WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS?

First, the bad news is that every human being does evil. We sin, breaking God’s law, in word, thought, and deed.

Romans 3:10-12 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

This not only alienates us from people around us, but it separates us from God and brings his judgment at death. His wrath against our sin means we will go to everlasting condemnation.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Nothing we do can fix this problem. Even if we were to do more good things than bad, they could not undo the evil we’ve already done.

Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

The good news is that God has provided salvation from our sins through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. We receive the forgiveness of our sins and a right relationship with God through faith, that is, resting on Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Gospel, the good news from God to man, is the announcement of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Have you been brought to the point of declaring spiritual bankruptcy before God? Acknowledge your sin to God in prayer and believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. God gives you a new heart and changes your desires, making you more like Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

The Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1: "What is your only comfort in life and death?"

Answer: "That I am not my own, but belong-body and soul, in life and in death-to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him."

Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 60: “How are you right with God?

Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and of never having kept any of them, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me."