up and saw him kneeling by his chair, praying that God would forgive him of his sins.) Well, only God knows, but I'm not agonizing over whether or not he is...He's certainly taking steps in that direction, and I'm grateful for that. As his understanding of doctrine increases, we are praying that he will continue to affirm what he is being taught, and will grow into a rock-solid faith that cannot be shaken later in his life. Of course, somewhere along that line, he will consciously respond to the gospel by accepting its truth, repenting of his sins and placing his faith in Christ's finished work for salvation.

Side note: Our three older kids (ages 11, 10, and 7) have all made professions of faith, but we are holding them off on baptism (public profession before the church) and participation in the Lord's Table until later...until both they and we are sure that they have reached an adequate understanding of what Christianity is, and are sure that they have made a conscious, properly informed decision to follow Christ, no matter what the cost. I can understand why others might do things differently, but I believe our approach helps to avoid some of the pitfalls we've seen some of our Baptist brethren run into...constant doubting, trusting in a "date and time" or a "prayer" instead of the finished work of Christ, repeated professions/baptisms, etc. I don't know...Maybe our kids will still struggle, which won't be a bad thing, if the struggle is based on truth instead of a works-based salvation mentality ("Did I say the right words?" "Did I really understand?" "Did I really repent?" What if I don't remember what I said? etc.). We work with so many kids and teens that ask these questions, and really never reach full assurance of salvation, because it's all about them, and not about what Christ did for them. Edited May 26, 2010 by Annie