Question:  Dear Greg,

            My stepdaughter who is 6 years old went to church today and told me she wanted to get saved.  I took her outside to make sure that she understood.  She explained everything to me.  So she went to the altar and got saved today.  Now everyone in my husband’s family, including my husband, doubts that she knew what she was doing. 

            So my question is this: does she really know what happened today?

            Thanks,

            Julie

Answer:  Dear Julie,

            There are many customs and traditions about children being baptized, blessed, given communion, joining a church, completing the catechism, etc.  Some believe in infant baptism.  Their rationale is that there are passages in the Bible that speak of entire households being baptized, that Jesus wanted the children to come to him, that children need to be protected, that parents should be able to dedicate their children to God (all of this with biblical verses in support).  Others say that infants cannot repent, cannot dedicate their lives to God, etc.

            Others favor children making a commitment, making a decision, etc. at school age—ages 6-10—perhaps not baptism, but a commitment.  At times those same people will favor the youth being fully confirmed and baptized at about age 12 or 13.  Again, the objections come from those who believe a youth to be incapable of having a mature relationship with God.  But there are responses from the Bible—Samuel as a youth, Daniel, Timothy, and Mary the mother of Jesus.  While ages are not given, it is evident that many youths in the Bible had a personal relationship with God.

            And of course there are those who believe that only those who are 18, or 21, who can vote, drive a car, get married, fight for their country, etc.—that some legal age should be the minimum when such a decision can be made.

            PTM believes that this is very much a personal and family decision.  We should not be thinking that “one size fits all”—we should not try to make our children’s lives conform to our expectations.  It is clear in the Bible that God deals with each of us in his own way, in his own time.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht