Hindsight

My heart is broken today as I think about my son.  Today, it is one year since he passed from this life into the next.

My heart is broken for a variety of reasons.  Right now, at this particular point in time, I'm thinking about the hypocritical life I lived I front of him and the false gospel that was taught to him for years and years.

Parents, teach your children the gospel.  Not the gospel of try harder and do nice things and be better and volunteer at the food pantry and go on mission trips to dig wells and build things.  That's all well and good.  It's not the gospel.

If you do not know the gospel, here it is:

God is holy...
You are not...
God hates sin...
You are a sinner.  Because of the fall of Adam, your nature is inherently sinful.  Even on your best day, you fall miserably short of pleasing God...
You have violated God's law and deserve His just wrath and condemnation.
Jesus Christ came to this world...
was born of a virgin...
lived a perfect, sinless life that you could not live...
died a horrid death, nailed to a cross, paid the penalty for sin that you could not pay, with His perfect sacrifice, saving from wrath all those who would believe.  On that cross, He took the sin of all those who would believe, placed it upon Himself, and placed His righteousness upon them...
He was raised from the dead, proving His sacrifice for sin was acceptable to the Father, and is seated at the Father's right hand...

If you, deserving nothing but just wrath from this holy God because of your sin, feel the weight of your sin…

If you, deserving nothing but just wrath from this holy God because of your sin, realize there is nothing at all that you can do to save yourself and your best deeds are as filthy rags before God…

If you, deserving nothing but just wrath from this holy God because of your sin, will fall on your face in repentance, cry out to God for forgiveness and place your faith and trust in Christ because of His finished work on the cross….

You will be saved.

Teach that.  Away with the social gospel.  It is impotent and saves nobody.

This is what our children need.  This is what my son needed as a teen.  He got the other.  After God was gracious and opened my eyes, he got the real thing.  May it not have been too late.

If you've believed a false gospel, repent.  Repent and trust Christ today.  Believe the good news of the gospel.  Then, give it to your kids.