Question: My adult son was baptized as an infant. He married a woman who was Catholic although he was agnostic when they married. She taught him of her faith and he eventually became a Catholic when their second child got baptized. They had two more children and I was proud of how he had grown into his faith. He seemed to know so much about God. However, lately he seems to have abandoned God. I was so happy that he had found someone at one point in his life who introduced God to him when I had thought he lost his chance of salvation when he grew up agnostic. But now that he has gone astray, what are his chances of salvation at this point in his life? What if he never repents? Please help me understand why he would have learned about God only to turn his back on him.

Answer: Our hearts go out to you. Clearly you want to know if your son is truly saved, and whether or not repentance on his part will help. We will do our best to give you an answer.

First, none of us truly know the heart of someone who has professed belief in the one true God for salvation. Only God knows the heart, and only God knows those who are truly His children. So you need to take your son at his word that he truly believes in Jesus alone by faith alone for his salvation.

Second, many who profess to know God do not know Him personally. Even the demons know God, so just knowing about God or knowing God isn’t enough. We must truly put our faith in Jesus alone for salvation and put our trust in Him. By way of example, you can put your faith in an airplane, that it will get you safely to your destination, but until you put your trust in the airplane by actually buying a ticket and getting on board, your faith isn’t confirmed by trust.

Third, genuine faith in Jesus will show itself by good works (James 2:17). We aren’t saved by good works, but we are saved to do good works. Someone who professes faith in Jesus, but whose life never changes or demonstrates the “fruit of the spirit” (Galatians 5:22) may not be saved. But again, it’s not for us to judge.

Perhaps your son is like the “prodigal son” in the parable Jesus told. He is living a life that’s not pleasing to God, but he is still one of God’s children. Like the prodigal, your son needs to return to God. As you said, that requires repentance, which is turning away from sin and turning to God. There is repentance that leads to salvation, and there is also repentance that leads us back to God after living in sin. Clearly you son needs to turn from his sin and turn to God.

We don’t need to tell you that the best thing you can do is to pray for your son. Don’t pray that God will go easy on him. Pray that God will bring your son to a point where he will have no choice but to turn back to him.