Wednesday, July 2, 2014

I'VE GOT BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS

Today, the message being preached in the media and in the churches around the world, is that God is love, and that He wants all men to turn to Him from their wicked ways and be saved.  And, I say AMEN to that!  God is love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16)!  The Lord does not want any to perish, but for all to repent and turn to follow Him (2 Pet. 3:9)!  Even the Gospel has become better known as the "Good News!"  So what is the problem?

The problem is, the same God who loves mankind enough to send His Son to be tortured and die on a cross to pay for the sins of the world (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 2:2; etc.), did so because otherwise, He would have to sentence every human being to an eternity in a burning lake of fire.  All have sinned (Rom. 3:23)!  The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23)!  "Death" means more than a person dying; it means facing the judgment of a righteous God, being found guilty, and being sentenced to the true death, the "second death" (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8)!

The Gospel is good news, because it reveals to us a means of escaping God's justice.  It says that Jesus was sent to die as payment for your sins (Rom. 5:8).  It says that Jesus did die exactly how the Scriptures said He would, that He was buried exactly how the Scriptures said He would, and that He was raised from the dead exactly how the Scriptures said He would (Lk. 24:20-27; 1 Cor. 15:1-4).  Believing the Gospel results in one turning to God and trusting in Him; the Gospel message is God's very power to save, to produce the new birth (Rom. 1:16; Jn. 3:3-8; etc.)!

Some might ask, "From what are we saved?"  The answer is:  "From the wrath of God!"  His wrath is referred to at least thirty times in the Bible.  The word "wrath" is from the Greek ὀργή (orgē), which can be defined by how it is translated elsewhere in the Bible.  It means "anger" (Mk. 3:5); "vengeance" (Rom. 3:5); and "indignation" (Rev. 14:10).  However, we find:

*  The power provided for our escape - Believe on the Son of God - John 3:36!
*  The provision for our escape - The shed blood of Christ - Romans 5:9!
*  The purpose for our escape - His children are not appointed to wrath - 1 Thessalonians 5:9!
*  The plan for our escape - It was decided before the foundation of the world - Hebrews 4:3!


His love sent His Son for us; His justice demanded His Son die for us!  

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