A Devotional for Speaking with Your Youngsters About Jesus Being the Solely Option to Salvation

The next consists of three each day devotional readings from 10 Questions on Salvation: 30 Devotions for Youngsters, Teenagers, and Households, a brand new devotional written particularly for youngsters ages 8–14.

One Street

Typically individuals say, “You possibly can consider what you need, and I’ll consider what I need. We simply have to be good and deal with individuals good.” In the event you instructed them that you just disagreed, they may get upset and say, “How dare you suppose that solely Christianity results in God! Don’t you already know that each one roads result in God?”

However take into consideration what they only stated. 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 consider. So they’re merely sharing their religion, identical to you might be.

And there’s one other drawback: All these “roads to heaven” can’t all be true on the similar time. Islam says that you need to faithfully obey Allah. Buddhism says that you just obtain their model of heaven via meditation and good dwelling. Hinduism requires the proper of data and life selections. And Judaism requires obedience to the legislation of Moses.

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

Jesus stated to him, “I’m the best way, and the reality, and the life. Nobody involves the Father besides via me.” (John 14:6)

Why is that this true? Why is salvation solely via 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 received 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 essential 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 in a position to dwell a sinless life (Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22), one thing we sinners would by no means have been in a position to 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, we have now the right substitute. As a result of Jesus is each God and man, he’s the one true approach to salvation.

Mission Completed

You could say, “I consider that Jesus is really God and really man. I do know that he lived and died as an alternative 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 offer 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 type, he humbled himself by changing into obedient to the purpose of dying, even dying on a cross. Subsequently God has extremely exalted him and bestowed on him the identify that’s above each identify. (Phil. 2:8–9)

The secret is pondering via the phrase “due to this fact.”

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 lifeless. The Father raised him from the lifeless. Why? As a result of these sins had been gone. The penalty for each single one had been absolutely 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; due to this fact, the Father raised him from the lifeless (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 lifeless.” So, for those who’re a Christian, all of your sin has been positioned on Jesus. And when he died, Jesus paid the complete penalty for all of your sin (Isa. 53:4–6). When God the Father noticed that each one these sins had been paid for, he (“due to this fact”) raised sinless Jesus from the lifeless. And since he was declared righteous, for those who belong to him, you might be too.

Salvation via Jesus is the true deal; the one true approach to God. By means of his dying and resurrection your sins had been really, 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 positive that the resurrection actually occurred? Some individuals suppose it’s all fake. But listed here are some info displaying that God really raised Jesus from the lifeless.

The tomb was empty. In the event you learn the New Testomony, you’ll see that nobody stated, “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). Nevertheless, somebody might’ve requested, “What if somebody stole the physique?” And that’s precisely what some Roman troopers claimed.

The guards had been mendacity. The Roman troopers who guarded Jesus’s tomb stated 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 had 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 lifeless?

The eyewitnesses had been genuine. In New Testomony occasions, ladies weren’t allowed to offer eyewitness testimony in a court docket case. Sadly, males thought that their phrases had 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 occasions. Would you get ladies to inform everybody, “Sure, this actually occurred!”? In that point and tradition, this wouldn’t allow you to unfold a lie. So why would the disciples declare that girls had been eyewitnesses of the resurrection in all 4 Gospels? As a result of that’s what really occurred. (And likewise as a result of they and Jesus suppose 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 had 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 manner of salvation? Sure.

Solely somebody who’s absolutely God and absolutely human might present salvation. Jesus is really God and really 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 lifeless. And the way do we all know that Jesus was raised? The proof from historical past and from the Bible is extremely sturdy!

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

This text is customized from 10 Questions on Salvation: 30 Devotions for Youngsters, Teenagers, and Households by Champ Thornton.

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