You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
that nothing you do after you<br />
are “saved” can keep you out of<br />
heaven. Heart issues are important,<br />
but God gives us a clean<br />
heart so we can live a clean life.<br />
If right living was irrelevant, why<br />
did God pack the New Testament<br />
with practical instructions<br />
for living? Truth will always lead<br />
you into a life of righteousness.<br />
“ 20 Everyone practicing evil hates<br />
the light and does not come to<br />
the light, lest his deeds should be<br />
exposed. 21 But he who does the<br />
truth comes to the light, that his<br />
deeds may be clearly seen, that<br />
they have been done in God.”<br />
John 3:20–21<br />
<br />
The Good News<br />
J. Anthony Hertzler of the Kingdom<br />
Most Christians know the<br />
word “Gospel” means<br />
“good news.” But what is this<br />
news, and why is it good? Many<br />
people treat the Gospel as if<br />
it were a bus ticket to heaven.<br />
Perhaps they hear that they will<br />
go to hell unless they believe<br />
in Jesus, so they say a prayer,<br />
confess and apologize for their<br />
sins, trust Jesus for salvation,<br />
and go on with their lives. For<br />
awhile they feel much happier,<br />
but after awhile they realize they<br />
are living pretty much the same<br />
broken life as before they were<br />
“saved.”<br />
Is this good news—that you’re<br />
still the same sinner you always<br />
were, but that God will let you<br />
into heaven because of the sacrifice<br />
of Jesus? No, the Gospel is<br />
much, much bigger and better<br />
than a scheme to get sinners<br />
out of hell and into heaven—in<br />
fact, that’s only a small part<br />
of what the Gospel is about<br />
(2 Corinthians 4:1–6).<br />
To understand the good<br />
news, we have to talk about the<br />
bad news. Many people think<br />
the bad news is that we are going<br />
to hell, but that’s not the real bad<br />
news; the bad news is that we are<br />
sinners who are living in rebellion<br />
against God! (Genesis 4:7)<br />
That’s the problem Jesus came<br />
to earth to solve. Hell is merely<br />
<strong>Loaves</strong> & <strong>Fishes</strong> • Issue <strong>27</strong> | 5