GOSPEL A - B - C's

Recently I conducted some training at our church for the adult workers in our Wednesday evening children’s ministry. The subject was “Gospel A – B – C’s.”
Jesus said that even children can come to Him. The obvious implication is that the message of salvation is a simple one. Anyone can understand it.
Here’s how I explain it to the fourth- and fifth-graders I work with on Wednesday evenings.
It’s as simple as “A – B – C.”
“A” stands for “admit:” admit you need a Savior.
By the time you were nine or ten (maybe a little older), you had come to know something about what God wanted for your life: not everything, maybe not even much, but something. It probably wasn’t very long after that when you chose to do what you wanted to do instead. In other words, you rebelled. You made a choice to live your life for yourself instead of for God. And that’s sin.
Now, some people have a hard time defining sin. But really, sin is easy to understand: it’s a three letter word, and right in the middle is “I.” “S – I – N” basically means trying to remove God from the center of your life and put yourself there. More than just wrong behaviors, sin is a wrong attitude toward God. It’s why you need a Savior.
“B” stands for “believe:” believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to forgive your sin.
It’s not enough merely to “believe in God:” the Bible says the demons believe in God, and tremble in fear (James 2:19). Believing must be more specific. Believe this: Jesus, God’s Son, died to forgive your sin. As long as “I” is in the middle of S–I–N, you are trapped in S–I–N, so God sent His S–O–N to take the punishment for your S–I–N, and that way you can be forgiven.
“C” stands for “commit:” commit your life to Him.
That word comes from the Bible, and the Bible word “commit” simply means “to make a deposit.” It’s like when you take money to the bank and leave it with them. From then on, the bank decides where the money goes, and how it’s invested; in return, they promise that you get more back than you committed to them.
Committing your life to Jesus is just like that. You give Him yourself and let Him decide how you should live. He promises to give you back way more than you gave Him: you give Him your earthly life, and He gives you eternal life. At the same time, you become a brand new person on the inside, because Jesus Himself comes to live inside you and begins to remodel you from the inside out.
“A” – Admit you need a Savior.
“B” – Believe Jesus died to save you from your sin.
“C” – Commit your life to Him.
Even children understand these “A – B – C’s.”
Do you?