Essential Gospel Truth #3

3) God is Holy & Righteous

Suggested Verses: Deuteronomy 32:4;  Romans 7:12;  Leviticus 19:2, 37

Explanation:“God is so great. He is unlike anyone or anything else. God is holy. That means that God is perfect in every way. God is also righteous – everything He thinks, says, and does is right. He never does anything wrong. God never has sinned and never will sin. 

            Because God is holy and righteous and because God made you and me to be like Him, we must be holy and righteous too. In the Bible, God gave us His holy and righteous commands. They are good commands. For example, the Ten Commandments tell us what kind of thoughts, desires, words, and actions are holy and righteous. In order to be holy and righteous, God says that people must obey these commands, perfectly, all of the time.”

Illustration:

·      Mommy & Daddy’s Rules (younger children): “One of the rules we make for you is that you have to hold mommy & daddy’s hand to cross the street. Is that a good rule? Yes. Why is that a good rule? It shows that mommy & daddy love you and want to protect you from getting hurt. You know what? God’s rules are even better than mommy & daddy’s rules. God’s rules are perfect. (Talk to child about rightness of 5^th commandment of honoring father & mother)

·      4-year-old Driving! (for older children): “Suppose a 4 year-old wanted to drive my car: Should I let him do that? Why not? If I make a rule that no 4 y/o can drive my car, would I be mean? Why is it a good thing? How does that rule show that I am right in my decision & good toward that child?” (With older children you can review the 10 Commandments & discuss how each rule shows that God is right & good-and how these commandments are good for you.)

---Comparing the difference of what it means to NOT be like something---

·      Real apple vs. Artificial apple: “Is this artificial apple a real apple? No. But it was made to be like the real thing. If somebody came and showed me the artificial apple instead would it be the real apple? No. Even though it’s a little bit like it, it’s not really perfect looking like the real apple. It looks ruined. It doesn’t look right. That can help us to understand a little bit of what it means that God wants us to be like him and be holy & righteous-to be perfect & without sin.”

Implication: God’s commands are holy & righteous & good and you must obey them all of the time.

Heather's thoughts: We don't have to be scared of teaching little ones big ideas. With using examples like these we can teach them deep foundational truths at a young age. "Righteousness" sure is a big word for a little kid but it's not so big when you tell them "this means that everything He thinks, says, and does is right." Well, there you have it! And what an easy way to illustrate the goodness & rightness of his commands by simply talking about why parents have the rule of crossing the street holding hands. They see those big cars fly by, they understand that it's safest to hold hands crossing streets.

You'll notice in the explanation she said "In order to be holy and righteous, God says that people must obey these commands, perfectly, all of the time” and also that we must by Holy because he is Holy. What do you think about that? Is it too heavy to teach a child such a hard thing-knowing they will fail? I mean how in the world can we be holy, righteous all the time? 

Well the truth is we can't. Which brings us to Essential Gospel Truth #4 which is "Man is Sinful" 

Something to think about:

Should we not teach/tell children that they are to be Holy & Righteous like God is-just because they can't? Well I believe by teaching them this (and also the following point), it is important for them to realize that they cannot be perfect, sinless, and always doing right. This is a good thing to feel-a feeling of helplessness.  It will be able to help them see that they need something bigger, more perfect than themselves-that they need a Savior.