6/4/21

"The Truth of The Good News" by Gary Rose

 


Another comment about “Duct Tape”; it can fix a lot of things for quite awhile, but those “3 nails”… they fixed everything...forever. The picture looks like one of those marquees you see in front of church buildings, but this one is embedded within a wall, strange. Makes me wonder where it is. More importantly, though, is that it speaks the truth. In thinking about this, I did a quick concordance search on “The truth of the Good News” and found these passages.


Galatians 2 ( World English Bible )

3 But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

4 This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage;

5 to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you.

6 But from those who were reputed to be important (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man)—they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me,

7 but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcision


11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned.

12 For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy; so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they didn’t walk uprightly according to the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live as the Gentiles do, and not as the Jews do, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews do?

15 “We, being Jews by nature, and not Gentile sinners,

16 yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law.

17 But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not!

18 For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker.

19 For I, through the law, died to the law, that I might live to God.

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.


Ephesians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;

5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,

7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him

10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;

11 in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;

12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:

13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.


Colossians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints,

5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News,

6 which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;


The world I grew up in was simpler ( circa 1950’s ). Generally, people believed in the Bible and tried to follow it. People told the truth, oftentimes, a handshake was good enough to “seal the deal”. Newscasters told the truth and I believed it.


Today, people say that truth is relative; what is true for me is probably not true for you. This concept is ridiculous; truth is truth – anything but the truth is simply NOT THE TRUTH. Apart from the Bible, it has become very difficult to find the unvarnished truth.


Back to that sign. It is true, three nails really did fix everything. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have “The Truth of the Good News ( The Gospel ). We need nothing else. Believe this for it is true.