An Easter Sermon for Children's Church

You may know many things about the death and resurrection of Jesus. You may know about the Man who was killed on the Cross. You may know that man. I do!

Or, maybe you don’t know anything about the story. You may have questions. You may be asking:

Did these things really happen?

Who was that Man on the Cross?

Why did He have to die?

Did He really come back to life?

What does it all have to do with me?

I hope to answer these questions over the next few minutes.

The Gospel – Good News

Paul the Apostle wrote these words in the Bible:

(Romans 1:1b-4 ESV) 1 …the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

These words speak of the gospel of God. Gospel means “good news”. And they say it is God’s gospel. It is “good news” from God. This “gospel of God” was promised by God “through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.”

In another place we read this about the gospel of God.

(First Corinthians 15:1, 3-4 ESV) 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

There is a clear statement of the gospel:

Christ died for our sins and Christ rose from the dead!

That is the gospel. That is the “good news”.

The Bad News

But if you were listening close, in that clear statement you also heard some bad news. And it is that bad news that makes the “good news” so very good.

“Christ died for our sins.” Christ Jesus, the man who died on the Cross, “died for our sins.”

The bad news we must face is the bad news about “our sins”.

What is sin?

Have you ever lied? God said, “do not lie.” Lying is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”

Have you ever stolen anything? God said, “do not steal.” Stealing is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”

Have you ever disobeyed your parents? God said, “Honor your father and your mother.” Disobeying your parents is sin. That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”

Sin is doing what God has commanded us not to do or not doing what God has commanded us to do. Everyone has sinned. The Bible says:

(Romans 3:23 ESV) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the gloryof God,

The consequence of sin is death. The Bible says:

(Romans 6:23 ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death…

The death this verse speaks of is an eternal painful existence in hell - separated from God and all that is good.

That is why Jesus died; “for our sins.”

Jesus, Our Sin, and His Death

Who is Jesus? How could He die for my sin?

There is one answer to both of these questions.

Our Scripture talks about “the gospel of God… concerning his Son.”

The reason Jesus could die for our sins is because he is the sinless Son of God. He is God in human flesh. Jesus…

“was descended from David according to the flesh”

He was the perfect Man who never sinned

And Jesus…

“was declared to be the Son of God”

Very God in human flesh. And he “died for our sins.”

How can we know that Jesus is the Son of God? That is what Easter is all about. Our Scripture says Jesus…

“was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”

We know that Jesus is the Son of God because, after he “died for our sins” on the Cross, He rose from the dead. He came back to life.

Your Response

Do you still ask, “What does this have to do with me?

Well, nothing if you reject the good news. If you reject the Son of God’s death as payment for your sin, then it has nothing to do with you. You must pay for your own sin forever in hell.

But, if you receive Jesus and His death as payment for your sins then your sins are forgiven and you will live forever with God in heaven.

You must receive Jesus by faith. Faith is turning to Jesus in love and trusting in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins. And faith is turning from sin. This is called repentance. It means that with God’s help you live the rest of your life the way God wants you to live.

If you understand that you need your sins forgiven - if you believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that He rose again - if you are willing to turn from sin and trust in Jesus, you can receive Him now.

Prayer

If you would receive Jesus, tell Him so in prayer. Tell Jesus that you want to trust Him and turn from your sin. Tell him you want your sins forgiven. Tell Him you believe that he died for you and that He rose again from the dead.

Now tell me, doth this offend you?

Regeneration - Justification - Sanctification

There is great room for error when we fail to properly distinguish the various works of God in the salvation of sinners. This is especially true with reference to three prominent aspects of God's work of salvation: regeneration, justification, and sanctification. The work of God in regeneration must be distinguished from both justification and sanctification. And justification must be clearly distinguished from sanctification.

First, regeneration is to be distinguished from justification. Justification is a legal declaration by God the Judge of the universe. In it God declares the believing sinner to be righteous because Jesus paid the penalty for his sins on the cross, and the righteousness of Jesus has been credited to him. In justification the believing sinner becomes positionally righteous not practically righteous. In justification righteousness is credited or imputed (not infused) to the sinner; no change is made in him.

In regeneration, however, there is a radical change in the sinner. He who was dead in sin is now made alive. He who hated God now loves and trusts God. He who lived for sin now lives for righteousness. Regeneration is the actual infusion of holiness.

If we fail to distinguish regeneration from justification we fall in to the error of believing that our righteous standing before God depends on how holy and righteous we behave. Holiness in the life of the believer has as it origin and of necessity follows from regeneration, but our justification before God is always and only dependent on the merits of Jesus Christ.

Second, regeneration is to be distinguished from sanctification. Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer whereby we are brought into conformity with the righteous character of Christ. It begins at regeneration and is completed at glorification. Therefore, from the moment we put our trust in Jesus until we breath our last breath, the Holy Spirit is at work in us making us holy. Whereas in justification we are positionally declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus, in sanctification we are progressively made righteous practically.

Regeneration is an instantaneous work of the Holy Spirit and is the seed of all holiness of life that is to follow. Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit, following upon the new birth, making us more and more holy.

If we fail to distinguish regeneration from sanctification we fall into the error of believing that any failure in the progress of sanctification makes void the grace of regeneration. Those who make this mistake find themselves seeking to be born again again and again.

Now tell me, doth this offend you?