CHILDREN’S WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW SERIES
PREP SCHOOL
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW - PART 1
So, what is that God wants every Christian to know?
1 Timothy 2:4 “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
God wants us to know how He saved us from sin and then made it possible to live a righteous life for His glory. He wants this not only for our benefit, but so that we may share this Truth with others.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...”
The good news of salvation, the Gospel, is that Jesus Christ, God the Son who became a man and remained sinless, willingly bore the judgement for the sins of His children on a cross, died on a cross, and then was raised from the dead (resurrected) to overcome death, itself. All of this so that those who repent and believe in Him as Lord and Savior will be saved from sin and its penalty, then graciously granted an eternity with God in Heaven.
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.”
The Bible describes the work of God in salvation using some pretty big words: redemption, justification, reconciliation, propitiation, and expiation. It is important for believers in Jesus Christ to know these words and what they mean because God wants us to. He had them written down in His Word to help us understand the miracle of salvation and how to share it with others.
First, we will learn about redemption. Redemption is defined as “the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt”. There are two parts to this definition, the first is the idea of buying something. The Bible says we are born slaves to sin. A slave is a person who is bought by another person, considered their property, and must obey them. Being a slave to sin means that we do what our flesh tells us to, obeying its selfish desires instead of God’s perfect ones. Part of the work of salvation through Jesus Christ is that we are “purchased” by God with the “blood” of Christ and believers in Him now belong to Him and are His slaves. This is a bit confusing, right? Just know that believers in Jesus Christ now belong and answer to God and have been freed from the control of sin, living to please Him, not self. God makes His power available to His children so they are able to follow His perfect commands and say “no” to the sinful temptations from the flesh.
Romans 6:16-18, 22 “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
The second part of this definition describes a debt being paid for. The Bible tells us that those who sin have earned death, both physical and spiritual, which means separation from God. Right now, all people can see and feel God around them in His creation. Imagine being cast out of His presence- living with no light, love, joy, beauty, or peace- ugh. Sinners deserve to be separated from Him forever.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Bible also tells us that this debt of death and separation can only be “paid off” with the life blood from a sacrifice made to God.
Hebrews 9:23 “ In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
1 Timothy 2:4 “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
God wants us to know how He saved us from sin and then made it possible to live a righteous life for His glory. He wants this not only for our benefit, but so that we may share this Truth with others.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...”
The good news of salvation, the Gospel, is that Jesus Christ, God the Son who became a man and remained sinless, willingly bore the judgement for the sins of His children on a cross, died on a cross, and then was raised from the dead (resurrected) to overcome death, itself. All of this so that those who repent and believe in Him as Lord and Savior will be saved from sin and its penalty, then graciously granted an eternity with God in Heaven.
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.”
The Bible describes the work of God in salvation using some pretty big words: redemption, justification, reconciliation, propitiation, and expiation. It is important for believers in Jesus Christ to know these words and what they mean because God wants us to. He had them written down in His Word to help us understand the miracle of salvation and how to share it with others.
First, we will learn about redemption. Redemption is defined as “the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt”. There are two parts to this definition, the first is the idea of buying something. The Bible says we are born slaves to sin. A slave is a person who is bought by another person, considered their property, and must obey them. Being a slave to sin means that we do what our flesh tells us to, obeying its selfish desires instead of God’s perfect ones. Part of the work of salvation through Jesus Christ is that we are “purchased” by God with the “blood” of Christ and believers in Him now belong to Him and are His slaves. This is a bit confusing, right? Just know that believers in Jesus Christ now belong and answer to God and have been freed from the control of sin, living to please Him, not self. God makes His power available to His children so they are able to follow His perfect commands and say “no” to the sinful temptations from the flesh.
Romans 6:16-18, 22 “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
The second part of this definition describes a debt being paid for. The Bible tells us that those who sin have earned death, both physical and spiritual, which means separation from God. Right now, all people can see and feel God around them in His creation. Imagine being cast out of His presence- living with no light, love, joy, beauty, or peace- ugh. Sinners deserve to be separated from Him forever.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Bible also tells us that this debt of death and separation can only be “paid off” with the life blood from a sacrifice made to God.
Hebrews 9:23 “ In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
Hebrews 9:12,14 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
Hebrews 9:12,14 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW - PART 2
In part one we learned that what God wants every Christian to know is the truth about salvation. The Bible uses big words to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ and, since they are in the Bible, it is our responsibility to both understand them and share them with others. The first word we learned was “redemption”. Jesus Christ redeemed (paid for, paid off the debt for) His children on the cross with His blood. We were bought by God with the blood of Christ, freed from our slavery to sin, and the debt owed to Him for our sin was paid. Wow! Hard to believe there is even more that was done for us! Get ready to have your minds blown with our next word.
The work of Jesus Christ on the cross also provided for our justification. Justification is defined as “the action of declaring or making righteous (free from guilt or sin)”. Since God’s children are redeemed, the debt from sin was paid, they are freed from the guilt of sin in God’s eyes. He sees His children as righteous.
Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
You may be wondering how you became a sinner in the first place and why it is that you even need to be saved from sin. Have you heard the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Well, they were the first two people God created. They lived in a perfect environment and were created sinless (cool, huh?). They were given one command to follow and if they obeyed that command, they would remain sinless, living in the perfect environment of the Garden with God forever. They were commanded to not eat from one tree out of all the trees in the Garden.
Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”
The work of Jesus Christ on the cross also provided for our justification. Justification is defined as “the action of declaring or making righteous (free from guilt or sin)”. Since God’s children are redeemed, the debt from sin was paid, they are freed from the guilt of sin in God’s eyes. He sees His children as righteous.
Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
You may be wondering how you became a sinner in the first place and why it is that you even need to be saved from sin. Have you heard the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Well, they were the first two people God created. They lived in a perfect environment and were created sinless (cool, huh?). They were given one command to follow and if they obeyed that command, they would remain sinless, living in the perfect environment of the Garden with God forever. They were commanded to not eat from one tree out of all the trees in the Garden.
Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”
Genesis 3:23-24 “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Adam and Eve were now no longer sinless and needed to be saved from their sin. Are you wondering what all of this this has to do with you? You were not in the Garden so you did not disobey God and eat from that tree. Why should you be born a sinner because of their sin? How is that fair? To understand the answers to these questions, you need to understand some truths about God. The Bible tells us that our Lord is perfect, fair, and knows everything about everything.
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
So, God knows that we ALL would have disobeyed His command if we were the first created people. How could He know this? Well, like the verse above states, there is no limit to what He knows. Since He is perfect and fair and never does anything wrong, we have to trust that whatever He decides is right. So, God decided that the sin of the first two people would be imputed (given to someone though caused by another) to every single person born.
Here is another truly amazing thing that God decided. He decided make a way to save His children. When we repent of our sin and believe on the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are “born again” (John 3:3). Just as sin was imputed to us upon our physical birth because of Adam’s failure, righteousness is imputed to believers upon their spiritual birth because of Jesus’ victory.
Romans 5:18-19 “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
So far in our study we have learned about God, how He knows everything and is perfectly fair. We have learned that all people are born sinners and need to be saved from sin. We have learned that believers are redeemed and justified- no longer owing a debt to God for sin, or a slave to sin, or unrighteous in God’s eyes.
This is a lot to take in. Take some time, reread these lessons, pray, and think about what you have learned so far. Above all, make sure to take time every day to thank God for His grace and mercy in saving us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.
Psalm 103:2-4 “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion”
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
So, God knows that we ALL would have disobeyed His command if we were the first created people. How could He know this? Well, like the verse above states, there is no limit to what He knows. Since He is perfect and fair and never does anything wrong, we have to trust that whatever He decides is right. So, God decided that the sin of the first two people would be imputed (given to someone though caused by another) to every single person born.
Here is another truly amazing thing that God decided. He decided make a way to save His children. When we repent of our sin and believe on the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are “born again” (John 3:3). Just as sin was imputed to us upon our physical birth because of Adam’s failure, righteousness is imputed to believers upon their spiritual birth because of Jesus’ victory.
Romans 5:18-19 “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
So far in our study we have learned about God, how He knows everything and is perfectly fair. We have learned that all people are born sinners and need to be saved from sin. We have learned that believers are redeemed and justified- no longer owing a debt to God for sin, or a slave to sin, or unrighteous in God’s eyes.
This is a lot to take in. Take some time, reread these lessons, pray, and think about what you have learned so far. Above all, make sure to take time every day to thank God for His grace and mercy in saving us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.
Psalm 103:2-4 “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion”
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW - PART 3
We have learned A LOT in the first two lessons of this series. To summarize- every single person born is imputed with the sin of Adam, the first person created. God is completely fair in doing this because He is perfect, never does anything wrong, and knows everything- like how we all would have sinned in the Garden, just like Adam did. God made a way to save us, though. Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, became a man, remained sinless, and then willingly bore the judgement for the sins of His children on the cross. He then was resurrected so we would live forever with Him. When we repent and believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are born again. With this spiritual birth we were redeemed, freed from our debt to God and slavery to sin, as well as justified, set free from the guilt of sin and imputed with righteousness.
All of us, from the moment we are born, have a very big problem. See, the Creator God, the most powerful being who knows everything and can do anything, considers us His enemy. You heard correctly. Every single person is born a sinner, an enemy of God.
Romans 5:10 “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
All of us, from the moment we are born, have a very big problem. See, the Creator God, the most powerful being who knows everything and can do anything, considers us His enemy. You heard correctly. Every single person is born a sinner, an enemy of God.
Romans 5:10 “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Have you ever had an argument with someone and stopped talking to them for a bit? You may have even treated each other like enemies for a while. What did it take for you to be reconciled? Most likely, there was an apology and then forgiveness! Salvation would not be possible without God’s forgiveness.
In our first lesson, we learned that the life blood of a sacrifice to God is required for forgiveness. In Old Testament times, they made daily animal sacrifices for their sin. See, the blood of animals could only temporarily pay for sins. God hates sin and all people who are born into sin are under His judgement and wrath. Do you know what wrath means? It is a pretty scary word meaning “extreme anger and punishment for a crime”
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
So, how do people escape the wrath of God? The answer to this question is our last two big words. First, there is propitiation which means to “gain favor, appease by paying for a wrong”. In order for sinners to be forgiven, God’s justice had to be satisfied, the price for their sin paid. This was accomplished by our last big word, expiation, which is “the act of making amends or paying for a wrongdoing”. So, the Lord Jesus Christ propitiated the wrath of God by the expiation of His death on the cross for our sins. In other words, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross was the acceptable sacrifice (expiation) which satisfied God’s standards (propitiation) and turned His wrath away from His children, so we could have a relationship with Him!
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Here are terms defined one last time: redemption- payment of the debt owed to God for our sin and for our freedom from slavery, justification- freed from the guilt of imputed sin and imputed with perfect righteousness, reconciliation- made “friends again” with God, propitiation- the acceptable payment for our sin, and expiation- the action that paid the price for our sin, Jesus’ work on the cross.
So, what God wants every Christian to know is the amazing things He accomplished on our behalf to save us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. He wants us to understand how great our salvation is so we will be filled with gratitude and motivated to share this Good News with others. In summary, believers in Jesus Christ are graciously granted redemption from sin, justification in the eyes of God, and reconciliation with God due to the propitiation of the Father, through the expiation from Jesus Christ. That was a mouthful! If you do not understand that paragraph, reread the lessons, read your Bible and pray every day, and be patient as you learn His Word.
We hope that you have a deeper understanding and appreciation for all that God has done on behalf of His children to save them from sin and death. We could never say thank you enough, so we will just keep on saying it every day!
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
In our first lesson, we learned that the life blood of a sacrifice to God is required for forgiveness. In Old Testament times, they made daily animal sacrifices for their sin. See, the blood of animals could only temporarily pay for sins. God hates sin and all people who are born into sin are under His judgement and wrath. Do you know what wrath means? It is a pretty scary word meaning “extreme anger and punishment for a crime”
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
So, how do people escape the wrath of God? The answer to this question is our last two big words. First, there is propitiation which means to “gain favor, appease by paying for a wrong”. In order for sinners to be forgiven, God’s justice had to be satisfied, the price for their sin paid. This was accomplished by our last big word, expiation, which is “the act of making amends or paying for a wrongdoing”. So, the Lord Jesus Christ propitiated the wrath of God by the expiation of His death on the cross for our sins. In other words, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross was the acceptable sacrifice (expiation) which satisfied God’s standards (propitiation) and turned His wrath away from His children, so we could have a relationship with Him!
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Here are terms defined one last time: redemption- payment of the debt owed to God for our sin and for our freedom from slavery, justification- freed from the guilt of imputed sin and imputed with perfect righteousness, reconciliation- made “friends again” with God, propitiation- the acceptable payment for our sin, and expiation- the action that paid the price for our sin, Jesus’ work on the cross.
So, what God wants every Christian to know is the amazing things He accomplished on our behalf to save us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. He wants us to understand how great our salvation is so we will be filled with gratitude and motivated to share this Good News with others. In summary, believers in Jesus Christ are graciously granted redemption from sin, justification in the eyes of God, and reconciliation with God due to the propitiation of the Father, through the expiation from Jesus Christ. That was a mouthful! If you do not understand that paragraph, reread the lessons, read your Bible and pray every day, and be patient as you learn His Word.
We hope that you have a deeper understanding and appreciation for all that God has done on behalf of His children to save them from sin and death. We could never say thank you enough, so we will just keep on saying it every day!
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
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Sun: 10am - 11:30am
CHILDREN’S PREP SCHOOL
INFANT’S ROOM
- NORTH CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- 2360 Chestnut Street
- North Dighton
- MA, 02764
- mail@nccdighton.org
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