Why Do All People Know Some Things Are Wrong?
Month 8: Right & Wrong · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Romans 2:14-15
14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them
Memory Verse
“So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them”— Romans 2:15 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Job 25-27
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Job declares he will hold fast to his integrity — a tender conscience under pressure.)The Heart of It
Travel anywhere on earth and you'll find something amazing. Go to a jungle village that never had a Bible. Go to a busy city. Go to people who lived thousands of years ago. Everyone, everywhere, agrees that some things are simply wrong. Betraying a friend is wrong. Hurting a baby for fun is wrong. Lying to those who trust you is wrong. The details can differ, but the deep sense of "that's evil" shows up in every human heart. Paul says the reason. Even people "who do not have the law" still have "the work of the law written in their hearts." There is a real, shared moral law. And there is a real Lawgiver behind it.
Now here's the question that helps a thinking kid. Where could that shared law come from? Maybe we were just accidents, random chemicals that bumped together. If so, then "right" and "wrong" would only be opinions, like liking or disliking broccoli. One person's "murder is evil" would be no more true than another's "murder is fine." But nobody really lives that way. When someone wrongs us, we don't say "that's just your opinion." We say "that's not fair!" That instinct only makes sense if fairness is real, written into us by a good God. The conscience isn't proof we're good. We break it all the time. But it is strong evidence that God is there. And it shows that He cares about right and wrong.
Around the Table
Kids all over the whole world know it's wrong to be mean and good to share. Who put that knowing inside everyone? God did!
Let's do it: Ask each other, "Is it okay to be cruel to someone just for fun?" Everyone shouts "NO!" See, your hearts agree, because God made them.
Maybe we were just accidents. If so, "right" and "wrong" would only be opinions. But we know some things are truly wrong. That points to a real Lawgiver.
Let's talk: When someone treats you unfairly, do you say "that's just your opinion"? Why not?
A moral law that holds for everyone, beyond personal opinion, needs a source beyond any one person. That source is God's own character.
Let's go deeper: If there's no God, can anything be truly evil — or only "things I personally dislike"? Talk it through honestly.
💬 Conversation Starter
Think of a rule you'd want every country in the world to follow. Why should it apply to people who disagree with it?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says: "Right and wrong are just whatever each person decides for themselves." Kindly answer: "I don't think anyone really believes that. Say I cheated you, or hurt someone you love. You wouldn't say 'that's just my opinion.' You'd say it's truly wrong. And you'd be right! But a rule that's true for everyone has to come from beyond any one of us. The Bible says God wrote His law on every heart (). That's why we all feel it." Then keep the door open. Ask a gentle question. Don't pile on. First Peter 3:15 calls us to give our reason "with gentleness and respect." Be confident and kind. We're never trying to crush. We're always trying to invite.
For Dad · Go Deeper
This is the moral argument in family form. Objective moral values exist. Objective moral values require a transcendent source. Therefore God exists. Frank Turek and J. Warner Wallace both stress one thing: the skeptic's own outrage at injustice secretly borrows from the Christian worldview. You have to stand on God's floor to complain that the floor is crooked. Teach your kids to spot this gently, never as a "gotcha." And guard your own heart. The goal isn't to win debates. It's to point toward the Savior the conscience exposes our need for. A father who is quick to apologize when he's wrong proves something in living color. He proves that right and wrong are real, and that grace is real too.
Draws on: J. Warner Wallace, God's Crime Scene; Frank Turek, Stealing from God.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that right and wrong are real because You are real. Thank You for the conscience You gave every person. Help us defend the truth with kindness, and help us point people to Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen."
Everyone everywhere knows some things are truly wrong. That points straight to a good God who made us.