Loaves & Fishes 27

that nothing you do after you
are “saved” can keep you out of
heaven. Heart issues are important,
but God gives us a clean
heart so we can live a clean life.
If right living was irrelevant, why
did God pack the New Testament
with practical instructions
for living? Truth will always lead
you into a life of righteousness.
“ 20 Everyone practicing evil hates
the light and does not come to
the light, lest his deeds should be
exposed. 21 But he who does the
truth comes to the light, that his
deeds may be clearly seen, that
they have been done in God.”
John 3:20–21
The Good News
J. Anthony Hertzler of the Kingdom
Most Christians know the
word “Gospel” means
“good news.” But what is this
news, and why is it good? Many
people treat the Gospel as if
it were a bus ticket to heaven.
Perhaps they hear that they will
go to hell unless they believe
in Jesus, so they say a prayer,
confess and apologize for their
sins, trust Jesus for salvation,
and go on with their lives. For
awhile they feel much happier,
but after awhile they realize they
are living pretty much the same
broken life as before they were
“saved.”
Is this good news—that you’re
still the same sinner you always
were, but that God will let you
into heaven because of the sacrifice
of Jesus? No, the Gospel is
much, much bigger and better
than a scheme to get sinners
out of hell and into heaven—in
fact, that’s only a small part
of what the Gospel is about
(2 Corinthians 4:1–6).
To understand the good
news, we have to talk about the
bad news. Many people think
the bad news is that we are going
to hell, but that’s not the real bad
news; the bad news is that we are
sinners who are living in rebellion
against God! (Genesis 4:7)
That’s the problem Jesus came
to earth to solve. Hell is merely
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