Tell Me Like I'm 5.

[Storyteller]

I totally disagree that you can`t explain Christianity to a 5 year old.

Kids are a lot smarter than we think and they have none, or very few, prejudices. Tell a kid that Christ rose from the dead, the likely response will be "Cool!" rather than "that`s not possible"

Anyway, I think the OP just wants a simple explanation, rather than having it explained literally like to a 5 year old.

My (simple) definition of Christianity...

It`s the belief in Christ as our Lord and Savio(u)r.
That`s it, the bottom line.

Of course then there are all the details, but that`s part of the journey, the discovery.

[Philip]

I would agree, at FIVE, this is too young for an unprojected belief - least not one I would have any certainty over. For many children, even 9 or 10 is too young. I totally depends upon the maturity level of the child. My kids grew up having things explained to them in a way they could understand. We never talked to them like little kids, but like adult seed that were germinating. Never taught them fairy-tale nonsense, Santa, etc. So, once they began to discuss, on their own, what it meant to have faith, that I knew they truly believed, that's when I knew they were saved. But bringing it to their attention, making them aware of the important details, at a young age, seeing their parents with that same faith (WALKING and modeling it), these make a tremendous impact, even at a young age. I look back and KNOW I believed at 7/8. But I had to later question it, test it - severely (at 16/17) - to realize my childhood faith in a much deeper way.

[PaulSacramento]

Humans make a lot of mistakes and that is because we tend to do things for ourselves and not what is best for all.
Because we do that, God decided to show us that by trusting in His Son and by following what he taught, we would be saved from getting into trouble from doing such bad things.
We still have to try our best NOT to do bad things, not to think bad things BUT if we do and IF we trust in Jesus, he will help us to be better and He will save us.

That is how I explained it to my kids when they were 4-5.
They still had a few simple questions but they got the "jist" of it.

When they got older I was able to explain in more detail and more "correctly".

[PaulSacramento]

Why do you feel that the only way to God is through Jesus?

People will answer this question differently of course, but for me:

Jesus embodies all that is good and correct and the highest expression of true love: Compassion.

Jesus, that is one with God, has the perfect nature of God, gave up everything to suffer with us, even to the point of death.
In Jesus we have a perfect being that knows what it is to be imperfect and we KNOW that because He went through ALL we go through ( and more).
I follow Jesus because I KNOW that HE KNOWS.

[Jac3510]

I came to faith when I was six. My daughter was just baptized and she is six, but we waited several weeks between her profession and her baptism to confirm that she really got it. To say she did would be an understatement. And the profession itself was when she was five.

I promise you, kids can get it at a very, very young age. Yes, it has to do with the maturity level of the child, but it has even more to do with what they're told and how they're told it.

[RickD]

I came to faith when I was six. My daughter was just baptized and she is six, but we waited several weeks between her profession and her baptism to confirm that she really got it. To say she did would be an understatement. And the profession itself was when she was five.

I promise you, kids can get it at a very, very young age. Yes, it has to do with the maturity level of the child, but it has even more to do with what they're told and how they're told it.

I agree. I also came to faith in Christ when I was six.

[B. W.]

Why do you feel that the only way to God is through Jesus?

Because straight is the way...

Here is a test, I will give you one year and six months to meet me at my favorite lake at 12 noon, However, I will not tell you how to get there or where it is...

See you there...
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PS

Without clear cut direction you'll just become more and more lost. The very difference of the gospel of Jesus Christ makes a distinction away from all the worlds religions - salvation by grace and not by self effort. That in itself is a good sign post.

and Halsoft you are not five...

[Christian2]

What is Christianity?

I put the following together when a Muslim asked your question. (includes some thoughts of RC Sproul in one of his books.)

My response: It's really quite simple. When children are little tots they learn that God loves them, every child no matter what race or color. We answer their questions as they ask them and answer them on their level of understanding. Here's how it could go:

1. Child's question: "How could God have been IN Jesus?"

We would start by saying that God is very powerful; so powerful that He can be everywhere at the same time (He is omnipresent). This means that He can listen to the prayers of billions of people all at the same time. Now that's really something isn't it? God is so powerful that He could be speaking from a burning bush to Moses and still hear prayers. And, He is so powerful that he could be in Israel talking to the Jews (in Jesus) and still be hearing prayers.

2. Child's question: "Why did God need to be in Jesus? Why didn't the Father come Himself?"

I would start by saying that God is a spirit and we cannot see Him, but He can see us and the only way He could come to us was in the flesh of human form. We could explain by telling the child an analogy using an ant. I would ask the child to imagine that he was in the position that God was in and ask the child to put himself in God's "shoes" for a moment.

Imagine you (as God) are looking at a colony of ants who are scurrying around looking for food to bring back home to the anthill. You could make their job so much easier because you see their work from "above." You would love to help them, but when you reach down to do so, the ants see your shadow and run away because they are afraid of your huge shadow. You have done more harm than good, because now the ants have left all the food, etc., intended for the anthill, behind in their haste to get away from you. The answer, in order to help, is to turn yourself into an ant, and show them the better way. This does not mean that you cease being the person who is able to see their world and their work from "above," otherwise you would not be able to teach the better way that you saw. It simply means that you extend yourself to their world by assuming a form they are able to relate to without becoming overwhelmed with fear.

3. Child's question: "But if Jesus died, doesn't that mean that God died too?"

I would say that when we die our earthly bodies die but who we really are is in our souls and our souls do not die. The soul of Jesus did not die, but His body did. In the same way the divine Word of God does not die either. God never separates Himself from Jesus, His son; He stays with Him. When we go to heaven we have a heavenly body along with our souls which holds the essence of who we really are so that when we meet people in heaven who have died before us they will recognize us. Grandpa who went to heaven last year will recognize me when I get to heaven and say my name.

4. Child's question: "But why did God make Jesus die for me?"

Because all through the ages God sent prophets to tell us how to live and how to be good, but nobody was able to be good; they kept right on doing bad things even though they knew they were wrong. You keep hitting your little sister, don't obey your mother and father, and fight with your friends, don't you. You know it's wrong, but you do it anyway, don't you? God saw that we were incapable of doing what was right and decided that He needed to provide a way for our bad deeds to be paid for. God is so Holy and He hates bad deeds so much that in order for us to be "OK" with God, our bad deeds had to be paid for so Jesus paid for our sins as a gift from God because he loves us that much.

5. Child's question: "But if I did the bad things aren't I responsible for them and not Jesus?"

Yes, you are responsible for your sins. When you sin, those sins have to be paid for. It's like if you break the law and go before the judge and he says you owe $1,000 for breaking a law, you have to pay the $1,000 or go to jail. However, someone else can pay your fine for you. This is what God did for us, He paid our fine so we don't have to go to jail.

6. Child's question: "But what about all the times that I am good; doesn't that count for something with God and the Judge?"

Yes, it does count and the judge could show mercy and take all of your good deeds into account and give you a lighter sentence by reducing your fine, but the judge doesn't have to do this. It is the same with God. He can show mercy but He doesn't have to.

7. Child's question: "If God is a spirit then He doesn't need to eat and sleep so if Jesus was God, then why did Jesus have to eat and sleep?"

You are right that God doesn't need to eat and sleep but don't forget that God came to us in the flesh of the human body of Jesus. Remember He was a little baby just as you were a few years ago. Jesus had a mother who also needed to eat and sleep, just like you have a mother who needs to eat and sleep. Jesus was human too because of His mother so He needed to eat and sleep too.

8. Child's question: "But Jesus is in heaven. How does He help me now?"

Yes, Jesus is in heaven, but the spirit of God is in all Christians—right inside. The Holy Spirit is God's power and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God is still teaching us what He wants us to do and not to do from inside of us. Before Jesus went to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to all Christians to live inside of us and by this power we have a personal presence of God inside us.

9. Child's comment: "God must really, really love me to do this for me."

Yes, God loves us that much.

So you see it is very easy to explain all of this to children.

Here's a little explanation of the justice of God for older children:

God is a Holy and Just God. God never gives an unjust punishment. His justice is perfect justice. God does not always act with justice. Sometimes He acts with mercy. Mercy is not justice, but it also is not injustice. Injustice violates righteousness. Mercy manifests kindness and grace and does no violence to righteousness. We may see nonjustice in God, which is mercy, but we never see injustice in God.

Suppose ten people sin and sin equally. Suppose God punishes five of them and is merciful to the other five. Is this injustice? No! In this situation five people get justice and five get mercy. No one gets injustice. What we tend to assume is this: If God is merciful to five, He must be equally merciful to the other five. Why? He is never obligated to be merciful. If He is merciful to nine of the ten, the tenth cannot claim to be a victim of injustice. God never owes mercy. God is not obliged to treat all people equally. Maybe I'd better say that again. God is never obliged to treat all people equally. If He were ever unjust to us, we would have reason to complain. But simply because He grants mercy to my neighbor, it gives me no claim on His mercy. Again we must remember that mercy is always voluntary. "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy."

[abelcainsbrother]

Why do you feel that the only way to God is through Jesus?

Also to add to what others have explained to you. Christianity is the only religion today that teaches that there is nothing man can do to save himself because all have sinned and come short and that the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ who will save anybody who asks and sencerily seeks after it with a true faith heart.

But ALL of the other false religions of the earth teach you that man can save himself by doing certian things,following the rules of this religion,telling you we have laws/rules you must live by,etc and this makes them false religions and cults but it also exposes that their god is not Holy and is not concerned with sin and if you ended up where they go? It would be no different than living in the sin we already live in now. Underneath all of their religious teaching It is not very compelling compared to Christianity.

No sinners are going to heaven in Christianity as a matter of fact God is so Holy that no sin at all can even be in his presence and this is why Jesus died and paid the price out of love for us sinners so that we can be saved and justified through him,despite our sin and it is good news that no other religion can or will offer a person.They all offer a person law/rules to live up to while Christians strive to live as Christ would have us to because of our faith in Jesus and how we were changed by the Holy Spirit to serve God when we recieved Jesus and were saved.

No true Christian changes theirself and decides to follow laws/rules to live by, and if they do/are? They are hypocrites in the church but no true Christian changes theirself because it will save them yet all of the other people around the world in the other religions choose to do it for whatever religious reason. Jesus gives us rest while they give a person works to do to earn it.

[abelcainsbrother]

Every Step To Take
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QXOSVwYarE