The Gospel - a Guide for Families
Whether you use this guide, another one, or simply open the Scriptures I pray that you would stop today and lead your family through this most important story.
Friends,
Many of us may be facing a first-time reality this year on Easter Sunday - celebrating it from the isolation of our homes.
While there are countless live streams to turn on, perhaps you are feeling the prompting to sit down with your family, around the kitchen table or on your back porch, and lead them through the Gospel story.
Men, husbands, and fathers especially - I couldn’t encourage this more.
Last year I put together this guide for our family. It includes a high-level narrative of the main concepts in the Gospel story, as well as a question and response section for each concept, and supporting Scripture:
Sin
Separated
Substitute
Satisfied
Share
Sons (After reading ‘Knowing God,’ I added this one this year)
Sanctification
Whether you use this guide, another one, or simply open the Scriptures I pray that you would stop today and lead your family through this most important story.
In love,
Derek
—
The Gospel Story
Because of our
Sin
We became permanently
Separated
From God, perfect in His justice and holiness.
Unable to save ourselves, we needed a
Substitute
In love, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, our only hope.
Through His sinless life, death and resurrection, He completely
Satisfied
The wrath and justice of God. The penalty for sin that we deserved.
With the power of death defeated, and those who believe now reconciled to God, we
Share
Not only in Jesus’ righteousness, glory, and inheritance, but also in His suffering, death and new life.
In this new state, He no longer calls us slaves, but
Sons
and daughters, and He gives us the right for the first time to call Him Father. Behold, what manner of love, that we now share in His everlasting inheritance as heirs of God.
The day we become a new man, God begins in us a process of
Sanctification
Continually becoming more like Jesus, until the day we see Him face to face.
—
Question & Response, plus supporting Scriptures
Sin
Whose? Ours. All of us.
And how? Through birth, from Adam, and through our own thoughts, desires, actions.
And what is the penalty? Death
“O Lord, to us belongs shame of face...because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.” Daniel 9:8-9
“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.”Psalms 130:3-4
Separation
From who? God.
Why? Our sin.
For how long? Eternity
What hope do we have on our own? None
Substitution
Who? Jesus, our only hope
Who sent Him? God, our Father
What did it demonstrate? His love for us, who were not lovely, and who did not love Him first
Why did it have to be Jesus? We are unable to save ourselves
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent Him Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Satisfaction
What was satisfied? The justice and wrath of God
How? “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21) “And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Is. 53:6)
What is left for us to earn or do? Nothing. We are saved completely by grace, through no works of our own.
What is our invitation as a result? To be satisfied in Christ. To drink of the living water, and never thirst again, instead of continuing to drink from our own broken cisterns. (John 4:13-14, Jeremiah 2:13)
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Shared
Whose do we share? Jesus’
What? His righteousness, His glory, His inheritance
What else? His suffering, death, resurrection and new life
What does it cost? Everything
Is it worth the cost? Yes. He is worth it because He is worthy. (Rev. 5:8-14)
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“That through death, He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14-15
Adoption
Are all able to call God their Father? No, only those whom He has given the right to and who then believe in His name.
Once we are adopted, what changes for us? We are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son then an heir.
What is our response to this? Behold, what great love the Father has given us!
To redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons...So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then God has made you an heir. (Galatians 4:5,7)
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1
To them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. John 1:12
Sanctification
(1 Thes. 5:23-24, 2 Thes. 2:14, Phil 1:6, Romans 8:29, Eph. 1:4)
What is it? Becoming like Christ in our thoughts, desires, actions and the fruit of our lives.
When will it be complete? When we finally see Him face to face
When does it begin? At the moment of conversion, when we become a new man.
Should we see evidence of it from every born-again believer? Yes. Every tree is known by its fruit. Faith without works is dead. Everyone in Christ is a new creation, the old has passed away. (Col. 3:5-11, James 2:26, Romans 8:12-14, Luke 6:43-44)
Who does the sanctifying? God.
For who? Those who are called
Why? Because He is faithful to complete the work He started