THINK TOGETHER
Can you name another religion besides Christianity?
READ TOGETHER
The Apostle Paul wrote a whole lot of the New Testament. Out of 27 New Testament books, Paul wrote 13 of them. One of the first books that Paul wrote is called Galatians – written to the churches in Galatia in the country of Turkey.
One of the first books that Paul wrote is called Galatians – written to the churches in Galatia in the country of Turkey. For a long time, Paul did not believe in Jesus. In fact, he hated Christians and tried to arrest them, beat them, and even kill them. The Galatians were also trying to be very religious. They were Christians who were trying to mix faith in Jesus with earning their way to God. They were trying to mix a relationship with Jesus with religion.
But listen to what Paul says to them near the beginning of his letter to the Galatians:
Galatians 2:16. yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Some of the leaders in the Galatian church taught that Jesus was a way for the non-Jews to enter into the religion of the Jews. But that is not true at all. Jesus is a door into a whole new way to live – faith.
Faith says that you can’t earn your way to God, or perform your way to God, or obey your way to God, or achieve your way to God. Faith says that God and his life, and his love, and his forgiveness, and his heaven are all a free gift that is not earned or deserved. It is only by Jesus alone that we be with God. Only by the free gift of his life offered for us on the cross.
In almost every other are of your life you will have to earn what you get. You’ll earn grades in school. You’ll earn your place on the team. One day maybe you’ll earn a college scholarship. Or you might earn a promotion at a job. But with Jesus there is never any earning. Everything is a gift that is received by faith.
And every other religion in the world besides Christianity teaches that you must earn your way to God. Can you name another religion besides Christianity? Every other religion teaches that we get to heaven by obeying rules and laws, or by being wise, or by being kind and doing good. Religion says we get to heaven if our good works outweigh our bad works when we die.
But Jesus says, “NO!” Jesus is simply asking us to trust in him, without earning. Without trying to be justified by works of the law. But simply by faith.
Do you have faith in Jesus today? Do you believe that he loves you no matter what? Me too.
Because of Jesus we are saved by faith not good works.
With Jesus we can live by faith very day, always trusting that he still loves us.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Take a little bit of time to learn about other religions today. How are they different from Christianity? Here’s a good website for the basics.
http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/Religion.html
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
You give yourself and heaven as a free gift. Thank you that I don’t have to earn it because I never could.
Amen.
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