The Good News Of
Jesus Christ
By Dale V.
Nobbman
The familiar
phrase, “The
good news of
Jesus Christ” is
most closely
associated with
the first four
New Testament
books in the
Bible (Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and
John) known as
the Gospel books
describing the
life of Jesus,
including His
birth, His
teachings, His
death and
resurrection.
The good news of
eternal life
through belief
in Jesus Christ
is very
concisely summed
up in one verse
found in the
biblical book of
John.
“For God so
loved the world
that He gave His
one and only Son
[Jesus], that
whoever believes
in Him shall not
perish, but have
eternal life”
(John 3:16).
Sadly, many
people still
reject Jesus and
His free gift of
eternal life in
heaven, a life
which can only
be obtained
through belief
in and
acceptance of
Jesus Christ as
the Son of God
and your
personal Lord
and Savior. How
to obtain
eternal life in
heaven is
concisely summed
up in another
single verse
found in the
biblical book of
John.
“I am the way
and the truth
and the life. No
one comes to the
Father except
through me”
(John 14:6).
Jesus paid the
price on the
cross required
to redeem all of
us from our sins
if we will
simply believe
in Him. So then
why do a vast
majority of
people still
reject the free
gift of eternal
life in Heaven
as offered by
Jesus Christ?
Perhaps some
people have been
enslaved by sin
for so long in
their lives that
they feel there
is just no hope
for Jesus and
God the Father
to ever love and
forgive them, so
they have
decided to
continue
rejecting Jesus
while leading a
life of sin,
because they
feel so
hopelessly lost.
However, it's
totally untrue
that anyone is
too sinful to be
saved. Don't let
Satan deceive
you into
believing you
are not a
savable person.
We all
entered this
world 'lost' due
to mankind's
original sin
against God, and
we remain lost
until we repent
of our sins and
place our belief
in Jesus Christ
as our Redeemer.
The Romans
crucified Jesus
on a cross
between two
criminals who
were being
crucified for
robbery. The one
criminal chose
to reject Jesus
to the end of
his life on a
cross, but the
second criminal
believed in
Jesus for the
very first time
while he (the
second criminal)
hung there on
his cross,
without any
chance of ever
making right the
sinful life he
had led.
However, this
second criminal
not only
recognized the
fact that he
deserved his
sentence of
death for his
deeds, but he
also recognized
the fact that
Jesus had done
nothing wrong to
deserve His
suffering and
death on the
cross. As they
hung there on
their crosses,
the second
criminal
expressed his
belief in Jesus
by saying to
Jesus:
“Remember me
when you come
into your
kingdom” (Luke
23:42).
Jesus then
replied to the
second criminal:
“Truly I tell
you, today you
will be with me
in paradise”
(Luke 23:43).
What could be
better for any
of us forgiven
sinners than to
join Jesus in
paradise?
Jesus,
the Son of God,
offers this
'good news' of
eternal life in
heaven to anyone
who will simply
express their
belief in Him as
their Savior at
any time before
we physically
die. The above
verse quoting
the reply Jesus
gave to the
criminal can
certainly be
considered “the
good news of
Jesus Christ” as
stated by Jesus
Himself.
Jesus did not
say to the
believing
criminal, “Truly
I tell you,
today you will
be with me in
paradise IF
you have obeyed
all of the Ten
Commandments”
(which obviously
the criminal had
not, because he
was a thief), or
any other
stipulations.
No, Jesus did
not attach
any
conditions in
his statement to
the criminal,
when he told the
criminal he
would be with
Him in paradise
that very day.
Jesus makes the
same promise to
all sinners
today, without
any conditional
strings attached
to His
unconditional
love no matter
what we have
done, or not
done, during any
stage of our
lives. All Jesus
requires from us
is that we
“believe” in
Him.
“But as many as
received Him, to
them He gave the
right to become
children of God”
(John 1:12).
Jesus kept
company with
sinners and was
a friend of
sinners during
His earthly
life.
“And the Word
(Jesus Christ)
became flesh and
dwelt among us”
John 1:14).
All “lost”
people who will
receive Jesus
into their heart
can experience
their own “good
news of Jesus
Christ.”
“For the Son of
Man [came] to
seek and to save
that which was
lost” (Luke
19:10).
Jesus loves you
and desires for
you to join Him
in paradise,
just as the
thief on the
cross did.
May God bless
you this
Christmas
season, in the
coming year, and
always!