The Gospel (Good News) Not all good news initially seems good news! To perceive how wonderful the news is, some perception of how terrible the problem is will be required The Problem: “~ for there is no man that sinneth not, (1 Kings 8:46) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)   The Penalty: “~ the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.~” “~sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15) , “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)   The Proof: 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy 5. Honour thy father and thy mother 6. Thou shalt not kill 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery 8. Thou shalt not steal 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness 10. Thou shalt not covet (Exodus 20:3–17) Have you ever… 1. Put something before God? “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (Luke 10:27) 2. Worshiped something other than God? 3. Taken the name of a member of the Godhead in a false oath or cursing? 4. Treated Sunday like any other day? “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) 5. Been Disrespectful to parents 6. Killed? 7. Committed Adultery? 8. Taken something that did not belong to you? 9. Lied? 10. Coveted the possessions or position of another? “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” (Romans 7:7) “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) Considering all this would you find yourself guilty of sin… could you say what some in the Bible stated clearly “I have sinned?” Now, before you say “This is Old Testament commandments given to Israel” consider these New Testament scriptures that reinforce the same thing. The Possibilities: “~for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24) “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (KJV 1900)   The Person: “For unto us a child is born, “ Isaiah_9:6  (From man’s perspective, a baby as the angel told the shepherds  “you shall find the babe”) “unto us a son is given” Isaiah_9:6 Continued (From God’s perspective – His Son! as the angel told them “a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”) At His baptism (Luke 3:23), and on the mount of transfiguration (Luke 9:35), a voice acknowledges Jesus as God’s Son “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16) – His ONLY Son! “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son (Isaiah 7:14, Mat 1:23), – His Son, not requiring a human father to come into being! and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) Simeon; “… should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ … Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart In peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, – (Luke 2:25-32) He was not looking at a parchment, a scroll, a book… he was not looking at a list of “do’s and don’ts”… he was not looking at a life lived by the “do’s and don’ts”. He was looking at a baby called Jesus, the Lord and the Christ! Anna; “36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem“. (Luke 2:36–38) – For anyone looking for redemption, she spoke of HIM as the way!   The Proclamation: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved… that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:… (1 Corinthians 15:1–4) Paul ”declared, preached, delivered” what he had “received”, that is, the Gospel, the good news!   The Provision: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (2 Timothy 1:10) “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:” (Acts 13:38) “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46–47) “remission – to remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing—‘to pardon, to forgive” “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” (Romans 3:24) “Justified – make right between, to put right with, to cause to be in a right relationship with” “redemption – to release or set free, with the implied analogy to the process of freeing a slave—‘to set free, to liberate, to deliver” “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” (2 Corinthians 5:18) “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)   The Process: (1 Corinthians 15:1–4 Continued) … how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” From man’s perspective – “Christ died, was buried, was risen” From God’s perspective – In Hebrews 7 the writer says ”once … he offered up himself” And in Hebrews 9 “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” and ”He was once offered to bear the sins of many And Paul makes it much more personal when he writes to the Galatians of “the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 1 Peter tells us “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins~” (1 Peter 3:18) And “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,~” (1 Peter 4:1)   The Procedure: “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7) The Position: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Ephesians 2:5) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)   The Precept: (John Baptizer) ““In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1–2) (Jesus) “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14–15) (Jesus) “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) (Peter) “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) (Paul before the Athenian court) “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Acts 17:30) (Paul before king Agrippa) “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” (Acts 26:20) The Point: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31)