If the Foundations be Destroyed
By Daniel Cavanaugh, Global Encounters team leader
For the second year in a row, I have had the privilege to work with Global Encounters to write the kids curriculum for our short-term trips. It has been our desire to produce curriculum that is rich with Biblical truth and doctrinal clarity. You may be asking “How in the world are you going to teach kids doctrine or why would you waste your time doing so?” Actually, it is of utmost importance that we teach kids the foundational basics of God’s word. God’s word tells us, “If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?” [Ps. 11:3]I would argue that if there has never been a foundation would they even know what true righteousness is? Furthermore, I would say that we give kids far less credit then than they deserve. They are smart and their young, less cluttered minds [more so than adults anyway] can comprehend more than we think. I am reminded of the passage, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” [Prov. 22:6] We cannot fail to train children in the foundational truths of God word. If we do, they we will miss the whole thing. They must see the gospel and its all-encompassing truths as the core of life – because it is life itself. [Col.1] One of the lessons we wrote this year focuses on the wonderful truth that “I am Declared Righteous” in Christ. This teaching is the core of the gospel. All who come to Christ must understand this – young or old, black or white, friend or foe. So, let’s take a look at it…
What is the source of righteousness? How is one declared righteous? This is the question you must ask yourself in order to communicate it correctly to the kids – or anyone for that matter. When we speak of being declared righteous by Christ, we are speaking of our standing before God. You are either right before Him or condemned and guilty under His wrath. Through Christ’s death and subsequent redemption and forgiveness upon our life, He imputes His righteousness to those who put their faith in Him. The process of imputation is Christ actually attributing or ascribing His very own righteousness to us. So, when God the Father looks upon us He does not overlook our sin, but instead He sees Christ’s righteousness and we are therefore accounted justified before God.
Because of sin, we were guilty as charged by the law, but because of Christ’s righteousness, we can be justified. He deals with our sin; never brushes over it. Our sin is covered by Christ blood, and we are declared holy, blameless, and perfect before God. It must be driven home that righteousness cannot be attained by any merit we as man can come up with. Salvation is not merit based. We are totally and completely helpless apart from Christ. We can only be declared righteous because Christ is righteous.The great Judge of heaven has condemned us in our sin, but the great Mediator - Jesus Christ - stood in our place, nailed to the cross, so that those who believe are judged to be righteous. The Mediator stepped in and paid the price for the sins we could not pay, and should have paid, so when the gavel is slammed by the great Judge on judgment day we will be accounted righteous - ransomed paid. Our legal standing has changed. Remember: He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might be accounted righteous before God. Without it, you cannot be justified. Christ is the great justifier of all those who look to Him for redemption and forgiveness. Christ’s righteousness is ours through faith by His grace. What an awesome reality! [See Ephesians 1 & 2, Romans 5; 7:7-25, 2 Cor. 5:11-21]
So whether we are parents, teachers, or the church as a whole, we cannot fail to teach the above truth or any other foundational truths the Bible proclaims. What better place to start than when a child’s heart is soft and ready to learn. Let us be bold to proclaim the truth to our children and pray the Spirit of God will work unto salvation by the power of the gospel for the glory of His great name.Be not moved away!
Daniel Cavanaugh has been involved in international ministry since 2004 and family and teen ministry since 2001. Currently, Daniel is the administrative director of Vision4Living ministries. He also serves as a team leader for Global Encounters, and has led missions teams to Russia, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Ecuador. In addition to his interests in international ministry, Daniel enjoys Ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, sports, fishing, history, old-style photography, leadership development, and being around people.