It is a blessing for young children to be brought up in Christian families. Jesus loves them wholeheartedly, in this there can be no doubt since he spoke the words, “let the little children come to me”. Through their parents, these children come to know Jesus Christ at a young age and take their first steps of faith under Jesus' watchful eye. Yet when asked, not all of these dearly beloved young ones know why they believe in Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is because their faith becomes almost a given and the only life that they know. Or the world's desensitizing effects gets to them, and they cease to recognize that they believed because they had come to experience God's love in its simplest and purest form. Thus it is no surprise that they often struggle when pressed to produce a reason for their faith. Like the parable of the sower, these Christians are stifled and cannot bear fruit because of the rocky places. As God's fellow sower, we have the opportunity to turn those rocky places into fertile soil. That is the objective of today's lesson. Keep praying that God will tear down the barriers that prevent them from desiring to know Him, His ways and His truth.

Note: I know this lesson is more apologetic than bible study. We can discuss on Sunday whether you prefer to teach everything or that I teach pt 1-4 in a big group and you go through pt 5-6 in small groups. Also, please voice out early if there is a logical fallacy that you can't stand ;)

1.Do you know how to identify Christians from non-Christians?

Perhaps you perceive that Christians are more concerned about being holy... but that is not necessarily true. Both Christians and non-Christians share the same sinful human nature and there are individuals who subscribe to other religions who are just as jealous about keeping their religion's laws. What really distinguishes a Christian from a non-Christian is the belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross for his sins (John 3:16). To the genuine Christian... Christ is both Savior and Lord.

2.This belief is called the gospel and goes something like this:

There exists a perfect and holy God who creates Man on earth. But Man takes on a sinful nature, choosing to rebel against his Creator and become separated from God by sin. This separation is irreconcilable by you and I. We are mere mortals and are unable to stop sinning completely. As a result our sin condemns us to punishment and death. God is the only one capable of rescuing Man from his predicament. God hates sin but he also loves us. Thus in an act of sacrificial love, God sends his Son who is also God in the form of a Man to redeem us from our sins by paying the price – death and separation from the Father and the Holy Spirit!

How do Christians come to believe this incredible message?

All Christians believe in the gospel through faith. (Eph 2:8)

3.But what exactly is faith?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)

4.Is it unreasonable to believe in something that you have not seen?

Of course not. Actually, you and I believe in many things that we have not seen. For e.g. You cannot see the nutrition being absorbed by your body when you eat vegetables yet you believe on the testimony of others that vegetables are good for your health. What's really important is not our ability to observe an object but the object's actual validity (Is it true?) and authenticity (Is it real?).

In the case of vegetables, researchers are able to provide scientific evidence of its nutritional benefits. If scientists are able to prove that vegetables are good for us then this does not actually require faith in their part. However, if we do not completely understand the science behind it, then believing in the scientific findings may require a little faith. In the case of Jesus, scholars are able to provide historical evidence from both biblical and extra-biblical source documents concerning His life and only dishonest scholarship would lead one to the conclusion that Jesus never lived.

5.Read John 8:48-59. Who did Jesus claim to be? (v 54, 58)

Did you see what the contrast taking place? Jesus called God, “my Father” and the Abraham, the Jew's father. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and also God himself!

Both you and I can also claim to be God but it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to disprove our claims. Jesus on the other hand, has the credentials to backup his claim.

Let's take a quick look at the evidence:

Jesus' Character – Jesus Christ was sinless. The caliber of his life was so perfect that when he challenged his enemies who, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46). His disciples John, Paul, and Peter were brought up on “Adam and Eve” and undoubtedly believed in the universality of sin; Yet they testified that “He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips” (1 Peter 2:22); that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that “in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Even Pilate, who was no friend of Jesus, said, “What evil has he done?”. And the Roman centurion who witnessed the death of Christ said, “Truely this was the son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

Jesus' Miracles – Jesus demonstrated a power over natural forces that could only belong to God. He stilled a raging storm (Mark 4:35-40), turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), fed 5,000 from 5 loaves and two fishes (Matthew 14:15-21) and raised the dead (Luke 7:11-14). He demonstrated the Creator's power over sickness and disease. He made the lame walk, the dumb speak, and the blind see (Luke 7:22).

Jesus' Resurrection – He predicted when and where he would die. He predicted that he would die and that three days later he would rise from the dead. It is no wonder that multitudes believed in him after he had performed this feat. (Matthew 20:17-19)

6.Many people say it doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you sincerely believe it. Are they right?

Of course not!

Suppose you were going for a holiday and as you approached the plane, you noticed that fuel was leaking from its body; the rudder at the tail is missing; and there was a deep crack on its left wing. The flight attendant smiled and said, "Welcome aboard". When you hesitated, she said, "Oh, don't worry; nothing can possibly go wrong. Just believe and we'll reach our destination."

Would your belief change the reality that the plane is in need of repairs? Would it make a difference if you sincerely believe? You may sincerely believe but you are also sincerely wrong! No matter you hard or sincere you believe, your faith cannot change reality. It would be foolish to put your trust in it and climb aboard.

Our belief should rest on a trustworthy object. Note that I did not say that our belief should rest on an observable object. If the object is obserable then belief is not needed; belief would be redundant. We cannot prove absolutely matters of faith. Nevertheless, we should exercise due diligence to validate the reliability of the object (of our faith). Belief should be rational; a conviction that is grounded in evidence. We should not believe what we suspect to be untrue. Belief in something not justified by reason or evidence is superstition.

If we want to know whether believing in Jesus is trustworthy we should read the four gospels in greater detail to find out who Jesus said he was and what his eyewitnesses had to say about him. Christianity is not merely “a religion” as defined by the world. It is not just a set of beliefs and practices to govern human behavior. Rather, it is about God reaching out to have a relationship with Man. As God's forgiven people, we know that Jesus is God because you and I can experience a rich relationship with him today. Experience by itself is not conclusive, but combined with the historic objective fact of the resurrection it gives the basis for a solid conviction.

Ask your students if they have any doubts about their faith... you do not have to give them the answer now... and encourage your students to read the gospels.

Sources:
Know why you believe – Paul Little
http://www.vtaide.com/gleanings/belief-reality.htm
http://www.northave.org/MGManual/defense2/JesusHistorical.htm