What is the Good News?

[00:00:00] Welcome back. This is Dominic with sharing the good news. And today what I want to talk about is what is the good news? In the last couple of episodes, what we've covered is the judgment and the things that are going to happen after the judgment. [00:00:16] And when you think about that scripture that we read in Revelation about the books of the Bible being open, and you read about me being judged by my works and the outcome of not being found ready and right on that day is not a good outcome if I'm not ready. [00:00:34] So what does the Scriptures tell us? What does God give us? Because God doesn't want for any of us to. To be on that side of things when the last day comes, when we stand before the judgment. [00:00:46] So I want to start here. I want to read you something that Christ said right before Christ left the earth. [00:00:52] This is going to be found in Mark, chapter 16, verses 15 and 16. [00:00:56] And he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. So one of the things that Christ left as a mission for all of his disciples was I want you to go out into all the world and I want you to preach the gospel. The word gospel actually means the good news. [00:01:25] So this gospel message that Christ came to bring to the earth, it was good news. [00:01:30] It was the news of salvation, it was the news of hope. It was the news that was going to tell us how to be saved from the wrath that is to come. [00:01:40] So as he leaves his disciples with this mission, and as we now have recorded some of their letters, the things, some of the things that they went to go do, contained here in the Scriptures, what is revealed to us in the word of God is what I'm supposed to do, what I need to do to be able to be saved, to be able to not be condemned on the last day. [00:02:07] So there is a time that the Scriptures tell us the time of the judgment is a time of wrath to come. [00:02:15] And in first Thessalonians, I want to read you First Thessalonians, chapter one. [00:02:21] As Paul is speaking to this young church here in Thessalonica, he says in chapter one and verse ten that he instructed them when he was with them, to wait for the Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead. So Christ is going to return, and we're living in anticipation of that. He has been raised from the dead. [00:02:43] Even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. [00:02:48] So this is really good news that there's a time of wrath. There's a time where people are going to have to face the consequences of their sins. There's a time of punishment. But here's the good news. The good news is that Christ has saved us from this wrath that is to come, because the reality is that all of us are worthy of condemnation. Okay, let me read you a couple of scriptures. One of them is here in Romans in the third chapter. [00:03:19] So in Romans, chapter three, it says here in verse 23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And this is just a fact. Every one of us has sinned. And like we spoke about briefly earlier in another episode, that all the good works that I do don't undo the wrong that I've done. Imagine standing before a judge if you've committed the crime of murder and you're guilty, and you know, the evidence has been presented, the jury is present, and the judge is going to begin to give you the penalty. And you're like, you know, excuse me, Judge, I just want to. I want to tell you some things. [00:04:00] I don't think that I should be, you know, sentenced or get in trouble because I'm a really good person. You know, I mean, I know I committed murder and that was bad. But, you know, I've. I've. I go and I feed the homeless. You know, I go and I've. I've helped, you know, my grandma many times. [00:04:16] You know, you start listing all these good things that you've done. [00:04:20] That's wonderful that you've done those good things. [00:04:22] But those good things don't change the punishment that you're worthy of for the wrong thing that you have done. [00:04:30] So this is a big predicament that all of us are in. And this is why we need the good news. Because the reality is that all of us have sinned. Every human being that has ever reached adulthood has done things that are wrong, that are contrary to God. And we're going to talk a little bit more in the next episode about what is sin, Right? But for this time, what I want to talk about is the good news that we have in Christ. [00:04:58] So the good news is that we have been delivered from the wrath to come, and all of us have sinned. We've all come short of the glory of God. Another scripture that I really like on this is in First John, chapter one. [00:05:10] Because one of the things that he tells us here in First John 1, he just, he makes this. The Bible is just so clear. It's so, so crystal clear on what is right and what is true. And he says in First John 1:10, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. [00:05:30] Everybody has sin. [00:05:32] And sin is something that you are guilty of, that there's a punishment, there's something that you are going to have to be held accountable for on that day of judgment. [00:05:43] So the good news is Christ came and he gave his life so that I could have life. [00:05:51] That's really good news. [00:05:53] Christ came down to this earth. And what he did is he not only lived a life that is a pattern that we should follow. [00:06:03] He showed us the way to be able to get to heaven, a way to be able to be forgiven. [00:06:10] And when you look at the Scriptures, I'm going to read you a few more scriptures just because the word of God, again, it answers these questions for us. [00:06:19] And In John, chapter 14, here's something that Christ said in verse six. [00:06:24] He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. [00:06:29] And no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. [00:06:33] So Christ made it very clear as he was out preaching the Gospel, the good news, that if you want to be able to get to heaven, which is where the Father is at, if that's where you want to be, which is definitely where we want to be, I am the way. There's only one way into heaven, okay? I have the truth and I have life. [00:06:52] So everything is going to come through Christ. [00:06:54] And so what Christ did is he brought this good news that relieves us so that because now we can have a confidence and know that I can live through this life and know that the judgment is to come, but also know that, that I have a savior. [00:07:13] That's good news. Because I need to be saved. And so does everybody on this earth. We all need a savior. And one of the things that the Apostle Peter tells us in First Peter, chapter two, as he's speaking about Christ, and he says here that Christ in verse 24, 1 Peter 2:24, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed, for ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. [00:07:55] So he makes it very clear here, and there's many, many Scriptures on this topic, that Christ gave his life and he took my sins. [00:08:06] And if I turn to him, and if I follow him, and if I allow him to become my Lord, okay, and my Christ, that I can have forgiveness, I can have hope I can be cleansed by his blood. [00:08:22] So as we delve on into this, I want us to begin to think about the good news. [00:08:31] Because there is a judgment to come. [00:08:34] Everybody's going to face it. [00:08:36] But if I follow Christ, if I obey Christ, if I allow Christ to be my Savior, which we're going to get into, then I have hope, I have confidence. [00:08:48] I can know that when that time comes, when the day of judgment comes, that it's going to be a good day. Because on the day of judgment, it's going to be really bad for everybody who is going to be condemned and go to hell. But for everybody that's going to receive eternal life, that's going to be the best day of your life. [00:09:09] And so what we find in the Scriptures is that the righteous actually look forward to this day. It's a day that they know that this is the day that I'm going to get rewarded. And so it's a good day. [00:09:20] And that's good news. It's good to know that this day that could be so bad can become so good because of what we're able to have in Christ. [00:09:31] So stick around. The next episode. I want to talk about what sin is and understanding the things that separate us from God and what Christ came to bring, allowing us to have forgiveness of these things as we delve a little bit deeper into this. [00:09:47] So don't forget, send me an email sharingthegoodnews34mail.com we'd love to connect with you one on one and hope you have a great rest of your day.