It is quite common for people to assume they have a deep understanding of the Bible. We have learned, however, that even those who have been in church their whole lives, been in small groups, and in other learning environments, often have significant gaps in their understanding of basic biblical concepts.

Surveys of self-identified “born again” believers tell us that there are widely divergent views of salvation, the Trinity, Jesus’ incarnation and resurrection, and issues of heaven and hell. Particularly in the West, there is a temptation to pick and choose the doctrines we want to believe and then either set aside or disagree with the more challenging doctrines.

Reviewing the Fundamentals in Three Steps

In the Aslan Academy Review of Fundamentals, we offer two options for covering the essential doctrines of the church. We encourage each parent to read either Basic Christianity by John Stott or Christianity 101 by Gilbert Bilezikian and Bill Hybels. Either of these short books will provide a clear understanding of the core beliefs of the church. Over time, parents should seek to read both and use them to refer back to address questions that come up.

Second, we offer a short, easy-to-understand book, The Big Story: How the Bible Makes Sense Out of Life by Justin Buzzard, which describes how the Bible is one continuous story of God’s plan to rescue us from sin. It clearly explains how the Bible is a narrative of God’s love playing out over the entire history of the universe and is not simply a collection of disjoined books that describe how we should live.

While written for younger children, we believe The Jesus Storybook Bible is a wonderful companion book for adults. The Jesus Storybook Bible clearly describes how the Bible fits together, with Jesus as the overall focus. Parents will gain much insight as they read along with their children.

Parents should certainly care about their child’s salvation, but what this means is often difficult to explain to children. For some parents, once the child “prays the sinner’s prayer” they might consider their job done. But in reality it is more complex than that. We offer guidance on how parents should think about conversion and also how to look for clues that true conversion has taken place. And once a child is truly converted, the discipleship work is just beginning.

God wants each of us to grow in spiritual maturity and to offer our bodies (and our lives) as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1-2) learning what is good and acceptable to God. And we are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be fruitful, living as effective disciples of Jesus. Conversion is the beginning of this exciting journey, not the end.

Although you may be tempted to “jump right in” with the other steps in the Aslan Academy program, please take the time to review the fundamentals and to pray that God will grant you wisdom as you seek to know God’s truth and communicate that truth effectively to your children.

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