childlike faith

Childlike Faith

Why does Jesus say that we must have faith like a child to enter into the Kingdom of God? Do we really know as believers what it means to truly act in childlike faith? The subject of faith is so critical in the Christian walk, you cannot even receive Salvation of sins without faith! We must not only understand the subject of faith, but we must act according to our faith as founded upon Scripture.

Religion vs. Kingdom of God

Too many people today rely on head knowledge of God’s Word and mental ascent. Many people think that great faith is just agreeing mentally with the Word of God or reading a bunch of commentaries. We really need to get back to what the Bible says about faith, rather than going along with the man-made religious system of the world. There is a difference between the Kingdom of God and religion. Jesus was against religion, but yet today we cannot let go of traditions in the average church. Jesus did not come to preach a religious system; He came and preached the Kingdom of God!

Childlike Faith Defined

Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 (AMP), “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”. Jesus also stated this in Luke 18:17 (AMP), “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God [with faith and humility] like a child will not enter it at all.”.

Childlike faith is first founded upon repentance, which is a result of when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. We must have godly sorrow when we repent. Godly sorrow always results in a desire to change, when this happens, we humble ourselves and we place our trust in Jesus Christ.  Childlike faith is a place of humility, it is a place of the believer realizing their total dependence on Jesus Christ. Too many people take pride in themselves, and never truly enter into a place of childlike faith.

Childlike faith also means placing our complete trust in Jesus Christ. John 1:14 (AMP) tells us, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).”. Jesus is the logos, the Word of God. We are to place our trust in the Word of God. Our actions should bear the fruit of us trusting in God’s Word.

Our Inheritance as Citizens

I would like to quote what Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 from the Youngs Literal Translation, “Verily I say to you, if ye may not be turned and become as the children, ye may not enter into the reign of the heavens;”. We do not enter into the Kingdom of God after we die and go to Heaven, we enter into the Kingdom of God the moment we become born again. I have talked about how the believer has authority through the name of Jesus Christ, and how we are seated with Christ in Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). When we enter into the Kingdom of God, we must yield to the teaching of the Holy Spirit so that we can come to the knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus and the authority we have inherited. We are called to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, going about doing God’s business on the earth either until we have lived out our length of days or until the Second Coming.

We must enter into the Kingdom of God fully surrendered with childlike faith. We need to be teachable under the teaching of the Holy Spirit and under the teaching of those who God has called and anointed to minister His Word. We must make it a lifestyle of getting into the Word of God daily and meditating upon the Scriptures so that we can come to the knowledge of who we are as citizens of the Kingdom of God.


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