Jesus is the Author of New Life Basic 4 Christian Religious Studies (CRS) Lesson Note

Description of New Life

What is an Author?

• An author is someone who writes a book or creates a story
• The author is responsible for everything in the book
• Without the author, there would be no book
• The author decides what happens in the story

Jesus as the Author of New Life

• Jesus creates new life in people who believe in Him
• He is the one who makes the change happen
• Without Jesus, no one can have new life
• Jesus decides what new life looks like

Bible verse: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)

What New Life Means

A Complete Fresh Start:

• Like being born all over again
• All our sins are washed away
• We become completely new people
• Our old sinful life is gone forever

Bible verse: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Spiritual Rebirth:

• We are born again spiritually
• Our hearts become new and clean
• We receive a new nature that loves God
• The Holy Spirit comes to live inside us

Bible verse: “Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit'” (John 3:5)

How Jesus Gives New Life

Through His Death on the Cross:

• Jesus died to pay for our sins
• His blood washes away all our wrongdoing
• He took the punishment we deserved
• His sacrifice makes new life possible

Through His Resurrection:

• Jesus came back to life after dying
• His resurrection proves He has power over death
• Because He lives, we can have eternal life
• He conquered death so we can live forever

Bible verse: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25)

Through Faith:

• We receive new life by believing in Jesus
• We must trust Him as our Savior
• Faith is the key that opens the door to new life
• God gives this gift to all who believe

Bible verse: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8)

What New Life Includes

Forgiveness of All Sins:

• Every wrong thing we’ve done is forgiven
• God remembers our sins no more
• We don’t have to feel guilty anymore
• We have a clean record before God

Becoming God’s Children:

• We are adopted into God’s family
• God becomes our heavenly Father
• We are brothers and sisters with other believers
• We belong to the family of God forever

Eternal Life:

• Life that never ends
• When our bodies die, our souls go to heaven
• We will live with Jesus forever
• Perfect happiness and no more pain

Peace with God:

• We are no longer God’s enemies
• God is not angry with us anymore
• We can talk to God through prayer
• We have a loving relationship with God

The Fruits of New Life

What are Fruits?

• Fruits are good things that grow on healthy trees
• You can tell what kind of tree it is by looking at its fruit
• Good trees produce good fruit
• In our lives, good character qualities are like fruit

The Fruit of the Spirit

When we have new life, the Holy Spirit produces good qualities in us:

Bible verse: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Love

What it means:

• Caring deeply about others
• Putting other people’s needs first
• Loving even people who are mean to us
• Showing God’s love through our actions

How it shows:

• Helping someone who is hurt
• Sharing food with hungry people
• Being kind to everyone, not just friends
• Forgiving people who say sorry

Joy

What it means:

• Being happy deep inside
• Having gladness that doesn’t depend on circumstances
• Feeling good because Jesus loves us
• Being cheerful even when things are hard

How it shows:

• Smiling and being positive
• Singing songs of praise to God
• Being thankful for God’s blessings
• Encouraging others who are sad

Peace

What it means:

• Being calm and not worried
• Having rest in our hearts
• Trusting God to take care of us
• Not fighting or being angry

How it shows:

• Staying calm during problems
• Not worrying about tomorrow
• Helping solve arguments peacefully
• Sleeping well because we trust God

Patience (Forbearance)

What it means:

• Waiting without complaining
• Not getting angry quickly
• Being understanding when others make mistakes
• Giving people time to learn and change

How it shows:

• Waiting your turn in line
• Not getting mad when someone is slow
• Helping teach someone without getting frustrated
• Being patient with younger children

Kindness

What it means:

• Being gentle and caring toward others
• Wanting to help people feel better
• Using soft words instead of harsh ones
• Looking for ways to bless others

How it shows:

• Helping carry heavy things for others
• Speaking nicely to everyone
• Comforting someone who is crying
• Including lonely children in games

Goodness

What it means:

• Doing what is right and pure
• Having honest intentions
• Wanting to please God in everything
• Being moral and upright

How it shows:

• Telling the truth even when it’s hard
• Doing the right thing when no one is watching
• Standing up for what is right
• Helping others without expecting anything back

Faithfulness

What it means:

• Being reliable and trustworthy
• Keeping promises we make
• Staying loyal to friends and family
• Being dependable in big and small things

How it shows:

• Doing what you promised to do
• Being on time for appointments
• Keeping secrets when asked to
• Sticking with friends during hard times

Gentleness

What it means:

• Being tender and mild in manner
• Not being rough or harsh with others
• Treating people and things with care
• Using strength in a soft way

How it shows:

• Speaking softly when someone is upset
• Being careful with other people’s belongings
• Helping younger children patiently
• Touching animals and plants carefully

Self-Control

What it means:

• Having power over our desires and actions
• Not doing everything we feel like doing
• Making good choices even when we want to do wrong
• Controlling our words and behavior

How it shows:

• Not eating too much candy
• Controlling your temper when angry
• Studying instead of only playing
• Not saying mean things when upset

Characteristics of New Life in Jesus

It Comes from Jesus Only

• No one else can give us new life
• We cannot earn it by being good
• It’s not found in any other religion
• Jesus is the only way to receive new life

Bible verse: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'” (John 14:6)

It’s a Free Gift

• We don’t have to pay for new life
• We cannot work to earn it
• God gives it freely to all who believe
• It’s the greatest gift anyone can receive

Bible verse: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

It Happens Instantly

• New life begins the moment we believe in Jesus
• We don’t have to wait for it to start
• The change happens immediately in our hearts
• We become God’s children right away

It’s Complete and Perfect

• Jesus gives us 100% new life, not partial
• We are completely forgiven, not half-forgiven
• Our salvation is total and finished
• Nothing needs to be added to what Jesus did

It’s Permanent

• New life lasts forever and cannot be lost
• God never takes back His gift
• We remain His children even when we make mistakes
• Our place in heaven is guaranteed

Bible verse: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28)

It’s Supernatural

• Only God can create new life
• It’s a miracle that happens inside us
• Human effort cannot produce this change
• The Holy Spirit does the work in our hearts

It Changes Our Nature

• We receive a new heart that loves God
• Our desires begin to change
• We want to please God and do good
• We hate sin and love righteousness

Bible verse: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26)

It Grows Continuously

• New life keeps getting stronger
• We become more like Jesus each day
• We grow in faith, love, and understanding
• The Holy Spirit helps us mature spiritually

Bible verse: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18)

It’s Visible to Others

• People can see the change in our lives
• Our behavior shows we have new life
• We treat others differently
• Our words and actions reflect Jesus

It Brings Inner Peace

• We have peace with God
• We don’t worry as much about things
• We have rest in our hearts
• We trust God to take care of us

It Gives Us Purpose

• We understand why we were created
• We want to serve God and help others
• We have meaning and direction in life
• We know we have work to do for God

It Connects Us to Other Believers

• We love other Christians as family
• We enjoy being with people who love Jesus
• We want to worship and learn together
• We help and encourage each other

It Prepares Us for Heaven

• New life is the beginning of eternal life
• We are getting ready for our heavenly home
• Death is not the end for us
• We will live with Jesus forever

Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

1. Jesus is the _______ of new life.
2. New life means being born _______ spiritually.
3. The fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, and _______.
4. New life is a free _______ from God.

Exercise 2: True or False

1. We can earn new life by doing good works. _____
2. New life begins the moment we believe in Jesus. _____
3. The fruit of the Spirit grows automatically without effort. _____
4. New life can be lost if we sin too much. _____