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The Best News
Ever:
The "Good News"...Gospel...of Jesus the Christ (the
Messiah)
Level 2 Explanation
[go to more comprehensive, expanded & linked
version]
ABOUT YOUR INEVITABLE
DEATH:
No human lives a sin-free life justifying or
deserving eternal living with God in Heaven. Man is not naturally good (Mark 7:15)! The current world has more
temptation available to do sin and evil than ever before in history. So, humans need a
Savior. Therefore, the wonderful news is what God (in His perfect
love) did...and He did it for every human...He provided that Savior! The sacrifice of Jesus
on the cross bought forgiveness for all of us for all past, present, and future sin. It is
already a "done deal". There now is NO unpardonable sin. Did you know
that the Bible never records Jesus telling a sinner that, "You are going to hell!"? Easter Sunday celebrates Jesus'
resurrection (one of many unique
distinctions of Christianity) from the dead...the final proof of the good news of
His truth. The foretaste for the believer of the happy ending to a life on earth was the
ascension (the rising up to Heaven) of Jesus back to Heaven...showing that, in Christ, there
is a happy ending to all of this heartache on earth. Forgiveness has already been obtained
(Psalm 103:12). That leaves
open the question of...after your body dies...where does the forgiven "you" spend eternity:
with God (Heaven) or apart from God (Hell)?
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HERE IS THE
"DEAL":
It matters greatly
that you can know that (1) the realization of your salvation is
ready for you, (2) that your salvation is secure (it is permanent),
(3) that you can have peace & fulfillment in this earthly life, and (4) that
there will be a happy ending to your life with eternal joy to follow! But, a
person must undergo "conversion" from the situation of being categorized by God as "sinner" to
categorized by God as "saint". The guaranteed-result way to do this is by coming to a state of
"saving belief" in Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior:
- Become
willing to hear this gospel & then,
- hear about the Savior & what is possible through Him;
then,
- be willing
to believe the Bible's (and all of history's, for that matter) most important
Truth...eternal salvation is possible & free; then,
- believe what he/she hears is The Truth;
then,
- make a
conscious decision to claim (believe in) Him;
- and then
actually claim Jesus as Savior...thereby converting to "saving
belief".
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YOUR FINAL JUDGMENT BEFORE
JESUS:
The Bible says that All humans
will come before Jesus for a final judgment...Jesus will give the final judgment for eternity
on every human being. So, the GREAT good news is that the truly saved
aren't going to get the bad, negative judgment that all humans deserve!
- Our problem: the bad news
is, every person is innately a sinner & commits
sins!
- The predicament: all humans
being innately imperfect, it is impossible to do anything on our own to personally
warrant...to justify...to qualify for...eternal residence in Heaven with the absolutely
holy God.
- The natural penalty: would be
death.
- The provision: Jesus the
Savior...who obtained
- The pardon: The bodily death
of Jesus satisfied the demands of the just & fair God against the sin of all
people for all time! Therefore, in Jesus...on the "coat-tails" of Jesus, a
believer is justified & saved for eternity in Heaven by divine legal declaration and
then adopted into the family of God. Pardon & adoption are on the coattails of
Jesus.
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THE GOSPEL...GOOD
NEWS:
The great good news: Jesus was
slain on a cross to pay for your sins...the sacrificial Lamb of God
that takes away the sins of the world! Having made that sacrifice personally effective, the
truly & fully saved
Jesus believer is (1) a new creature, is (2) rescued from satanic authority (the power of
Satan to make you sin is gone...Satan there-after must coax & con you into sin), has (3)
God Himself working within (as the Holy Spirit who, among many other things, personally makes
The Word...the Bible...understandable & empowers that believer to "walk" in The Way), is
(4) secure (sealed...Ephesians
4:30) & saved (once saved, your salvation cannot be lost) with "citizenship papers"
(that permanently indwelling Holy Spirit) in Heaven for eternity, and (5) does not die (at
death he/she becomes absent from the physical body & present with the Lord). This good
news promises in-this-world rest for the weary and an easy "yoke" and
light burden (Matthew 11:28-30). And it promises a
supernaturally (indwelling Holy Spirit) empowered certainty of (6) a truly integrated state
(as with sanctification...never fully completely so while on earth) of one's human nature
(spiritual, emotional, physical, social, economic, and political). As such, you have the
maximized chance to do God's purpose successfully in life & lead an authentic & fully
purposeful life.
With the coming to belief, there is baptism. Believers gather
together for fellowship, worship (including remembering
Christ through Holy
Communion), and good works. You have a GREAT opportunity!!!
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In the Bible, the four books referred to as "the
Gospels" constitute "one good news...four different views": Matthew (the good news from a
Jewish point of view); Mark (the good news from a Roman point of view), Luke (the good news
from a Greek point of view), and John (the good news from a Gentile...all other
humans...point of view). The "synoptic Gospels" are the first three (Greek, synopsis=view
together), and they are conventionally grouped together by that term by students of
scripture.
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SUMMARY:
Jesus responds to "desire"...not performance or
competency. If you will just claim/accept the way of escape from the penalty of
sin (the unsaved are born already headed to Hell...please claim the
get-out-of-Hell-free ticket) that Jesus (being the Savior)
has provided for you (true "saving belief" in Jesus), then you
GUARANTEE an eternity for yourself with God in Heaven and a fulfilled life while on
earth! Prepare yourself to always be able to explain your hope (I Peter 3:15-16). ***See the link on
Level 3 Explanation as to the concept of The Elect.
[go here to that expanded level 3 version with
links to supportive Scripture verses] [back to level 1 version]
[back to basic
lead-in]
***give me your comments about this
page***
check out the Highest
TRUTH
(posted 31 January 2003; latest update 9 November
2013)
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