If you are saved, does this mean your husband and children are???

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron Payne on October 3, 2008 at 1:34am

Hi Paige,

No! They are not saved. The Bible clearly states "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jhn 3:3.

But they do have an advantage in that they will be living in the presence of a Child of God, who has the Holy Spirit living in her/him, teaching them what to say and how to behave in front of them. Finally to extend the Love of God that we have towards them.

I believe that you are referring to 1Co 7:14. "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy."

This does not mean that he has changed morally, but by being married to her sanctification may be considered as imputed to him in order to render their marriage as not unlawful or illegal. The Unbelievers in this verse were considered to be in this holy state by means of their connection with those who were saints by their Christian profession. Therefore these unbelievers were considered sanctified on account of their partners; being a Christian.

Children are saved until they reach an age where they become responsible for their own salvation. They also fall under this imputation of Holiness. But please bare in mind their sanctification is only imputed because of their partner or parents relationship with Christ.

IMPUTE: To attribute or lay at the door of; to ascribe righteousness to a person by the virtues in another.

Your Friend in Christ - Ron

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Permalink Reply by ANNABELLE O. MADAYAG-OANDASAN on October 31, 2008 at 3:38am

Hi Candice,

Thank you for sharing your story. Its so encouraging and am blessed! I am in the same situation with Paige. I and my seven year old daughter Cleo have unceasingly prayed that my husband and the rest of his and my family will also be saved. Truly, our Lord Jesus Christ is so faithful and He hears the prayers of the righteous, I have not lost hope that one day, my husband will also surrender his life to our Lord Jesus Christ. We see the mighty hand of our Lord moving in our family, my husband now joins us in prayer and has remarkably reduced his alcohol intake. In His time, my husband will join me and my kids in our church. I find inspiration and encouragement on God's work in your family. God bless you.

Sis Belle

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Permalink Reply by collen on October 31, 2008 at 4:18am

thankyou to offer me the opportunity to share the will of the lord the most important part of our faith has to be God his word are for those who are willing to follow him he say to ours we have to focus on him and leave our family . Following him means being ignorant to these world when he raise the dead he chase all out but those who knew the power where left whith him. Again when he was told that his family is looking for him he identify his family your family. I know it is not protrying the sense of love of this world but when he give he does not give as the world give. My you take his word that you and your family will be saved and know that the kingdom has been put on his shoulder

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Sue Schenfeld on October 31, 2008 at 2:07pm

And I know that the prayers of these dear saints keep right on working in the lives of the future generations, long after they are in heaven! It's a mystery. God is GOOD! (Hebrews 11:38-40.)

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Sue Schenfeld on October 31, 2008 at 2:10pm

This comment was in responce to the story by Candice about her Grandmother's faith.

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on October 31, 2008 at 10:36am

No. Each one must come to Jesus, individually. The Scripture you are referring to is often taken out of context and applied as a promise to the whole household of every believer. This simply is not the case. You need to be in daily prayer for your husband and children, trusting the Holy Spirit to open their spiritual eyes and for them to respond in surrender to Jesus. I know your children are young, and will I add that I believe (though some here do not and will surely challenge this) that the children are saved until the age of "accoutability," upon which time they are in need of receiving Jesus as Savior in order to be saved. The question then that arises is "when is that age?" The common response is when they recognize personal sin and guilt.

Lord Bless,
LT

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Sue Schenfeld on October 31, 2008 at 1:54pm

Paige,
You have a grave responsibility to raise your little ones up in the nurture & ways of the Lord, so that when they reach that age where they become aware of their need, it will be easy for the Holy Spirit to draw them to Christ. It will be a natural step. To counter the influence of society is no easy task, so your being a 'prayer warrior' is no option! Your husband is NOT automatically saved. (It would be nice if it worked that way!) Press into the Lord for his salvation. You can stand on the scriptures & declare it a 'done deal', but don't assume you have no part in being obedient in your daily life. Don't make the mistake of just doing your own 'church' thing & living separate lives. Strengthen your husband's authority in the eyes of your children. Love this man to God! Be an example of love for & sold-out summission to God. Your husband will be won over by seeing that God gives you the super-natural power to rise above your earthly limits & fleshly attitudes. It's wonderful that your husband is loving & supporting of your faith. Praise God for that! Let your home be an atmoshpere of worship & peace. God bless you dear & give you strength & wisdom.

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Permalink Reply by Ramona P. Jacobsz on November 2, 2008 at 11:54am

I personally do not think that because I am saved my husband and children are also saved. God has given each one of us a free choice... We can accept Jesus or reject Him... IT IS TOTALLY OUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.



Women can try to gently lead their husband and children to Jesus... but there is a saying : YOU CAN TAKE THE HORSE TO THE WATER BUT YOU CANNOT MAKE IT DRINK...

We can pray continuously and earnestly. Monica prayed for 40 years for her son Augustine before he accepted Jesus Christ... His mother prayed him into SAINTHOOD... but the choice was his to make.

We are all very anxious (well I am) that our husband and children and family should all be re-united one day when we meet in heaven. But I have learned to be patient and not push issues. I praise God and thank Him on my knees for all my family who are "saved by Grace".. Because they have accepted Jesus as their Savior. But I cannot force them to go to church and I cannot force them to read the Bible... and I cannot force them to LOVE JESUS!

Don't Accept Too Much Responsibility

As we try to put this whole issue of personal testimony into action, please don't accept too much responsibility. One of the reasons I think people get frightened is that we tend to assume too much responsibility in this whole process.

Do we know why some people think we smell so good? Do we know why we are the aroma of life to some of our friends who are watching our actions? Look at our friends and think, "These people don't like me; these people are drawn to me. What's the difference? Why are these people drawn to me?" Are they drawn to us because we have powerful stories or compelling arguments? No, that's not what's going on at all.

Jesus says in John 6:44 that "no one can come to the Father unless He draws them." The point is that God is at work in the lives of these people, and He is drawing people to Himself. So when someone looks at us and says, "You smell good," it's not because of us, it's because God is at work in their lives--He's drawing people to Himself.

There is balance in all of this. I'm not saying that we should totally be passive. I don't think that there's normally a time where we've shared our stories and then we should just leave it and wonder if they're going to ask us how to be saved. There certainly is a time when we have to take the initiative. We can say, "Would you like to have the same hope that I have? Would you like to have the same power at work in you that is at work in me?" You don't want to push this, there is a balance to all this, but certainly there's a time in which we can ask them the question. There also will be times in which it is obvious that they want to know themselves.

3. Don't become the Holy Spirit

Don't become the Holy Spirit; it's His job to convict people of their sin (John 16:8), not ours. As we are sharing our lives with people, if they're turned off, there is nothing we can do about it because they're dead in their trespasses and sin and only God can quicken, or enliven, their spirits. Do not accept responsibility that is only God's.

Paul Little writes, "It is the Holy Spirit, not we, who converts an individual. We, the privileged ambassadors of Jesus Christ, can communicate a verbal message. We can demonstrate through our personality and life what the grace of Jesus Christ can accomplish, but let us never naively think that we have converted a soul and brought him to Jesus Christ. No one calls Jesus ‘Lord' except by the Holy Spirit."

If you and I share, then we have never failed; we only fail when we don't share. When we share, we've done our part and it's not our job to convict people of their sin; it's not our job to save them; it is not our job to convert them.

If they reject us, what does Jesus say? They are not rejecting us, they are rejecting Jesus. If they reject Jesus, then they are rejecting the One who sent Jesus. So when they are rejecting us, they are not rejecting us; in fact, Jesus says very clearly that when they reject us, we are blessed.

Right after the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:11-12 says, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." You never fail and I never fail if we share; the rest is really up to God, isn't it.

The fact of the matter is Christians are the great cloners of all time, bar none. We were changed in conversion and changed people live changed lives. To some we stink, that's fine, but to some we smell wonderfully and we are to be prepared to tell them why.

As soon as we tell them why, we must ask the most fundamental question, "Would you like to join this journey of real life with me? Would you like to be a follower of Jesus Christ, a child of God? Let me tell you how." Then let God be God and do what only God can do, and that is give life to the dead--this is most natural thing in the world for a Christian.


<:))))>
Your Friend
Ramona P.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on February 1, 2009 at 8:30pm

Hi Ramona,

This is such a beautiful response. Thank you for such a great reminder.

sending you some snow.... Carla

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Permalink Reply by Ramona P. Jacobsz on February 1, 2009 at 10:52pm

THANK YOU DEAREST CARLA
I NEED SOMETHING "DIFFERENT" TODAY... TO UPLIFT ME. MY FRIEND, ISABEL, DIED VERY SUDDENLY AND I AM GRIEVING... SHE LEAVES BEHIND AN 82 YEAR OLD MOTHER WHO WAS HER WHOLE LIFE AND THE OLD LADY WAS ISABEL'S WHOLE LIFE AND PRIMARY INTEREST!

DEATH COMES WITHOUT ANY WARNING - PEOPLE MUST HEED THE VOICE OF JESUS AND BE READY! SO FEW ARE PREPARED TO JOIN HIM ... I JUST PRAY THAT ISABEL WAS SAVED...

FONDEST LOVE IN JESUS

<:))))>
Your Friend
Ramona P.

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Permalink Reply by Carla on February 2, 2009 at 4:14am

Hi Ramona,
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss...especially so soon,

The Lord is holding you.

Much Love, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Karin on November 2, 2008 at 12:28pm

deffinatly!!!! Doesn't the Bible say that: Me and MY HOUSE, we will serve the Lord????? that means included everybody in it! And God THE FATHER is a familyman so He IS saving your WHOLE family. Not just your husband and children, but EVERY member of the whole family. I hope This is the answer you need!

It doesn't say it is seen right now.. But faith is the trust in God and in the things we don't see! you don't see your family believing YET!!! It's on its way!!!! Thank God for it... Every day again!!

Love

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