Question from a reader:
If a young child accepts Jesus into their heart and in the following years never again mention or express a desire to follow God, is their name still in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Will they go to Heaven when they die?
Answer from Eternal Perspective Ministries
Perhaps your question is prompted by love for someone in your life. It can be so hard when we don't see fruit in the life of a loved one who we hoped would actively choose to follow Jesus.
Nowhere does Scripture indicate that someone can repeat the words of a prayer but not show any signs of being changed by a relationship with Jesus. Second Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
Something radical and transformative happens when someone chooses to follow Christ; Jesus calls it being born again (John 3:3). While salvation is 100% His work, and we can’t contribute to it, as a joyful result of being His disciples, we are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus daily (Matthew 16:24). Jesus tells us that following Him isn’t easy, but it is invaluable. He says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8).
Got Questions has a Q&A answering, “Is it biblical to ask Jesus into your heart?” As they say there, we have to be careful when presenting the gospel, especially to children. The last thing we want to communicate is that someone can live for themselves, show no fruit of knowing Jesus, and still be saved and go to Heaven because of a sentence they repeated as a child. It’s important to share the accurate biblical message and explain what it means to believe in Jesus. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
We don't know if the person behind your question is still living, but one of our staff members, Doreen, answered a reader’s question, “How do I find peace when I'm worried about the salvation of my family?” Here’s her response. Also see this: Ask Pastor John. If someone is still alive, there is hope, and we can pray that God does a miracle of grace in their life.
It’s good to remember that God can see into someone’s heart and knows all. If the person behind your question is no longer living, we pray that the knowledge of God's sovereignty will be a comfort to you. God is good and He is the righteous and perfect Judge, who alone is qualified to judge human hearts. Abraham said in Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” As Randy puts it, this is “a rhetorical question that assumes and demands a ‘yes’ answer."
Worrying about the salvation of loved ones who have died is not a burden we were made to carry. It's not easy, but we can entrust ourselves to the Lord and leave our pain in His loving hands: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken” (Psalm 55:22).
May God's love and presence comfort you and give you peace.
