Teaching Kids Theology Part 14
TLDR: The gospel is not only the pathway to salvation; it’s the connective thread that runs through our daily life. Everything we do should be informed by our faith in Jesus.
Far too often, people can focus almost exclusively on the gospel leading up to the point of salvation.1 That’s critical, of course. We want and need to present the gospel to a person so that he or she places faith in Jesus and is saved. But the problem is that there’s far more to the gospel than that. If the act of salvation were our ultimate goal, then wouldn’t it make sense for God to take us to our perfect home to be with him the instant we trust in Jesus? But he doesn’t. He leaves us here on a broken earth. Why? The reason is two-fold.
First, we’re left here so that he can use us to help others come to saving faith through Jesus too.
Second, we’re left here because God made us to do far more than just be saved. He created us to glorify him, to love him, to worship him, to serve him, and to obey him. That’s our design. And when we do that, we experience the abundant living Jesus promised (John 10:10).
God made us to do far more than just be saved.
Applying the gospel to daily life is called practical theology. It’s just what it sounds like: theology that’s practical, or theology that we can “touch.” This area is all about every-day, real-world, hands-on truths that we can live out wherever we are as we do whatever we do. For our kids, this can include school, sports, hobbies, the neighborhood, and more. Wherever your children go and whatever they do falls within the realm of practical theology—living out their faith.
Practical theology can’t stand alone though. It only makes sense if it stands upon the foundation of other doctrine of salvation. We can’t live the way God made us to live if we don’t have our sin problem dealt with, and that can only happen through Jesus. This is critical for us to stress as we teach our kids about how to live out their faith. If we try to do this in our own power, we’re going to fail and get frustrated. But, when we trust in Jesus, he makes us new in him, and when we’re relying on the Holy Spirit who’s been given to us, we can live exactly how we were made to live. We won’t be able to do this perfectly on this side of eternity, but we will find ourselves growing gradually to live more like Christ day by day.
As you talk with your kids about living out the faith, raise a high bar! Don’t let your family settle for less than God’s best. But at the same time, be sure that grace and patience saturates your family as well. God calls us to live for him and expects us to do that. But he also lovingly comes alongside us to help us do what he expects of us, and he pours his limitless grace and mercy over us as we move, sometimes ploddingly, in that direction.
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 is now available for purchase.
- This blog post is a slightly adapted excerpt from Faith Foundations. (Brian Dembowczyk, Faith Foundations: 99 Devotions to Help Your Family Know, Love, & Act Like Jesus. Downers Grove: IVP, 2025.) ↩︎
brian dembowczyk 