The Salvation: What is faith in Christ?

The Salvation: What is faith in Christ? Q: What is faith in Christ? A: Faith in Christ is trusting in Him alone for salvation. Memory Verse: And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith Philippians 3:9 Bible Reading: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God John 1:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. John 6:40 Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 209

Discussion Questions: What does faith mean? Why is trusting Jesus for salvation important? How is faith related to works? Devotion: Faith is trusting or believing in God based on what He has said in His Word. Faith trusts in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. Our faith isn t a wild guess, but is based on what what God says in scripture about who Jesus is, who we are, and how we can be saved through Christ. When we turn away from our sins, that is repenting. When we turn toward Jesus, that is faith. Faith isn t just knowing the facts about who Christ is and what He has done. While that is really important, it s not enough. We must agree with those facts and decide to depend on Jesus to save us. The ability to know, agree, and decide all these things are given to us from God. Trusting is the key! We have to have a personal trust in Jesus as our Savior, depending on Him to give us faith and forgiveness of sins. We make Him the King of our lives, and put our trust in Him as Savior. We not only believe what God says about Jesus, we put our confidence and faith in Him! When God saves us (regenerates and justifies us), our sin and guilt are removed and we enjoy a genuine relationship with God forever. Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 210

Crafts/Activities: Chair Faith. Bring out a chair and talk about how we sit in chairs every day, trusting that it will hold us when we sit on it. We know we ve sat on it before and it held us up, so it will likely do it again! Faith is sort of like that, but not quite. Have your child blindfolded and set the chair behind them some distance off. Tell them that faith is more like trusting the one who can see what you cannot, and who is leading you toward the safety of the chair, as well as trusting that when you sit in the chair it will hold you safely. Have them walk in small steps left to right and backward, with you coaching them along the way to lead them to the chair. Do you trust me? Once they get to the chair and sit in it (you can hold or position the chair to make sure they get into it safely) explain how this is similar in some ways to putting our faith in Jesus. We not only trust God and His Word, and what He says about who Jesus is and what He has done for us, but also trust completely in Jesus for our salvation and eternal life, submitting to Him as Lord. Walking on Water. Read Matthew 14:22-33 and have your children act it out. In what ways was Peter showing a faith and trust in who Jesus was and what He said? In what ways did he show a lack of faith? Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 211

Q. What is faith in Christ? A: Faith in Christ is trusting in Him alone for salvation. And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith Philippians 3:9 Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 212

What is faith in Christ? And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith Philippians 3:9 Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 214

What is faith in Christ? Faith in Christ is trusting in Him alone for salvation. In Matthew 14:22-33, Peter and the disciples were in a boat in some rough waters, and Jesus decided to walk out to them. on the water! When the disciples saw Jesus coming, they were afraid and thought it was a ghost. But Jesus said Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. Peter on the Water detail by Eero Järnefelt (public domain) Then Peter had an amazing idea. He asked Jesus to call him out on the water. (Would you have thought of that?) Jesus did! He said come. So Peter climbed out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But when he started looking at the wind and the waves, he became afraid, and started to sink! Lord, save me! he said. Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of him. Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? said Jesus. He stopped the wind and the waves. Peter and the disciples, likely overcome and awed, praised and worshipped Him, saying Truly you are the Son of God. When Peter saw Jesus walking toward them that night, he didn t just blindly jump out onto the water and hope for the best. He asked Jesus for His direction, and Jesus said Come. Peter s faith was not in whether he Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 217

could drum up enough belief to make things happen. His faith was in who Jesus was and in the trustworthiness of His word. If Jesus says come, he would. Peter trusted that Jesus could command the water to hold him up and enable Peter to do what He said to do. When Peter looked away from Jesus and turned his attention to the uncertain surroundings, his faith faltered. Perhaps even doubt crept in. Peter began to sink, and although it was probably very scary, it was a good thing. Do you know why? Because it brought Peter s focus back trusting Jesus. He called out in faith, trusting Jesus as His Savior. Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 218

Trusting Jesus Faith is trusting Jesus for all things, including our salvation and eternal life. What situations could you use more faith and trust in Jesus? Pray, asking God for faith in these things, but more importantly, for trust in what He says about Jesus and what He s done for you. Copyright 2018 Tauna Meyer. All rights reserved. 220