Let's look at Matthew 18:2-6:

"And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea."'

According to this passage, there are "little ones" who believe in Jesus--They-may not manifest all the fruits of the Spirit or lead the family devotions, but we know they are saved. How do we know? One can be assured of a child's salvation the same way one is assured of an adult's salvation.

(1) The Scriptures affirm it! For example, Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved."

(2) The Spirit testifies to the fact that you are saved. Romans 8:14, 16 says, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God."

(3) Others who look at your life will see your Christ-like testimony. Jesus said in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:20), "You will know them by their fruits."

Some of the fruits of a Christian's life are: loving God, longing to talk to Him and to be alone with Him and studying His Word. Saved ones enjoy being around others who love God. Why? Their lives have changed and they are new creatures in Christ. They have been transformed! This is true of children and adults. They may be at different levels in their Christian growth, but they are all saved just the same.

This is made abundantly clear in 1 John 2:12-14:

"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one as you are strong in the Word."

This passage is not referring to the chronological age of the believer, but rather to the individual's level of spiritual maturity. People of all ages can be saved, but their growth in the faith is dependent on their persistence in the Word. While a "little one" is not a spiritual "young man" or "father", his sins are still forgiven and he will go to heaven when he dies.

Remember this: James 1:13 says, "God cannot be tempted by evil." Jesus, when He was on this earth, was the incarnate God. Because of who He was, He could not be tempted by sin or evil. Thus He could not sin because He was God.

Consider this: Jesus, as a man, was tempted to the limit, yet He never gave in to the temptation. The temptation ran its full course. When Satan tempted Jesus, He suffered temptation beyond any point we will ever experience. How do we know this? The Scripture says, "He was at all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). We are tempted -to a certain point, then many times yield to the temptation, thereby sinning. Jesus took the full fury of every temptation to the limit, yet never yielded; thus, He never sinned. (Temptation is not sin; yielding to the temptation is sin.)

Know this: Jesus was tempted. That is a fact. How? That is a mystery. But the reality is, He never sinned!

Think about this: Some people say that Jesus had a body similar to the one Adam had before the "fall". This is not true! Jesus, in His incarnation, did not have a "pre-fall" body like Adam's. Galatians 4:4 says Jesus was "born of a woman." Adam was not born of a woman; his body was created out of the dust. These are two totally different kinds of bodies. While on earth, Jesus took on human flesh that could sense all of the things passed on by Adam in the fall. However, Jesus did not have a sin nature like Adam's, but He could sense pain, sorrow and death. Adam, before the fall, could not experience these things because he was in a state of perfect innocence. Christ took on a "post-fall" type body, minus the sin nature, that could experience the full sensations of temptation, yet without sin. (In theological circles, this is called the "Doctrine of Impeccability" referring to the sinlessness of Christ)