Category Archives: Herald

What Good News Can Do For You

Posted on by
Reply

The Gospel Is An Announcement

The word “Gospel” literally means “good news.” In the original Greek language, it’s often translated as “Herald” or “Evangelist.” When a Greek king won a battle, he would send a “Gospel Herald” all over the kingdom to announce the “good news” of his victory! So, in its purest sense, the Gospel is an “announcement”— the Biblical writers used the word “Gospel” to announce that Jesus has won the battle for our salvation by His atoning death on the cross! The Gospel is the good news, about God’s forgiveness, by Christ’s substitutionary work in our place— “…He became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Cor. 5:21.

Commissioned To Share The Good News

Once we’ve heard & accepted the good news— about Jesus’ payment for sin— we’re commissioned, by Him, to share the good news everywhere we go & to make disciples of Christ from all nations! When we get Jesus’ Gospel right, it’s a message that saves us from our “good works”— “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast” Eph 2:8,9.  And, Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” From my earliest recollections of myself, as a young boy, I remember trying to impress God with my good deeds.

Not From Yourselves

But, Scripture clearly says here that salvation “…is NOT from YOURSELVES…”; it’s “…NOT by (our) works of righteousness…” We can never change our ways enough to sway God! We can never justify ourselves before Him! We’re DEAD in our SIN! That’s why Jesus went to the cross— to pay the price we should have paid! It’s the “good news” of the Gospel that saves us from thinking that our good deeds can save us. When we get Jesus’ Gospel right, it’s a message that saves us from our “guilt”— “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” God says in Hebrews 8:12. 

Saved From Our Guilt

The Psalmist wrote, “…then I confessed my sins to you and didn’t hide my guilt. I said, ‘I will confess my sins to the Lord,’ and You forgave my guilt.” Psalm 32:1-5.  The same Gospel that saves us from our good works, saves us from our guilt— when guilt is our motivator, we can never do enough! That’s the unbearable burden of a “performance-driven faith”— when have you done enough? How can you ever know if what you’ve done has met with God’s approval? But the Gospel, of Christ, says we’re saved by GRACE! When we accept this “good news” by faith, He saves us by His grace!

The Gospel Saves Us To Do Good Works

The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write: “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” Eph. 2:10.  Did you see that? Paul says, “…we are HIS creation”; and, it’s in our conversion to Christ that we are “…created…FOR good works”; and, it is God Who prepares us for those good works! His Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts & begins to “rearrange the furniture” of our lives in a way that honors God, and in a way, we could never accomplish by ourselves. These good works don’t save us! They’re the RESULT of our salvation— the RESULT of God’s sanctifying work IN US! When we truly see the beauty & glory of God’s grace in our lives, we will want to do good works out of love for Jesus Christ, our Savior!

The Gospel Of Jesus Christ!

Posted on by
Reply

-Introducing The New King!

In the ancient world, new kings were introduced by a forerunner; or, a herald. Perhaps you remember, from the Old Testament, that Samuel first introduced; and, then anointed King Saul; and, later King David. Every culture & country has its traditions for heralding in a new leader. In our country, where the baton of leadership is usually passed peacefully from one president to another, it’s typical for 2 men to reside over the swearing-in of the new president— one is the Chief Justice; and, the other is the outgoing president. Together, they testify that the man being sworn in is the legitimate successor. It’s our country’s way of heralding a new leader.

-I Am Sending My Messenger!

And, that’s how Mark is inspired, by God’s Holy Spirit, to open his Gospel:  “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way. A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!’ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were  flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins” (Mark 1:1-5). Unlike Matthew & Luke, who begin their Gospels with the family roots & genealogies of Jesus, Mark picks it up at the actual beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

-That’s Good News!

Now, most of you probably know the definition of the “Gospel”, right? What does it mean? It means “good news” right? So, Mark is writing about the “good news” of Jesus Christ from, “The beginning…” he says. And, Mark says the Good News begins in the Old Testament:  “As it is written IN ISAIAH the prophet…” v.2. And, then he quotes from Isaiah, chapter 40, which is similarly recorded in the last book of the Old Testament, “‘See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming,’ says the Lord of Hosts” (Malachi 3:1). 

-Waiting For The Messiah!

And, from Malachi’s prophecy ‘til the arrival of Jesus Christ, Israel had waited 400 years for Messiah’s coming! They had waited, I want to point out, for God’s “messenger” (little “m”) to herald; or, announce the coming of the LORD; or, the King, the “Messenger” (capital “M”) of the covenant! So, Mark’s focus, at least at the start of his gospel, was more on the forerunner; or, the herald, than the King; and, there’s a good reason for that because Mark is writing to Gentiles. Specifically, he is writing to the Romans, who occupied the land of Israel at that time.

-The Need For A Credible Herald!

Mark knew that if he was writing a gospel about the arrival of a new king, to the Romans, that there would need to be some kind of authoritative, credible herald to announce his arrival. That’s the way it was in the culture of the Roman world. No Roman King or Caesar ever just showed up and said:  “Hello! Attention everyone! I’m the new King here!” No, he always had a forerunner; and, an entourage who went before him; and, prepared the way so all the people would be ready for his coming. So, Mark, to be consistent with the Gentile approach, goes to the Old Testament to find the prophecies that gave authenticity to King Jesus’ herald; and, then he informs his readers that John the Baptizer is that forerunner; and, that’s why John heralds or proclaims these words: “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals” (1:7). He was preparing the way for King Jesus!