Teaching Kids Theology Part 2
TLDR: As we grow in our understanding of theology for ourselves and to teach it to kids, we are to grow in two directions: deeper and wider. Both are critical.
As we saw in Part 1 of this series, everyone is a theologian; the question is whether we are good theologians. We also saw that as a follower of Jesus, you are already a good theologian in several critical areas. But we also know that there’s ample room for all of us to grow. So, what specifically does that growth look like? We can think of growing as theologians in two primary directions.
Growing Deeper
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.
Philippians 2:12–13 (NET)
In Philippians, Paul calls on us to “work out [our] salvation with awe and reverence.” This is one of those times when the smaller words we tend to read over quickly truly matter. Notice that Paul doesn’t say we are to “work for our salvation” There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. It’s surely earned by work, but not out work; it’s earned by Christ’s finished work. Also notice that Paul describes it as “your salvation.” There’s ownership in mind there; the reader/believer already has that salvation. So, what Paul is talking about here has nothing to do with acquiring salvation; you cannot acquire what you already have.
What, then, does Paul have in mind here? Think about the core pillars of the gospel that someone needs to understand and trust in to be saved: That God provided his Son Jesus to become human, live without sin, sacrifice himself, and rise again so that all who trust in him are forgiven and restored in relationship with him. There’s a lot there, and a lot more underneath it. To understand salvation, we also need to understand God as our Creator, sin and rebellion, holiness, the nature of substitutionary atonement, and much more. We can capture the essence of the gospel in a pamphlet or simple outline, but doing so only scratches the surface of the beauty and majesty of the gospel. We could focus on just one part of it and keep exploring deeper and deeper. And the more we explore, we’d also discover ways to live differently in light of what we learn. That’s what Paul had in mind in Philippians 2.
I like how J. D. Greear puts it: “The gospel is not just the diving board; it’s the pool.”1 In other words, the gospel isn’t just the entry into the Christian faith and life; it is the Christian faith and life. We should never move past the gospel then. Our calling as Christians, then, is to continue spending time in the Word of God to grow in our understanding of the gospel. Our calling as Christian parents or kidmin leaders is to study the Scriptures in this way so that we can pass what we learn along to our kids.
You might be thinking that you aren’t a trained theologian. But remember, you already have a head start; you have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of the gospel because that is what you needed to understand to be saved. The gospel waters are deep, deep waters. And these are waters we should never depart. So, dive deeper into who Jesus is and what he has done. Dive deeper into sin, mercy, and grace. Dive deeper into faith. Dive deep!
Growing Wider
Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NET)
This was Paul’s instruction to his protégé Timothy, a pastor, to teach the “message of truth” accurately. As a pastor, that would mean that Timothy was to teach the full counsel of Scripture accurately. This is a helpful reminder that while we can never move past the gospel, we can’t make the opposite mistake of teaching only the gospel proper. In other words, there is a place to teach subjects that are adjacent to the gospel (everything is) but aren’t at the core of the gospel. For example, part of the gospel is that Jesus is returning one day, but how he will do that wouldn’t necessarily be considered at the core of the gospel.
We can never leave the gospel waters, but neither do we just limit ourselves to them. We need to swim out wide. Explore the wonderful waters of all other aspects of theology: God, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the church, the end times, and more. These are not necessarily what a person needs to know to respond to the gospel for salvation, but that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.
As you grow as a theologian, don’t neglect this area. Don’t skip branching out wide and exploring various aspects of theology, including the different views of each. One enormous mistake we can make is locking in on a belief and only studying theology through that lens. So, for example, if you are a dispensationalist, don’t study eschatology (end times theology) only from that perspective. Study it from an amillennial and postmillennial view too. Look for the merits and weaknesses of those positions. You don’t have to agree with them to appreciate them. So, go wide in your areas of study and go wide in the perspectives of those areas too.
If you are looking for a resource to help you grow as a theologian and to help you teach your children theology, Faith Foundations is for you. These ninety-nine devotions use an ancient tool called a catechism to teach the core doctrines of the faith. Each devotion features a Bible reading, a devotion, several engaging questions, a Jesus connection, and a suggested family activity. Faith Foundations releases October 21, 2025 but you can preorder a copy today.
brian dembowczyk 