GOOD NEWS

By Gary McDade

We took some quality time last week to explore the two ways of which our Lord spoke during His personal ministry. One broad, popular, fun, exciting, easy, and damnable, the other narrow, unpopular, challenging, tough, and eternally rewarding. We paused life for a few minutes each evening to peer into eternity at the only two destinies that await everyone, knowing full well we will be in one of the two options world without end. The messages within the songs we sang and the pointed sermons from the wonderful preachers we have locally were designed to persuade us all to choose life, the eternal life our Lord Jesus Christ made possible.

Persuasion is an important feature of the soul-saving gospel of Christ as exclusively found within the pages of our New Testament. All those agreeable to hearing its message understand that the writers gave great effort to persuade men to avoid hell and live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world that heaven may be their reward. The apostle to the Gentiles wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11).

As he reasoned with one of the most powerful political leaders of his region of the world, King Agrippa exclaimed to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). He already knew the truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (v. 26). He already believed the prophets teaching about it (v. 27). He knew he was being persuaded to walk in heaven’s way, and yet he walked out of the room (v. 30).

Of this truth Christians today are persuaded: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). We have “good news” and are dedicated to sharing it with the world.