A Devotional for Talking with Your Kids About Jesus Being the Only Way to Salvation

The next consists of three every day devotional readings from 10 Questions about Salvation: 30 Devotions for Kids, Teens, and Families, a brand new devotional written particularly for youngsters ages 8–14.

One Street

Generally individuals say, “You’ll be able to imagine what you need, and I’ll imagine what I would like. We simply have to be good and deal with individuals good.” In the event you advised them that you just disagreed, they could get upset and say, “How dare you assume that solely Christianity results in God! Don’t you realize that every one roads result in God?”

However take into consideration what they only mentioned. How do they know that? If they are saying that “all roads result in God,” the place did they get this info? Reply: It’s what they imagine. So they’re merely sharing their religion, identical to you’re.

And there’s one other downside: All these “roads to heaven” can’t all be true on the identical time. Islam says that you must faithfully obey Allah. Buddhism says that you just obtain their model of heaven by means of meditation and good residing. Hinduism requires the correct of data and life decisions. And Judaism requires obedience to the legislation of Moses.

However Christianity is completely different. True salvation doesn’t depend upon how effectively you obey however on what Jesus has already completed. All these different roads are about “doing.” Christianity is about “achieved.” Jesus is the one street to God.

Jesus mentioned to him, “I’m the way in which, and the reality, and the life. Nobody involves the Father besides by means of me.” (John 14:6)

Why is that this true? Why is salvation solely by means of Jesus?

As a result of solely Jesus is each God and man. He’s not half God and half man. Jesus is really human: he had an actual physique (Acts 2:31), grew up (Luke 2:52), and obtained hungry and drained (Matt. 21:18; John 4:6). And Jesus is really God: he receives worship (Matt. 14:33), forgives sins (Mark 2:5), and is everlasting (John 1:1). He’s God incarnate, which implies he’s God come within the flesh (1 John 4:2).

However why is it necessary that Jesus is each God and man? As a result of solely a real God-man might save people from God’s judgment in opposition to sin (1 Pet. 3:18).

As a result of Jesus is human, he can take our place. He can die taking the punishment for sinful people (Isa. 53:4–6; 1 Pet. 2:24). (And give it some thought, if he weren’t human, how might he have died in any respect?)

And since Jesus is God, he was capable of dwell a sinless life (Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22), one thing we sinners would by no means have been capable of do.

If he weren’t God, he would have been a nasty substitute. And if he weren’t human, he couldn’t have been a substitute in any respect.

As an alternative, now we have the right substitute. As a result of Jesus is each God and man, he’s the one true approach to salvation.

Mission Achieved

You might say, “I imagine that Jesus is really God and actually man. I do know that he lived and died as an alternative choice to sinners.”

However how do we all know that what Jesus did truly achieved salvation? And does it actually rescue individuals from sin?

First, you may be assured in his salvation as a result of each element occurred in keeping with plan. Jesus defined—prematurely—precisely what he deliberate to do: “For even the Son of Man got here . . . to provide his life as a ransom for a lot of” (Mark 10:45).

However, second, did Jesus’s plan truly work? Did his dying actually pay for sins? The Bible says, “Sure!”

Being present in human kind, he humbled himself by changing into obedient to the purpose of dying, even dying on a cross. Due to this fact God has extremely exalted him and bestowed on him the title that’s above each title. (Phil. 2:8–9)

The hot button is pondering by means of the phrase “subsequently.”

The dying Jesus died was for the sins of different individuals (Rom. 5:6–8). The sins Jesus was carrying on the cross deserved dying (Rom. 6:23). And that’s precisely what occurred—Jesus died.

However Jesus didn’t keep useless. The Father raised him from the useless. Why? As a result of these sins have been gone. The penalty for each single one had been totally paid!

When he raised Jesus, the Father was telling the entire world that there was no extra sin on Jesus in any respect. The resurrection declared that he was righteous, the sinless Son of God (Rom. 1:4; 4:25; 1 Tim. 3:16). So the resurrection was proof that he had accepted Jesus’s cost for sin. (And right here’s the place we get to that key phrase.) The dying of the Son of God paid for each sin he carried; subsequently, the Father raised him from the useless (see Phil. 2:9 on the earlier web page). Jesus’s salvation plan had succeeded!

The resurrection exhibits that Jesus—as each God and man—is the one true approach to salvation.

And this implies that you may be assured in Jesus’s salvation. Acts 17:31 says that God “has given assurance to all by elevating him from the useless.” So, for those who’re a Christian, all of your sin has been positioned on Jesus. And when he died, Jesus paid the total penalty for all of your sin (Isa. 53:4–6). When God the Father noticed that every one these sins had been paid for, he (“subsequently”) raised sinless Jesus from the useless. And since he was declared righteous, for those who belong to him, you’re too.

Salvation by means of Jesus is the actual deal; the one true approach to God. By way of his dying and resurrection your sins have been actually, utterly, and eternally paid for. There’s nothing left to pay. The resurrection proves it.

The resurrection exhibits that Jesus—as each God and man—is the one true approach to salvation.

Really Alive

However are we certain that the resurrection actually occurred? Some individuals assume it’s all fake. But listed here are some details exhibiting that God actually raised Jesus from the useless.

The tomb was empty. In the event you learn the New Testomony, you’ll see that nobody mentioned, “You thought Jesus was raised, however look: right here’s his physique!” As an alternative, there was no physique; the tomb was empty (Matt. 28:11–15). Nonetheless, somebody might’ve requested, “What if somebody stole the physique?” And that’s precisely what some Roman troopers claimed.

The guards have been mendacity. The Roman troopers who guarded Jesus’s tomb mentioned they’d fallen asleep. They usually claimed that’s when Jesus’s disciples snuck up and took the physique (see Matt. 28:13). However that’s not a convincing story. If the guards have been sleeping—as they claimed—how might they’ve seen anyone steal the physique? The troopers’ report is clearly a lie. However what about different witnesses? Is there dependable proof that Jesus rose from the useless?

The eyewitnesses have been genuine. In New Testomony instances, ladies weren’t allowed to provide eyewitness testimony in a courtroom case. Sadly, males thought that their phrases have been unreliable. However within the Bible, who’s it that offers firsthand testimony about Jesus being alive? Ladies! (See Matt. 28:1–8; Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–11; John 20:1–2.)

So only for a second, fake you wished to unfold a lie in New Testomony instances. Would you get ladies to inform everybody, “Sure, this actually occurred!”? In that point and tradition, this wouldn’t enable you unfold a lie. So why would the disciples declare that ladies have been eyewitnesses of the resurrection in all 4 Gospels? As a result of that’s what actually occurred. (And in addition as a result of they and Jesus assume that the testimony of girls is fantastic and reliable!)

There’s different proof too. Over 5 hundred individuals noticed the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 15:6). And nearly all of the apostles have been ultimately killed for his or her religion. Would they actually die for one thing they knew was a lie?

So is Jesus the one approach of salvation? Sure.

Solely somebody who’s totally God and totally human might present salvation. Jesus is really God and actually man. And the way do we all know that God accepted his cost for our sins? As a result of God raised him from the useless. And the way do we all know that Jesus was raised? The proof from historical past and from the Bible is extremely robust!

Because the God-man, Jesus Christ, was actually raised from the useless, his resurrection exhibits that he’s the one true approach to salvation.

This text is customized from 10 Questions about Salvation: 30 Devotions for Kids, Teens, and Families by Champ Thornton.

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