New City Catechism, Week 33 (Question 33)

Q: Should those who have faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works, or anywhere else?

Children’s answer

A: No, everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ.

Adult/older children’s answer

A: No, they should not, as everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ. To seek salvation through good works is a denial that Christ is the only Redeemer and Savior.

Video explanation:

Song to assist with memorization:

Relevant Scripture to read:

Galatians 2:16

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Children’s Activity (printable pdfs)

Younger Kids (pages 26 and 27)

There are no resources for older kids currently available for this lesson.

Special thanks to Del Rey Church for sharing their New City Catechism kid resources with us!

Devotional questions for individual/family/group reflection and discussion:

  1. What are the ways that people usually find justification in our culture? What gives people security and standing?

  2. We can usually find what works we are tempted to boast in by evaluating how we compare ourselves to other people. What do you go to when you “stack up” against others?

  3. The Apostle Paul wrote the Bible verse above (Gal. 2:16) - what about Paul’s life made him especially qualified to discuss this topic?

  4. Can you think of a way that a church will seek to justify itself apart from Christ? How can this be a temptation at a church like Meadowcroft?

For an additional “deeper” dive into this question and answer, check out this video from Dr. Michael Allen (which a few of the above questions are based on):