Children and the Gospel! (Part 2)
What the Bible says/doesn’t say
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 20:30-31 - Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, )the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 5:24 – Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Romans Road – Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9
The only thing…let me repeat that…the ONLY thing that is required is faith/trust/belief in Christ. Nothing else. Not a prayer, not baptism, not going to church. By grace alone, and by faith alone are we saved.
The Gospel is Simple
There’s a reason, Jesus told his disciples that they had to become like children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The gospel is simple. It’s really simple.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Belief in something bigger than yourself that you can’t quite understand is much easier for a child. It just is. You don’t have to make it harder than it is. It’s really simple.
- Do you believe that you’re a sinner and that’s there’s nothing about you worthy enough for God?
- Do you believe that what you earn for your sin is separation from God, death?
- Do you believe that Jesus died (took your penalty) for your sin so that you could have a relationship with God?
- Do you believe that he rose again to show his power over death?
Kids have an amazing ability to believe in Christ. We should in no way hinder that remarkable ability.
The gospel is very simple, but it is also very counter-cultural, especially in the U.S. There’s always one verse that comes to mind when I think about that reality.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
We are half way through...stay tuned!
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