justicaton · the best choice concerning salvation is justification through jesus: “blessed are...
TRANSCRIPT
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 1
J U S T I F I C A T I O NROM A N S 3–4 & G A L AT I A N S 3
The goal is to help children understand the concept of justification through Jesus Christ.
God’s justice (all that is right) demands that injustice (all that is wrong) be punished.
Justification is how a guilty person is declared “not guilty” and how sin is replaced with
righteousness. Sin is the breaking of God’s holy law, and it is a legal debt that cannot be
forgiven without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus took on Himself the debt that
we owed and bore on the cross the punishment we deserve —He shed the blood required
for our forgiveness. By placing our faith in His sacrifice, we are not judged according to our
sins, but we are justified and declared “not guilty” in the sight of God, who sees only the
righteousness of Christ in us. Through His sacrifice, it is just as if we had never, ever sinned.
GOAL w
Justice: God is completely just in that He is the perfect standard on what is righteous and
what is not; in other words, His righteousness decides how things are supposed to be—the
moral perfection He requires. Anything that falls short of His righteousness is sin.
Justification: The way in which a person is declared right with God. Being justified through
faith in Jesus Christ not only grants forgiveness of sins, but also the perfect righteousness
of Christ.
WORDS
TO KNOW
w
2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we
might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 3:28: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 4:7: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
MEMORY
VERSES
w
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 2
Read Romans 3–4: This lesson deals with an unsettling question, “How can a person be
justified before a perfectly righteous and holy God?” In other words, if His standards demand
absolute perfection concerning His holy law, then who can stand in His judgement? The
answer is no one. All have sinned and fall short (Romans 3:23). There is not one righteous,
no not one! (Romans 3:10). The price for sin is death—But Jesus, who knew no sin, became
sin for us. He died to pay the price for our sins, He was resurrected because His sacrifice was
acceptable to God, and because His sacrifice was accepted, we are justified.
OVERVIEW w
Discuss the two thieves. Both violent criminals, condemned to die; yet, upon death and in
the presence of God, only one would be justified. What makes the difference in the man
who would be declared righteous in the eyes of God?
The Justified Thief:
1. Recognized his sin by confessing it to the Savior who forgives
2. Repented of his sin
3. Personally asked Jesus for mercy and forgiveness
SUGGESTIONS w
The Unjustified Thief:
1. Doubted Jesus’ claim as Messiah and forgiver of sins
2. Would not repent
3. Mocked and ridiculed Jesus, and rejected His message of salvation
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 3
Would You Rather
Prepare a list of “Would You Rathers.” Mix in both fun and thought-provoking dilemmas,
and most definitely include situations from the lesson. Let the kids take turns sharing their
answers. Sample questions:
1. Would you rather surf on the internet or on the ocean?
2. Would you rather have super-power hearing or be able to see through walls?
3. Would you rather be judged by your own good works or receive full pardon by
trusting Jesus?
4. Would you rather be forgotten or hatefully remembered?
5. Would you rather white water raft or jump out of an airplane with a parachute?
6. Would you rather be the forgiven thief or the rebellious thief?
7. Would you rather be justified by perfectly keeping God’s law or be justified through faith
in Jesus?
8. Would you rather have hiccups for the rest of your life or always feel like you need to sneeze,
but can’t?
The best choice concerning salvation is justification through Jesus: “Blessed are those whose
lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom
the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:7)
PRE-LESSON
ACTIVIT Y
w
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 4
1. 2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
When sin entered the world, our relationship with God was broken; yet God in His mercy
was willing to reconcile with mankind. Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice, is the
only solution.
2. Romans 3:28: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Nothing we do or say can convince God that we are good enough to be declared
righteous, except the blood of Jesus.
3. Romans 4:7: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
Our worst problem, the curse of sin and death, was solved through Jesus and His death on
the cross.
MEMORY
VERSES
MEANING
w
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 5
Unpacking Righteousness
You will need: two identical shoeboxes with lids, masking and scotch tape, wrapping
paper, several sheets of construction paper cut up into squares, markers. Before the lesson:
prepare the materials by taping the two boxes together so that their bottoms meet, and the
removable lids are on the outside. Cover the joined boxes and separate lids with wrapping
paper so that the entire structure looks uniform. Take 10-12 squares of construction paper
and write a redeemed quality on each, such as holiness, kindness, righteousness, purity,
selflessness, etc. Place the squares inside one of the boxes and close it with the lid; make a
small dot on the lid so you can remember which side these are on.
In class: explain to the students that God removed our guilt and penalty of sin while at the
same time declaring us righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice. Help the students come
up with all kinds of sinful qualities like jealousy, guilt, betrayal, fear, greed, anger, etc., writing
each on a square. Have the students take turns placing these squares in the open box.
When all the sinful qualities are inside, put the lid on the box and pick it up, turning it this
way and that unnoticeably while you recount the crucifixion. When finished, place the box
on the table and open up the end with the redeemed qualities; let the students read them
and marvel at the transformation!
POST-LESSON
ACTIVITY
w
Discuss the various ways man seeks justification in his own way, then help the children use
the truth in God’s word to be justified by faith in Jesus.
Begin with the religious rulers during Jesus’ time on earth and how they sought justification
by keeping the law. Explain how the bible teaches that to be guilty of even one broken
commandment is to be guilty of all. Justification through works is an impossible feat. Then
talk about other types of “ justifiers,” such as people who blame others for their shortcomings
(sin); people who worship other gods; people who grew up in Christian homes and think
that is good enough.
TAKE
HOME
w
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 6
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q1a: What word does the Apostle Paul use to describe
our complete forgiveness of sin?
A1: The Apostle Paul uses the word justification.
Q1b: What are some bad excuses for not doing your
homework?
TN: Let students answer. Even if we have good excuses for not doing our homework, we
should understand that it is our responsibility as students to do this homework; not doing
it only hurts us, as we will not learn the concepts being taught. Excuses do not justify our
lack of student responsibility. The same is true in regard to our faithfulness to God. We will
always have excuses for why we commit sin, but those excuses don’t excuse our behavior in
God’s eyes. It is impossible for us to live perfect, sinless lives. Jesus, the Son of God—the only
man to ever live a perfect, sinless life—offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. When God
accepted His sacrifice on our behalf, our sins were forgiven.
Q2a: What crime were the religious leaders able to find
against Jesus?
A2: None! They could find no crime against Jesus.
Q2b: You broke a big rule, and your parent tells you that
your grounded for a year. Do you plead for mercy?
TN: Even though we know we broke this rule, none of us wants to be grounded for year! We
would offer up suggestions on other ways we could make up for our wrongdoing—extra
chores, no allowance, volunteering our time with charitable organizations—anything to
avoid being grounded for a whole year! Jesus’ punishment was not deserved. He had never
done anything wrong, and yet, He did not protest. He didn’t say a word. Jesus was taking on
the punishment deserved for the sins committed by every single person.
SLIDE 1
QUESTION & ANSWERQUESTION & ANSWER
SLIDE 2
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 7
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q3a: Jesus hung on a cross between who?
A3: Jesus hung on a cross between two thieves.
Q3b: Could Jesus have saved Himself from this
horrible punishment?
TN: Jesus absolutely could have saved Himself. While He was a man during His time on earth,
He was still fully God. He had the power to heal and forgive people of their sins, so He had
the power to work a powerful miracle to save Himself, proving that He was God—but that
wasn’t the purpose of His mission. His purpose here on earth was to free us from the slavery
of sin and death. We deserved the punishment He took on, but because the punishment for
our sins was justified, He did not dispute it; He did not stop it. The punishment was justified
because it is God’s law that death pay for sin.
Q4a: How did the thieves respond to Jesus’ prayer?
A4: One thief became even more resentful and hateful,
and the other wanted peace and forgiveness.
Q4b: To celebrate your birthday, a family member
prepares a meal of all of your favorite foods. Does this
make you feel bad?
TN: No way! That is such a nice thing to do! While this person spent a lot of time and trouble
putting this all together for us, this person did it because they love us and want us to be
happy. People go out of their way to do nice things for us to make us feel special and loved.
While what Jesus went through for us was terrible, He did it because He loves us so much, He
would rather die a horrible death than to be separated from us. His sacrifice is the greatest
display of love we will ever experience. It is hard to think of Jesus’ crucifixion as a beautiful
gesture like a meal of all our favorite things, but it is. When we feel sadness about what He
went through for us, we should take it as an opportunity to remember what put Him in that
position, try to live a life that is pleasing to God, and to thank Him for His amazing sacrifice.
SLIDE 3
SLIDE 4
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 8
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q5a: What did the thief ask Jesus?
A5: The thief asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus
entered His kingdom.
Q5b: If the thief would have asked for forgiveness earlier,
would he have still deserved his punishment?
TN: Yes. The fact is that we sin, and all sins have consequences. When we accept Jesus as
our Savior and acknowledge that His sacrifice on the cross bought our forgiveness, we are
saved from the eternal consequences of sin. This means that, even though we sin, we will
live forever in Heaven with God. God will help us to deal with the earthly consequences of
our sin, but He does not wave them away. As Christians, we try to live our lives as Jesus did,
but we will always fall short. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God sees us as justified despite our
shortcomings. The man in this story stole something, or many somethings, and got caught,
and for that, he faced a serious punishment. While our sins are forgiven, being a Christian is
not the equivalent of having an eternal “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
Q6a: Would God see the thief’s sin?
A6: No, God would only see the righteousness of Jesus.
Q6b: Instead of being punished for cheating on a test,
you are rewarded with a trip to an amusement park.
How would you feel?
TN: More than likely, we would think it’s too good to be true. We’d be waiting to find out that
in order to get the trip we’d have to clean the school’s bathrooms for a month or something
equally gross or labor-intensive. We often view Christ’s sacrifice in the same way. We often
wonder, “Nothing we do will be held against us? Really?” Yes, really! We will never deserve
the promise of eternity in Heaven with God, but God did not make a bad choice; God is not
a fool. Because of this fact, when we find ourselves in Heaven, standing before the throne of
God, we can finally thank Him for thinking us worthy of such mercy and grace.
QUESTION & ANSWER
SLIDE 5
SLIDE 6
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 9
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q7a: Why did Jesus face God’s anger?
A7: Jesus faced God’s anger so that we could be children
of God.
Q7b: After being grounded for a month, what do
you think you would enjoy the most about your
regained freedom?
TN: Maybe it’s being able to visit friends, or play video games—whatever it is, it feels good
to be able to do things again. Looking back on life before we accepted Jesus as our Savior
may not resemble life when grounded, but the freedom He provided us is so much better
and deeper. Jesus did so much for us. He provided us with a model by which to try to live
our lives. He freed us from the cycle of sin and death. He restored our relationship with our
loving Father, God. He made us—sinners all—justified in the eyes of our just and perfect
Creator. He is truly worthy of our praise!
SLIDE 7
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 10
MEMORY
VERSES
w
BIG IDEA w
CLOSING
PRAYER
w
2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we
might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 3:28: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. )
Romans 4:7: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
No matter what we do, we are “not guilty” in the eyes of God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for providing for us a way to be justified—to be declared guiltless
and righteous—before God. Thank You for taking our place and dying on the cross. You who
were without sin, took our sin for us. Amen.
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 11
LESSON TRANSCRIPT
God is perfect, completely holy, and also just. Anything
that falls short of His perfection—His righteousness—is sin.
His judgment is so precise, that to be guilty of breaking
even one of His commandments is to be guilty of
breaking all. Nothing we can offer by way of gifts or good
behavior can fix what sin has broken; we are altogether
hopeless. But we will soon see that God is as merciful as
He is just, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. The Apostle Paul uses the word justification to
describe this amazing and complete forgiveness of sin.
But it came with a great price…
The religious leaders could not find any crime against
Jesus; even so, they bound Him and delivered Him over
to be killed, and the mob, filled with the hatred of their
own rebellion, demanded He be crucified. The perfect
Messiah stood mocked, blasphemed, spit upon, beaten,
and falsely accused—yet He stood quietly prepared to
give His life for the very people who despised Him.
As He hung between two thieves, the people continued
to abuse and cast insults. “Save yourself,” they cried,
“Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!”
But even with all the pain and abuse thrown at Him, the
worst rejection would not be from these enemies of God;
it would come from being forsaken by His own Father,
who could not look on the sins that He was about to bear.
SLIDE 1
SLIDE 2
SLIDE 3
LESSON TRANSCRIPT
© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 12
LESSON TRANSCRIPTLESSON TRANSCRIPT
“Please forgive them,” Jesus prayed, “for they know not
what they do.” The offer and plea of forgiveness reached
the ears of the two criminals. For one criminal, the offer
fueled even more resentment and hatred, but for the
other, it sparked a desire for peace and forgiveness. “Do
you not fear God?” the remorseful criminal rebuked the
first. “We are both condemned and about to suffer what
we deserve; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he turned to Jesus, the sorrow of his own sin
moving him to repentance, “Please Lord, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.” In that moment,
the cries of the angry mob seemed to fade between the
broken man and his Savior, and mercy was freely given.
In the sight of God, he would be justified. God would not
see his sin, but would instead see the righteousness of
Jesus, made possible by His great sacrifice. Jesus said
to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me
in paradise.”
Jesus died so that we could live; He faced God’s anger
against sin so that we could once again be children of
God; and He paid the necessary price so that we could
be set free from the slavery of sin and death. By faith in
Jesus we are eternally justified--no longer enemies of
God, but instead, His precious children.
SLIDE 5
SLIDE 6
SLIDE 7
SLIDE 4