YES, THERE IS GOOD NEWS!
In our previous article I suggested that we all might accept the challenge
“to come to our Father and His Son and to seek out His ways and His
thoughts in His word.” Yes, God has set forth His ways and His thoughts
in the bible and He wants us to learn from Him.
I drive a school bus and have a great deal of interaction with school
age children. Sometimes they complain about having to go to school
and wish it were all over for them (All of us can identify with that!!) But
I usually try to encourage them by getting them to understand that we
never really stop learning. I joke with them and tell them that I am in
64th grade. We may graduate from high school or even from college but
learning is a life- long endeavor.
In the book of Matthew we read that Jesus “went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom
and healing every disease …” (Matt. 4:23) I cannot imagine that there
has ever been a greater teacher on earth than the Son of God.
In the New Testament we find the word Rabbi used several times
when the disciples and others addressed Jesus Christ. This word is
used as a term of respect for one who is considered a teacher; and Jesus
was known as a teacher. Even a prominent member of the Sanhedrin,
Nicodemus, addressed Jesus like this, “Rabbi, we know you are a
teacher who has come from God.” (John 3:2)
I suggest that there never was nor will be a teacher greater than our
Savior and now that we, today, need teaching and direction and insight
more than ever before I find it quite odd that more people are not opening
their bibles to learn from the one who can open their minds up to the
wonders of the universe and beyond!
I suggest that we are living in a world that is growing darker and darker
to the ways of God. And if you were paying attention, I just quoted a
line from the book of Matthew that Jesus was preaching the good news
of the kingdom. Friends, there is tremendous good news in the words
of scripture. Paul tells his assistant Timothy in his second letter to him
that, “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correction and training in righteousness, so that the man of God can be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16)
If you see that we are sliding toward darkness in this world, then
please take hope in what Jesus had to say in John 8:12, “I am the light
of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life.” Do you believe that? Jesus even went so far as
to teach in the Sermon on the Mount that we are “the light of the world”.
Several years ago when I was first asked to write an article for the
local newspaper, I desired to bring good news to you, the reader; thus
the title above. Jesus is the real teacher and He does teach about the
“good news of the kingdom”. His ways are perfect; so what is this Kingdom
of God all about?
Bill Rollins

What is the depth of God’s heart? Wow, now that’s an interesting question.But it is one that must be considered; it is a depth that must be sounded. The problem is, we as finite human beings do not have the physical resources to understand the depths of an infinite God! What’s a person to do?

In our previous article we contemplated some of the decisions that God’s messengers have had to make (Noah, Abraham and Moses). Choices are, of course, set before us each and every day and we can make our decisions based on two separate points of view: a worldly perspective or a Godly perspective.

We are very familiar with the world and its ways. Everywhere we look we see the physical world and its influences. Most times we take the easy way out and chose according to a worldly set of parameters.

But God’s ways, His thoughts, His parameters are deeper and more difficult. I am reminder of the old saying concerning decisions: Is it right or is it easier? Unfortunately in this age many just take the easy way and not the right way. How do we start to make choices according to a Godly perspective? It begins by knowing God’s ways and His thoughts! But someone might quote the book of Isaiah to me, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8) Oh yes, there’s the challenge!! But we do not have to know God in all of His being, in all of His thoughts and in all of His ways - He has given to us a manual of instruction to find and understand the WAY. You and I know it as the Bible, and it is a set of instructions concerning all that God wants us to know today.

In our previous article we did talk about Noah, Abraham and Moses, and the choices they were given to make. God laid out before them an opportunity, yes, even a challenge to obey His words. Abraham had a tremendously difficult decision set before him; Genesis puts it this way, “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen. 22) But if we know the bible, we realize that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. He choose to act according to a Godly point of view. He went to Moriah with Isaac. Isaac lived and Abraham received a strong and beautiful message from God.

So what has God put before you in your walk? It can’t be as great a choice as Abraham dealt with. But maybe God is working with you. Maybe He is asking you to choose between two ways of life. Maybe it is time to come to our Father and His Son and to seek out His ways and His thoughts in His word.

Here is a great place to start whether you’re brand new to His word or have been reading it for years and somehow are not inspired, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11-12) And that is a long, long way!!

The worldview of a Christian” is the topic at which we have been looking. And within that framework we began a study of the doctrine of the resurrection. Think about it this way; if there is no resurrection of the dead, then all we have to live for is this physical life. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:35, puts it this way, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”

It was several years back that I first encountered this term “worldview,” and it was used with the idea that there are only two differing worldviews; one being ‘the Christian worldview’ and the other called ‘the secular worldview.’ It took me some time to understand what was meant by these two terms (I guess I’m a little slow sometimes) but I came to see that a person must see the world either from a biblical standpoint or from a worldly standpoint.

The bible, as we have seen, speaks of a resurrection of the dead; the secular view has no such concept. The bible speaks of a God who is merciful and gracious and gave His only begotten Son to save us from death; the secular view has no such concept. The bible tells us that we can be right with God through the righteousness of His Son; the secular knows of no such idea. The bible tells us that God desires to have a relationship with those whom He has created; but alas we find no such thing in the secular view.

Let me state this emphatically: we have a book that tells us exactly what the creator God has for us and what He wants for us. We may turn away from that and look to the societies and civilizations we have built that offer us no hope beyond the physical life we are living. I guess I‘m going to choose the life and hope that God offers.

That is a very rudimentary explanation of the two worldviews we have to choose from.

Oh! Now there’s an interesting word to consider: “choose.” God does give us a choice in this process. He is the author of freedom and we are free to choose how we will live.

Kind of like Adam and Eve had a choice! They could eat from the tree of life or eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They made a very wrong choice, and we sit here six thousand years later blaming God for the mess we are in!!

Speaking of choices, the bible is filled with examples of the choices people have made over the centuries: Noah had a choice to build a boat so as to be the savior of mankind (kind of sounds like he was a type of Jesus Christ). Abraham had a choice to “Leave Your country, your people and your father’s household and come to the land I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1) (Hmmm … sounds like he was a type of Jesus Christ who left His Father’s household in heaven to come to earth). Moses had a choice to go to Egypt and rescue the nation of Israel (yeah, sounds like Jesus Christ who came to the land of sin and redeemed the people that God would choose). God shows us, in His word, many types.

We could go on for a while considering God’s messengers and the choices they made, but perhaps we’ll do that next time.

Within the Christian worldview there are words in the English language that stand out. For instance, righteousness; how often is that used in one’s day to day life? Or how about sanctification, how would one even use that? “I believe this spring I will sanctify the tomatoes in my garden.” No, I didn’t think so!! Actually the word sanctification literally means to set something apart for a special purpose. Do you have a special purpose for the tomatoes to be separated from the rest of the garden? Then sanctify away!!

But in these articles we are striving to consider the “worldview of a Christian” and so we use them now and again. In our previous article, in the final paragraph, I used the word “resurrection.” The sentence read, “Paul does spend some time in this 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians giving proof to all who have eyes to see that there is a resurrection from the dead.” The word resurrection does have religious overtones and for the most part we understand what it means. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” We understand that one who dies and is buried and is raised from the dead has indeed been resurrected.

It is easy to make a statement and claim it to be true; but is it verifiable?

Paul, in verse 5, goes on to let you know that it is verifiable, for he says, “And he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Paul tells us that there are well over 260 eye witnesses to the fact that Jesus Christ died and was found to be alive!! The bible tells us in Deuteronomy 19:15, “Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” And our Savior Himself confirms these words in Matthew 18:16, “But if a brother will not listen take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’” Yes, Paul’s testimony is verified by a huge number of eye witnesses.

The Bible is a very unusual book. Its veracity is established above and beyond any other piece of writing (factual or otherwise) in the history of the world. Let me state it this way by quoting Vodie Baucham, “The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eye witnesses during the life time of other witnesses. It was written on three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe) using three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) by 40 authors from multiple walks of life in 66 volumes covering hundreds of subjects over a period of 1500 years.” No other body of writing even comes close to that kind of proof!!

My friends and brethren, we have a book that is true and can be trusted.

So let us consider this “Christian worldview” in our next article.

God in all of His wisdom has not only created a world where life can exist and prosper and grow (the earth), but has given to us the reality (if we will accept it) of an eternal life where His creation (that’s us) may fully engage with Him as we fully come to know Him.

The prayer Jesus offered up to the Father at the end of His final Passover meal is found in John 17. The entirety of the chapter contains this prayer that He gave for His apostles, His disciples and for “those who will believe in Him through their message” (John 17:20).

He begins that prayer with this: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted to Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:1-3)

It has been said that the Gospel of John is one where we find many definitions of spiritual ideas. In the above quote, Jesus gives us (through the pen of John) an interesting definition of eternal life: ‘That we may know God and His Son.’ I guess when I read that, I come to understand just how incredibly complex and how awesome our God is!!

Today, in this fleshly body, our small minds can, in no way, comprehend the nature and the abilities of an eternal God. But in that day (the day of eternity), all mysteries will be made known. Paul puts it this way in his first letter to the Corinthians in 2:9, “It is written that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” Paul is here quoting from Isaiah 64:4 but he goes on to make this statement, “But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”

Those who have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them today, have a head start in coming to know God. Later in that same letter, Paul tells us that “Now we see but through a glass darkly, (kind of like a poor reflection in a mirror) but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully.” (1 Cor. 13:12) What an awesome thought to hang our hope onto; face to face with God our Father. And remember what we talked about in our previous article “The hope that God intends for us is an assurance of what He has promised based on His word of truth. And God’s words are pure, holy and true.”

Paul tells us about this resurrection from the dead in this same letter to the Corinthians. In Chapter 15 Paul elaborates on the topic. Paul makes these comments, “If for this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (verse 19) “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” (verse 32) If all we have is this life – well, really what’s the use?

Paul does spend some time in this chapter 15 giving proof to all who have eyes to see that there is a resurrection from the dead. Perhaps we’ll consider more of his words in our next article.

In December of last year (six articles ago) I proposed that we who are interested in good news (i.e. the Gospel) might consider that this Gospel can be understood within a four-fold purpose of God. I hope that all of you are with me on this topic, for we are to begin looking into the fourth phase.

The final purpose of the Gospel is not the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not the receiving of the Holy Spirit as a gift to those who accept the blood of Jesus, who repent of their sins and who undergo the waters of Baptism.

The real goal of the gospel, as Paul states it, is, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (1Corinthians 15:51-54)

The implications of this scripture, if completely understood, should bring forth immense joy to all who will believe. God, our God, our Father in heaven desires to impart to us an imperishable and immortal body!!

Paul says a very similar thing in his first letter to the Thessalonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words”

Paul tells us that these words are for those of us who have a hope. This is not a hope such as “I hope it doesn’t rain” or “I hope I’ll catch some fish.”  Those uses of the word hope are actually a wish based on nothing real. The hope that God intends for us is an assurance of what He has promised based on His word of truth. And God’s words are pure, holy and true. Some of us believe this and some of us do not.

First, to those who do not believe I must ask, what do you place your hope in? Is it in this life that only ends in death? That seems to me to be quite short-sighted and actually very sad. The world today seems to be spinning helplessly out of control (to borrow a lyric from Willie Nelson).

But wait… let us rather look at the Good News.

It seems as though I left our previous article with two separate thoughts that didn’t have an obvious connection. I began by talking about water and its spiritual application to the gospel. I mentioned how this water represented the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit upon the believer. But then I ended with a Greek lesson on the word “zoe,” the word used in the Greek scriptures to introduce us to the spiritual life we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s see how these two ideas are connected.

First of all, you need to answer a couple of questions. Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? Do you understand the ramifications of being indwelt by God’s Spirit? God sent His Son to prepare His disciples for a life of Godliness; but He did not leave the disciples (or any of us) all alone to face the problems and trials of this world – He poured out His Spirit into those who would believe in His Son, who would repent of the life they had been leading (as Paul put it, ‘slaves to sin’) and who would make that public declaration of being immersed in the waters of baptism.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4) This is one of the most amazing statements concerning the new life of a Christian.

It is with this statement that we can begin to see the connection between water and life! In Acts 2:38, Peter told the crowd that had gathered to “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It is here that we see the progression of water in baptism to the water that is symbolic of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

It is the river of John 7:38 that reveals to us the gift of the Spirit that flows from the inner most part of a new believer. “Whoever believes in Me,” Jesus said, “Rivers of living water shall flow from within him.” And now we may connect the differing thoughts from our previous article, ‘water’ and ‘life!!'

Paul tells us that if we have never taken this most precious step of repentance and baptism, we are, “Dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.” (Eph. 2:1)

But now hear this, “He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who overcomes will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev. 21:6-7) This is the remarkable part of the third phase of the gospel – we can have the life of our God dwelling in us!! And it is absolutely free.

Stay tuned for phase four of this “Good News of God.”

Yes! There is Good News!
by Bill Rollins
original post date: February 24, 2022

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. …. And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ …. And there was evening and there was morning – the second day.” (Gen. 1:1-6)

We know that God created light on the “first day” but for our intents and purposes
we need to consider the second day when God was working with water!

Now let us jump all the way to the last book of the bible, Revelation. In the final chapter, 22:1 we read this, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.” Toward the end of this final chapter, verse 17, we read, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come’! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

We read about water in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible and we again read about water in the final chapter of the last book of the Bible. Do you think we might find references to water elsewhere in scripture? Indeed we do!! There are over 700 references to water in the Old and New Testaments. We have neither the time nor the inclination to check out all these scriptures but perhaps we might ponder a few of them.

In our previous article we saw Jesus speak of the living water as though it would flow from within God’s people as a river. (John 7:38) John informs us that, “by this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” This receiving of the Holy Spirit is perhaps the highlight of the third phase of the Gospel.

I don’t believe I have to elaborate upon the idea that water is essential to life. Every one of us has at some time or another been thirsty – perhaps even to the point of fainting. Our bodies are over 60% water and we are told over and over again to make sure we stay hydrated. Drinking a sufficient amount of water each day is vital to good health.

We know this from a physical point of view but how about from a spiritual point of view? Much of the time when one of the authors of the Bible talks about life, they are using a word that should lead us to understand the reality of our spiritual life. In the New Testament Greek the word used is “zoe” (pronounced ‘dzo-ay’). From Vine’s Greek dictionary of the New Testament we find this definition: “Zoe means life in the absolute sense; life as God has it, and  which the Father has in Himself. It was from this life that Adam and Eve became alienated as a consequence of the fall.”

There are 3 words from the Greek which are translated ‘life’ in scripture: Zoe, Bios, and Psuche. Bios is the word from which we get our English words, Biology (the study of life) or Biography (the ‘mapping out’ of one’s life). Psuche simply means ‘breath’ – that which all living things need. And so we have a lesson in Greek – Zoe is the spiritual word we are seeking and we will consider it next time.

In our previous articles we have been considering, what I’ve been calling, the four phases of the Gospel. The first phase was creation, some 6000 years ago, when the Father ordained that man would need a Savior; “The precious blood of the Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect was chosen before the creation of the world” (1 Peter 1:19).

The second phase is the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ upon this earth; “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you. …For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

We began looking at the third phase in our previous article. It started with Christ’s ascension to the “Right hand of the Majesty on High” as it is stated in Hebrews 1:3. We also saw, as a direct result of His resurrection into the heavenly realm, that we might become recipients of the Holy Spirit!

This is an awesome piece of information. You and I, whomever we may be, have the incredible opportunity to have a part of the Godhead residing within us. Does that understanding affect you in any way? It should!

This understanding is taught throughout the scriptures. In the book of Ezekiel 36:26-27 it says this, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my laws.” The prophet Isaiah says this, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessings on your descendants.” And Joel has this, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

Our God is a holy God. The Spirit of God is a holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit of God is that which is to be poured out upon the children of God!! Wow!

In the Gospel of John chapter 7 verse 37, Jesus says, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.” The next sentence reveals what Jesus meant, “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.”

And by these words we have come full circle in these articles going all the way back to November 1st. So what is this living water and what does it mean to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Who in the world said that there were four phases to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? OH! I believe that I said that in our previous article. So let me just say that this is an opinion of mine; but it is an opinion based on the scriptures.

Today we are to consider the third phase – let us do just that. In approximately 33 AD our Savior, having finished His ministry, gave up His life for you and me. Thus the second phase was over, i.e. He shed His blood on the cross in order to redeem us from our slavery to sin. After three days in the grave we know that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. (We read this in Matthew 28.) As they approached, they felt the earth quake and an angel of the LORD rolled away the stone. The tomb was empty. The angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and that He would meet them in Galilee.

In Acts 1:3 we find that He appeared to the disciples for 40 days. After these 40 days, we read in verse 9 that He was taken up before their eyes into heaven. We now turn to Hebrew 1:3 and read that, “After He had provided purification for sins; He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High”. And yes, the news of His sacrifice was good news but this turn of events is ‘really, really GOOD NEWS!!

In John’s first epistle, 2:1, we find that “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, sits as a counselor to the Father on our behalf”. We also read this statement by Jesus in John’s gospel chapter 16:7, “Unless I go away, the Counselor (that is the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” The coming of the Holy Spirit was contingent upon Jesus resurrection and ascension into heaven. Phase three had begun!!

In Acts chapter 2:37, when the crowd asked Peter what they were to do with his message to them, he replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

This repentance and baptism would be the beginning of a new life for those who would believe. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans 6:1, says it like this, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness
of life.” Paul says that they are not to continue in sin, for they have had to repent of their sins and repentance is not just feeling sorry for sins, but a turning from that kind of life and toward a new life abiding in the Savior.

Wow!! We’ve said a mouthful (or at least Paul did) and there is a lot to digest here; so until our next issue let me remind you that we do have good news.