Name: Victoria
Question: Hello Brandon, here I am again with another question. It is heavy on my heart because I have four children and three grandchildren and they didn’t up till now make a decision to follow Jesus Christ. My only hope for them to get saved is based on the word in Acts 16:31: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, AND THY HOUSE.” I’m praying for them because the Lord said, that it is not his intent that any person shall get lost. What’s your opinion about that? By the way… I started studying your topics some days ago and can’t stop. Now so many things get an explanation in my mind, contradictions are wiped out and I can see things confirmed that I had in the backyard of my brain but nobody ever spoke to them. Thanks a lot and blessings to you!
Answer:Â Thank you for the question Victoria and I am glad to hear our studies are helping you.
Unless I am misunderstanding, it sounds like your family now believes in Jesus Christ. If that is the case you have nothing to be concerned about. If they have not accepted Jesus Christ they will need to do that on their own.
Always remember God is the Judge and we do have the Millennium for those who never had the opportunity to hear the Word taught in truth.
Please turn your Bible with me to,
Romans 10:9
9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
You cannot make this decision for them if they have not accepted Christ. They will need to do that themselves. You are correct 2 Peter 3:9 states the Lord is, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This requires action on their part. Now let us look at the verse you pointed out specifically.
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Acts 16:31
31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
With just about every promise from God comes a condition or an “if” statement. Let us read the next couple verses.
Acts 16:32-33
32 “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”33 “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”
They all went and were baptized in the name of Christ. So we can see that everyone in that house accepted Christ themselves and were baptized.
If your family believes in Christ as your question seems to indicate then enjoy their Christian company. If not, then when you can plant seeds here and there, but never force the Word on them. That will only drive them away. I want you to also remember Proverbs 22:6, let us read it together.
Proverbs 22:6
6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
That is a promise from God to you. If you raised your children up with the Lord then they will comeback around. It may take some time. Hang in there Victoria and remind God of His promise to you (Isaiah 43:26).