LAST LESSONS #221 — SIMPLY TRUTH — 4

We are ready to send for African children the fourth SIMPLY TRUTH that we believe needs to be clarified. Since we have heard that there is some confusion about how to be saved, we want to make sure our children understand this most important truth.

True: There is only one way to be saved

There is one way to be saved from hell and that is by believing the gospel. The gospel is often summarized in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” but we may expand this verse by saying that the gospel is the good news that our sins will be forgiven when we believe that God sent his Son Jesus to earth to live a perfect life to fulfill all the law, to die to atone for our sins, to be raised bodily from the dead, and who will come again to take us to live with him for eternity. Believing this gospel is the only way we can be saved from the death that we deserve for our sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23.

Not true: There are many ways to be saved

First, we cannot save ourselves. Since no one can live a perfect life without sin, no one deserves heaven. Nor can we earn our way to heaven. All the good things we do will not earn heaven for us. Having Christian parents does not save us; being in the right church does not save us; being baptized does not save us.

Muslims believe that they go to their kind of heaven (which is not real) by killing infidels (those who are not Muslims). Other religions have various types of heaven, and many people are not worried about where they go when they die because they do not believe there is a heaven or a hell.

Christians know that there is heaven and that there is hell because the Bible tells us that there is. It is only faith in Jesus Christ that will save us from hell. Furthermore, God graciously gives us faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” Ephesians 2:8-9.

Therefore:

We should pray that our faith in Jesus Christ will be strengthened. God will answer that prayer. We should also ask God to give us opportunities to speak to unbelievers about Jesus so that they might also believe in the wonderful news of the gospel and be saved. 

LAST LESSONS #220 — SIMPLY TRUTH — 3

The third fallacy we need to correct for our children in Africa is the belief that we are re-incarnated. I’m not sure where they get that teaching, but apparently, they are taught that somewhere. Here is the truth!

True: Our physical bodies die only once

Hebrews 9:27 reads: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

God gives us one life on this earth. It is true that our bodies will be resurrected to live eternally in the heavens or in hell.

Not true: We are re-incarnated

Reincarnation is the belief that a person's soul or spirit is reborn into a new body after death. This belief is common mostly in Southeast Asia. The truth is that we do not come around again. We do not have a second chance to live this life in a different form. Those who claim that we are re-incarnated have never been able to prove it because they cannot. It is a false teaching.

Therefore:

We should live each day of this life on earth as Christians in obedience to God as he enables us. Furthermore, since all people have only one earthly life, we should explain the gospel to those who believe in re-incarnation and pray that they will believe the gospel. Furthermore, we Christians should give thanks for each day that God gives us on this earth desiring to live in a way that glorifies God.

LAST LESSONS #219 — SIMPLY TRUTH — 2

The second “truth” we are putting together this week is that God created the world. Here is the simple version that we will be sending to those who are teaching children. Hopefully it will help you and me too!

True: God created the world

Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the following verses the process of God’s creation of all things is expanded. God created day and night, he created oceans and clouds, he created land, he created vegetation (even every single flower!), he created the sun and the moon and millions of stars, he created fish and birds, he created animals of every kind, and finally he created people. He created human beings in his own likeness, males and females.

Colossians 1:16-17 also makes it clear that “By [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Not true: The world evolved

Evolution is a false belief. It teaches that the world and people came from a process that started with single cells and developed through millions of years. Evolution is taught in some schools today, but it was not even taught in US schools until 1925 when there was a trial of a teacher named Scopes that allowed evolution to be taught along with creation. Creation, not evolution is taught in Rafiki schools and other Christian schools. “Creation” is taught in Rafiki and Christian schools because it is true.

Therefore:

You can believe that you did not come from a monkey. People did not develop from apes. You can believe that Adam and Eve were real people who were created in God’s own image. And so were you. That means that your life is valuable to God and that he has a purpose for it. 

LAST LESSONS #218 — SIMPLY TRUTH — 1

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

In asking God what he wants me to do this year, it became clear that there are some beliefs that are being taught in Africa that need to be corrected. I want to help with that. Of course, I am not a theologian, so I am asking a theologian for some help in writing some simple truths and untruths and then to simply apply them. I thought you might be interested in reading them so I am sending the first one here and asking you to pray that God will make the words helpful.

True: There is only one God

We know that there is only one God because the Bible tells us so. The clearest statement is in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:1-6. And consider Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Not true: There are many Gods

Religions other than Christianity have many gods. For instance, Islam believes in Allah as their god. All gods of other religions are false. Christians sometimes get confused about gods other than the one true God. They worship other people or things and make them their gods by putting them before the true God.

Therefore:

We are not to worship anything other than the triune God. We should not worship Mount Kilimanjaro, nor Mary, nor saints, nor angels, nor other people. Nothing should come before the one true God.