This article shows how most Christian children’s books (even popular, award-winning books) teach false ideas about salvation. You can use this information to choose books that teach the truth.

For many years Satan has been attacking God’s truth of salvation. He uses different tactics for different purposes. One of his most effective tactics is to appear as an angel of light and to make his human accomplices appear as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

God says false teachers will increase as we near the time of Jesus’ return (Matthew 7:15, 24:11, 24:24; 2 Peter 2:1-2). They pretend to be Christians and are influential and respected. Note 1

These imposters infiltrate churches unnoticed (Jude 1:4, 12), and they become more deceitful the closer we get to Jesus’ return (2 Timothy 3:13). The errors they teach come not only from their own minds but also from evil spirits (1 Timothy 4:1).

They corrupt the truth of salvation in ways people don’t easily notice. They mix truth with error slowly and gradually until well-meaning people sincerely believe the errors to be true.

Those well-meaning people then teach the errors in children’s books, Sunday School curriculum, Vacation Bible School curriculum, Christian day schools, and even Christian colleges.

If you observe carefully, you can see a common agenda gradually developing in Christianity. People believe things today that few believed just 50 years ago.

Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), and he’s preparing the world for his appearance as the Antichrist (1 John 2:18). He views the contest for the lives of your children as all-out warfare, and he’ll do anything in his power to prevent them from being saved.

Most children’s books have different types of errors. This section briefly describes the most common and harmful ones.

In most children’s books, all you’ll find is God’s love. God certainly loves us, but there’s more to salvation than that.

God loves us so much that He died for us. But to focus on His love while omitting His hatred of sin (Psalm 11:5; Proverbs 6:16) and judgment of sinners perverts what the Bible teaches.

The Bible talks about love, but it also talks about sin (Romans 3:20), judgment (John 16:8; Hebrews 9:27), and punishment in a lake of fire called Hell (Revelation 20:13-15). It explains God’s love as what motivated Him to make a way to save us from those things (John 3:16).

When Jesus and the apostles preached the gospel, they never said “God loves you.” They told people to believe Jesus is the Christ (the Son of God) (Matthew 16:16; Luke 4:41; John 11:26-27) and repent (Matthew 3:1; Mark 6:12; John 1:15; Acts 3:19-20, 26:20).

Why repent? Because Jesus is the Lord who will judge them for their sins (John 5:22; 2 Timothy 4:1). Repenting means they must turn from their sins and surrender in obedience to Jesus as their Lord (Romans 10:9-13).

The Bible never says we should repent because God loves us. It says we should repent because God will judge us and punish us if we don’t (Matthew 10:28; 12:41; Luke 13:3).

God’s love for us doesn’t prevent Him from punishing us. And knowing God loves us doesn’t cause us to turn from our sin and submit to Him.

We love our sin more than we love God (John 3:19-21). We’re enemies of God. We’re born with sinful natures (Psalm 58:3; Romans 3:10). We naturally hate God and don’t want Him to rule over us (John 3:19-20; 7:7).

We don’t need to be convinced God loves us. We need to be convinced we’re sinners in need of a Savior. And you won’t find this in most children’s books.

Some people say the ideas of punishment for sin, Hell, and repentance are too scary or emotionally harmful for children.

They don’t mind children being exposed to bloody zombies who want to eat them. But they don’t want children exposed to the blood of Jesus who wants to save them from eternity in Hell.

They want children to feel guilty for offending people of other religions and sexual orientations. But they don’t want children to feel guilty for offending God by breaking His law and rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Children can’t fully understand salvation when they’re very young. But that’s no reason to change what the Bible teaches into a false idea they can understand.

God knows what children need better than we do. He doesn’t have two versions of salvation: a “child version” and an “adult version.”

Young children need the truth even if they can’t fully understand it until they’re older. If you start them on false ideas, it’s more difficult to convince them of the truth later.

Biblical truth can be explained in different words for different people. But the basic message conveyed by the words must always be biblical.

People sometimes teach children something different than strict biblical truth and try to justify it on the basis of literary license or paraphrasing.

Literary license is changing the truth to make a story more interesting or easier to understand. This may be acceptable in the secular world, but not when dealing with God’s truth.

Paraphrasing is putting what the Bible says into your own words. In some cases, this is desirable to help children understand what you’re teaching. But it’s desirable only if you don’t change the message of the Bible.

It’s natural for people to assume that biblical words and events always have biblical meanings. Books can take advantage of this by using biblical words and events but changing what they mean.

They don’t do this in obvious ways. They use the context to subtly define words and events instead of clearly stating the meanings.

If parents don’t read carefully, they assume the words and events have the familiar meanings. But children who don’t already know the familiar meanings pick up the meanings from the context.

For example, a book can talk about Jesus being the Son of God, dying on a cross for our sins, and rising from the dead while giving false meanings to those things by the context.

To avoid this kind of deception, it’s important to look for books that clearly explain everything. Or at least to carefully read “between the lines” to see if a book gives a “slant” to the words and events that isn’t completely biblical.

People often use clichés as if they were biblical truth. They do this to simplify or condense what the Bible says. But the words of the clichés, when taken literally, usually change what the Bible says.

Clichés are attractive and easy to remember, but they usually substitute false ideas for truth. Well-meaning people often explain them in a way that’s true, but those who don’t know the explanations get a different message.

The errors and problems with some popular clichés are described below. Note 2

Most books give a completely false idea of what salvation is and how we can be saved. Any book that doesn’t clearly teach the concepts described below teaches a false salvation.

Most books only say salvation is going to Heaven when we die. They don’t say what we’re saved from. They don’t say we’re saved from God’s wrath, His judgment, and eternity in Hell.

Most books give the impression that children are saved simply by making a decision and praying a “sinner’s prayer.”

But Jesus said except we’re born again (born of the Holy Spirit), we can’t enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5). Baptism with the Spirit, which is the new birth, is the essence of New Testament salvation (John 1:33; Luke 3:16).

Most books say salvation is only believing in Jesus as Savior. As explained previously under “Trust Jesus as your Savior,” they don’t say trusting Jesus as Savior requires trusting Him as Lord.

But Jesus is Lord (Romans 14:9). You can’t trust Him as one without the other. A Savior who isn’t Lord wouldn’t be a Savior because He wouldn’t be God.

Some books say to trust Jesus as Lord, but they don’t explain what that means. Without help, children don’t know what a Lord is and what it means to them personally in the context of their relationship to God.

Most books say nothing about repenting. But Jesus said no one can be saved without repenting (Luke 13:1-5).

If you really believe Jesus is Lord, you’ll turn from your sins (Ezekiel 18:30-32) and unconditionally submit to Him with a desire to serve and obey Him (2 Chronicles 30:8). This is repenting.

God won’t forgive our sins by the precious blood of His Son if we aren’t willing to repent. He won’t grant pardons to rebels who won’t stop rebelling and won’t surrender to His authority.

Satan has been slowly replacing the true purpose of salvation with a new one. He’s been so effective that it now is being taught by most mainstream denominations and “Christian” organizations.

People now say the purpose of salvation is to correct social injustices and fix problems with our earthly environment. This sometimes is called the social gospel or cultural mandate.

It replaces God’s definition of sin with the human idea of social injustices. This is a huge error that completely changes everything about salvation.

It’s an attempt to fix the results of sin without fixing the cause. But it’s impossible to reform society without transforming people internally and externally. We need not only new hearts but also new bodies that no longer have a desire to sin.

The social gospel makes salvation a social thing—how we cooperate together to solve the world’s problems. It minimizes the truth of personal guilt for offending a holy God and our individual relationships to Him as our Lord.

Some people agree that salvation is a personal thing between individuals and God. But they add that our mission after being saved is to solve the world’s problems. They say we should do this to prepare for the return of Jesus, who will complete the task.

The truth is that God will solve the world’s problems by completely destroying the heavens and earth (the entire universe) and judging all people who rejected Him. He then will create new heavens and a new earth populated only by saved people (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:7, 10-13; Revelation 21:1).

God saves children when He’s ready to do so. There’s no shortcut to bypass His process and requirements.

Some books make “sales pitches” to persuade children to make decisions. They try to get children to repeat “canned” prayers and then convince them they’re eternally secure because they did this.

Be wary of books that do this. Don’t try to force decisions on children out of concern for them. Instead, pray for them and teach them the truth. Allow God to work as He pleases.

True salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, not human effort and decisions. The Holy Spirit works when He chooses, not when we choose.

Books may say Jesus is the Son of God but show Him as a silly cartoon character. This subtly teaches that Jesus isn’t worthy of respect.

Jesus is the Lord God of all creation who requires our worship and obedience (Romans 14:9; Colossians 1:15-16). After His resurrection, when Jesus showed Thomas the wounds of the cross in His hands and side, Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

Jesus deserves the utmost respect and reverence. Cartoon characters don’t teach children this kind of reverence for Him.

Some books tell Bible stories without explaining their meanings in the context of salvation. For example, they may tell the stories simply as entertainment or as a way of teaching moral values.

These books contribute little to a child’s salvation, and they can be harmful. They mislead children about the real purpose of the Bible and the stories in it. They inform children about biblical events and people without teaching them the basic concepts they must know to be saved.

Most books say all people are children of God. They say we’re all members of one big family, but the Bible says only people who are born of God are His children (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 2:29-3:1).

God being our creator doesn’t automatically make Him our Father. If all people were children of God, everyone would be saved because that’s what salvation is: becoming a child of God.

Most books don’t teach essential concepts clearly and accurately, or they don’t teach them at all. They get away with this because people naturally focus on what a book says, not what it doesn’t say.

Simply talking about God and saying we sin and need Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins doesn’t tell children all they need to know. They need additional information to understand the concepts behind those truths.

Otherwise when they grow older, they may encounter false teaching that uses the same words but gives them different meanings. If they don’t understand the true concepts well, they’re vulnerable to being deceived.

Some of the additional information that children need is described below.

Children should know who God is, not only that He exists. Otherwise, they may believe in a false god. For example, they need to know God is a person, not an impersonal force or being (like the Hindu god). He isn’t embodied in nature itself (pantheism).

They should know God is eternal. He exists entirely outside of creation and time (Romans 1:20; ). This is essentially what God means when He says He’s the “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). This is what His name, Jehovah, means. Note 5

Children should know what it means for God to be creator. Being creator is why He is Lord. It’s why He has authority over them, why they should obey Him, and why He has a right to punish them for not obeying Him.

Children also should know God’s main attributes that define who He is and how He interacts with us. For example, they need to know He’s holy, loving, good, merciful, patient, righteous, just, all powerful, all knowing, truthful, and unchanging (His truth doesn’t change for different cultures and times). These aren’t all His attributes, but a book should include as many as possible.

Children should know who Jesus is. Saying He’s the Son of God doesn’t mean anything unless they know that being God’s Son means Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time.

This is the only way Jesus could save us. He must be fully man or He couldn’t die for our sins in our place. And He must be fully God or He couldn’t be sinless and acceptable to die in our place. He couldn’t rise from the dead to offer forgiveness and eternal life to us.

The birth of Jesus is a big problem in most books. For example, they usually say Mary was a young woman who had no husband. Everyone knows what it means to be a young woman who has a baby but no husband, and it isn’t good.

In addition, most books describe Jesus primarily as a great teacher who did miracles to help people. The truth is that Jesus did miracles not primarily to help people but to prove He’s God (John 14:11).

Children also should know more about the resurrection of Jesus. They should know it’s proof He’s God and sinless because death couldn’t hold Him (Romans 1:4; Acts 2:24).

It’s proof He’s able to forgive us and make us righteous (Romans 5:10; 1 Corinthians 15:17; Hebrews 7:25). It’s proof that we’ll rise again someday in new, sinless bodies like His, which is eternal life (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:49; 1 John 3:2).

The Holy Spirit is the essence of salvation. Jesus being the Christ means He’s the Anointed One. He’s the God-Man who was given the Holy Spirit without limit, and He has authority to baptize all who believe in Him with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33).

The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to convict us of sin and show us our need for salvation (John 16:7-8, the “Helper” is the Holy Spirit). Without this, simply making a decision to be saved does nothing for us.

When Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; John 1:33), the Spirit comes into our hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27: Acts 2:38). He gives us new hearts and guarantees we’ll receive new bodies someday (Ephesians 1:13-14, the “purchased possession” is our new bodies). He seals us as belonging to God (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13) and helps us in our daily lives (Romans 8:26-27).

Most books don’t clearly define sin, or they give sin a meaning that isn’t biblical. Books often say we need to be saved from sin, but they don’t explain what that means.

Children need to know sin is breaking God’s law (Romans 3:20). They need to know what His law is, or they can’t know how they break it. They can’t know they’re personally guilty for breaking it.

They need to know that sin is doing wrong against God personally (Psalm 51:4). It’s rejecting Him as Lord and His authority over us.

This explains why we need God’s forgiveness. Only the person who is wronged (God) can forgive the person (us) who wronged him.

Children need to know that breaking God’s law has a penalty. This penalty is physical death now and eternal death (the second death) in a lake of fire called Hell in the end (Revelation 20:13-15).

Water baptism doesn’t save us, but it’s closely connected to salvation. It’s an essential part of the salvation experience. Note 6

To omit the necessity of baptism because different people have different ideas of what it is and what it means is a serious error. A book that teaches the truth will include baptism and its biblical meaning.

Water baptism symbolizes baptism with the Holy Spirit, which gives us new hearts that are free from sin (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Hebrews 9:14). It shows we repented to be cleansed from our sins by the death of Jesus (Acts 2:38). And we trust Him to resurrect us in new bodies someday just as He was (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12).

Jesus commands us to be baptized with water (Matthew 28:19). The biblical teaching and example is to baptize people as soon as possible after professions of faith. Anyone who refuses to obey this command doesn’t have saving faith.

This article provides biblical guidelines to help you see errors in children’s books. But what if you don’t agree with this article?

What if you’ve been taught something different? Or what if certain things in this article just don’t sound right to you?

Should you trust your own ability to decide which ideas are true? No, this is dangerous. Our natural minds will always lead us into error.

The Bible says God’s ways aren’t our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). And there’s a way that seems right to people, but the end is death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).

Should you place your confidence in other people you trust? We certainly need preachers and teachers, but how do you know which ones are right?

People you respect and trust, including pastors, can be wrong. Biblical knowledge isn’t the same as biblical truth. People can know a lot about the Bible but actually know little real truth.

Should you simply accept whatever ideas are popular with the most people? No, this is the most dangerous thing you can do. Ideas become popular because they appeal to the sinful natures of people.

It’s important to be sure you’re right about salvation. If you die and learn you were wrong, you don’t get a second chance. The consequences are eternal and very serious.

The only source of spiritual truth is the Bible. The better you know the Bible, the better you can decide who and what to believe.

Be like the Bereans and search the scriptures daily to see if what other people teach really is true (Acts 17:11). The Bereans didn’t even trust what the Apostle Paul said without verifying it!

But be careful. Bible verses can be taken out of context and twisted to “prove” almost any false idea.

Believe what the Bible says at “face value” unless the context clearly indicates it’s only symbolic. Use the same rules for understanding it that you use for any other written document.

Be as objective as you can. Try to avoid interpreting certain verses based on what you’ve always heard they mean. And don’t resist certain meanings just because they make you uncomfortable.

Don’t rely solely on what “study Bibles” and commentaries say. They contain only what other people believe, leading back to the question of how do you know they’re right?

Ask God to show you what He wants you to know. But don’t use feelings of peace in your heart as answers from God. You can easily convince yourself that what you want to believe is what God wants you to believe.

It’s important to choose children’s books based on your own evaluation of them. Trusting other people without verifying their recommendations using the Bible can be dangerous.

When choosing a children’s book, take time to read it carefully. Do this more than once because it isn’t possible to catch all errors the first time. 

Pay attention to what the book says and, just as important, what it doesn’t say. Teaching only part of the truth can be as deceitful and harmful as teaching total lies.

As you examine a book, use critical thinking. Ask yourself questions based on the guidelines in this article. Be sure the book clearly teaches the essential truths described in this article.

Assume a book is wrong until you prove it’s right. If a book passes this kind of scrutiny, it probably is a good book you can trust.

Some popular books and their errors are briefly described below.

This best-selling book by Zonderkidz is one of the worst. It appears to teach much of the truth—more than most other books. But it really is a masterpiece of deceit.

It makes sense why so many people use this book. It seems to cover all the important biblical topics in a biblical way. The false doctrine is hidden so cleverly that it’s evident only by careful examination.

As the author herself says in her acknowledgments, the book’s theology is based on the teaching of Timothy Keller. Keller has very corrupt ideas about salvation. He teaches a totally false Christianity based on the social gospel. Note 7

This book by Tommy Nelson is almost as bad as The Jesus Storybook Bible. It omits most of the essential information and explanations that children need.

Even though on a few pages it teaches biblical concepts, it overall teaches false ideas of what salvation is and what children must do to be saved. It also makes “sales pitches” to persuade children to make quick decisions.

Books that teach the truth are difficult to find. You may want to consider the book Teach Me About Jesus.

Teach Me About Jesus supports everything this article says. And it does so in language that’s easy for children to understand.

But you don’t have to accept this on blind faith. Every statement in the book about theology and salvation is supported by Bible verses. You can examine them and pray about them to see if the statements are true.

Teach Me About Jesus is available for free as a PDF on this website. It also is available as a paperback and a Kindle edition on Amazon.com. 

Amazon charges a fee to print the book on-demand, and this is all that’s charged for the book. No one receives a royalty for it. Also, the price of the Kindle edition is the minimum that Amazon allows.

If you read the book and like it, please give it a good review on Amazon so other people will know.