{"id":5763,"date":"2015-12-03T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scquest.org\/?p=5763"},"modified":"2015-12-03T12:42:15","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T18:42:15","slug":"the-gospel-and-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/?p=5763","title":{"rendered":"The Gospel and Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesay night, during the adult Bible study at First Baptist we looked at the topic of &#8220;The Gospel and Children.&#8221; I thought I would post some of my notes in order to help anyone who was looking for clarification, or would like to ask other questions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The Gospel and Children<\/p>\n<p><b>If you cannot explain the gospel you probably don&#8217;t believe it.<\/b><br \/>\nThat statement is both a rebuke to those of us who don&#8217;t think about it often, and an encouragement because the gospel can be be understood by a child.<\/p>\n<p>What are some popular ways to share the gospel?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Romans Road<\/li>\n<li>Wordless Book<\/li>\n<li>Four Spiritual Laws (Campus Crusade)<\/li>\n<li>Bridge to Life (Navigators)<\/li>\n<li>Steps to peace with God (Billy Graham)<\/li>\n<li>Bridge Tract<\/li>\n<li>Two Ways to Live<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These plans are helpful, but my goal is not to teach you a new plan, a secret tool, or a special key to success in evangelism.<\/p>\n<p><b>There is no one-size-fits-all presentation, but there is only one gospel.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>&#8220;We must be careful that we do not modify the gospel to suit various age groups. There is no such thing as a special gospel for the young, a special gospel for the middle-aged, and a special gospel for the aged. There is only one gospel, and we must always be careful not to tamper and tinker with the gospel as a result of recognizing these age distinctions. At the same time, there is a difference in applying this one and only gospel to the different age groups; but it is a difference which has reference only to method and procedure.&#8221;<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0(from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, knowing the times [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1989], 2)\u00a0HT John Macarthur.<\/p>\n<p>The order and presentation are not set here. There are some parts that need to be understood before others, but not everyone starts on the same page. Each individual has a different background and understanding. So my goal is not to teach you a presentation, but to remind you of the ingredients, so as you talk with someone they all are put into the bowl.<\/p>\n<p><b>So, what is the Gospel?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>God &#8211; Holy<\/li>\n<li>Man &#8211; Sinful<\/li>\n<li>Christ &#8211; Sufficient<\/li>\n<li>Response &#8211; Repentance and Faith are necessary<\/li>\n<li>[Shared because of the Urgency of Eternity]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scquest.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_0074.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scquest.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_0074.png?w=584\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nThese components can be explained through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Big Story of Scripture: Creation &#8211; Rebellion &#8211; Redemption &#8211; Restoration<\/li>\n<li>A Passage: Eph 2:1-10<\/li>\n<li>Or even a single verse: John 3:16<\/li>\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How does this match with what we normally say and do?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How does some of the phraseology we regularly use fall short? &#8220;Ask Jesus into your heart.&#8221; &#8220;Accepted Jesus.&#8221; Etc.<\/li>\n<li>How do some of our methods fall short? &#8220;Pray this prayer.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Why do they fall short? What is the fundamental difference between the essential components of the gospel and how we often speak and act? I would say the difference lies in the fact that <b>we often consider faith as a prayer we pray instead of a posture we assume.<\/b><\/li>\n<li>What problems does this present later? &#8220;Did I say it right?&#8221; &#8220;Did I really mean it?&#8221; &#8220;Do I remember it?&#8221; How are we supposed to test ourselves (2 Cor 13:5)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Considerations for adults<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>If we are focused on a prayer as faith, then we will probably ask a suspected unbeliever something to the effect of &#8220;has there ever been a time when you prayed and asked Jesus to come into your heart\/forgive you of your sin\/save you?&#8221; If they say no, we encourage them to say a prayer. If they say &#8220;I can&#8217;t remember,&#8221; we respond, &#8220;Would you like to make sure now?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>However, if we see salvation as a gift from God through faith, we will want to ask about an individual&#8217;s posture before Christ. Instead of asking if they have ever said a prayer, we will want to ask questions revolving around the essential components of the gospel:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;How would you describe your relationship with God?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;How do you think sin has affected humanity as a whole? How about you personally?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Who do you understand Jesus to be? How did you come to that conclusion?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Why do you think the cross was necessary?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;What do you think Jesus expects of people today?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Are you confident in where you will go after you die? Why or why not?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. \u00a0Encourage people to &#8220;test yourselves, to see if you are in the faith&#8221; (2 Cor 13:5). You don&#8217;t do this by trying to remember a prayer, but by seeing if there if fruit of repentance and faith.<br \/>\nAs one of our college professors explained, a farmer doesn&#8217;t check his fields by digging up the seeds everyday in order to see if there is life in the seeds. He waits and watches for growth. Don&#8217;t dig up your prayer &#8211; look for life.<br \/>\nConsideration for Children<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Recognize that we are trying to point them to Jesus, not get them to say a prayer.<\/li>\n<li>Be sensitive. Your bedtime stories should end with &#8220;Jesus is the answer!&#8221; not the words &#8220;fiery hell.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>If they do make a profession:<\/li>\n<li>Do not assure them in their prayer (&#8220;Now that you have prayed and asked Jesus in your heart you will go to heaven no matter what!&#8221;).<\/li>\n<li>Instead assure them that Jesus is faithful (&#8220;When we trust in Jesus, he will always keep us!&#8221;).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From David Platt<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maximize Interaction: Ask questions; Encourage conversation; Ask open ended questions<\/li>\n<li>Utilize Illustrations: Pictures; Concrete examples<\/li>\n<li>Use Repetition: Constantly emphasize the threads of the gospel; Prioritize this teaching; Encourage a posture of repentance and faith<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I would encourage you to read J. D. Greear, Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart. Especially pages 47-50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesay night, during the adult Bible study at First Baptist we looked at the topic of &#8220;The Gospel and Children.&#8221; I thought I would post some of my notes in order to help anyone who was looking for clarification, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/?p=5763\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-soteriology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34kFn-1uX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5763"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5765,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763\/revisions\/5765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scquest.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}