REALISE
Realise and acknowledge that you are a sinner
And Now For
The Good News
The most wonderful news anyone can hear is found in the well known Bible verse, John 3:16,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The highlighted words are keywords which will help us understand the Good News more clearly.
The first keyword in John 3:16 is…
To clearly understand the Good News we must begin by asking,
What is God Like?
1. God is Holy
“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
1 John 1:5
“Light” stands for purity, sinlessness, righteousness, perfection, holiness.
God’s Law, or the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20, provides us with the standard by which to measure holiness. If we could keep God’s Law perfectly, both in our inward attitudes and outward actions, we would be holy.
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2. God is Love
“God love”
1 John 4:8
He is compassionate, merciful, kind and gracious.
It is important to remember that God’s holiness and his love are not in opposition to one another. They are two sides of one coin. Everything God does is governed by his holiness and his love.
The second keyword in John 3:16 is…
“For God so loved the world…”
The “world” is the world of people, including you. To clearly understand the Good News we must ask,
What does the Bible say about people?
1. WE ARE SINNERS BY NATURE
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Psalm 51:5
Ever since the sin of the first man, Adam, all people are born with a sinful nature, or a bent towards doing wrong (Romans 5:12). Parents don’t have to teach their children to do wrong. It comes naturally!
2. We are Sinners by Practice
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
To sin is to “miss the mark.” All people have missed the mark and fallen short of God’s standards by deliberately breaking his commands.
Man’s sinful nature shows itself in his sinful practice. We sin because we are sinners by nature.
3. WE ARE SEPARATED FROM GOD
“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you.”
Isaiah 59:2
Knowing about God, believing God exists, or being aware of God are not the same as being in right relationship with him. Sin prevents them from enjoying a relationship with a holy God.
4. WE ALL FACE GOD’S JUDGEMENT
“The wages of sin is death.”
Romans 6:23
A just God cannot overlook sin. When God’s Law is broken there is a penalty to pay.
“Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.”
Hebrews 9:27
5. WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
Many people mistakenly think that provided their good deeds outweigh their sins they will be safe on the day of judgement. They wrongly put their hopes in their own good works or in religion. But neither good works nor religion can remove our sins or persuade a just God to overlook them.
The third keyword in John 3:16 is…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”
God’s “one and only Son” is the Lord Jesus Christ. To understand who Jesus is, we must ask,
What does the Bible say about Jesus?
1. JESUS IS GOD-MAN
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’ ”
Matthew 1:23
Miraculously, the child born to the virgin Mary was at the same time fully God and fully man.
2. JESUS LIVED A SINLESS LIFE
“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.”
1 John 3:5
Although tempted in all the ways other people are, Jesus never sinned. As man he kept God’s Law perfectly.
3. JESUS DIED IN OUR PLACE
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.”
1 Peter 2:24
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
1 Peter 3:18
Because Jesus bore God’s judgement in place of sinners, God can pardon sin without violating his justice.
4. JESUS was Raised FROM THE DEAD
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared …”
1 Corinthians 15:3-5
The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact for which there is vast and reliable evidence. It confirms the truth of his teachings and demonstrates God’s acceptance of his death as payment for our sins.
5. JESUS IS THE ONLY SAVIOUR
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
1Timothy 2:5
Given the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, there is no other way for man’s sin to be forgiven and for him to be restored to a right relationship with God than through Jesus.
The fourth keyword in John 3:16 is…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The work of Jesus Christ does not automatically save all sinners; there is a condition attached. We must believe in him.
1. What does it mean to believe in him?
According to the Bible, believing is more than merely giving intellectual assent to the facts about Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to trust in him, to cling to him, to rely on him. To believe in Jesus is to receive him into your life.
“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12
2. What is the result of believing in him?
The wonderful result of believing in Jesus is promised in John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Through believing in Jesus, it is promised that we will not perish, but will have eternal life!
3. What is eternal life?
Eternal life does not begin when you die. It begins the moment you receive Jesus into your life by faith. “He who has the Son has life” (1 John 5:12). It is a life filled with his joy, peace, and purpose—even in times of trouble and sorrow. Jesus said,
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”
John 10:10
That’s not just for the future but for now. On the other hand, those who do not have eternal life (those who have not believed) will perish. They will pay the price for their own sin—eternal separation from God.
4. How do we receive this gift?
Would you like to receive Jesus into your life right now? Does this prayer say what you want to say?
“Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of your forgiveness. Thank you for loving me and for dying for my sins. Please forgive my sins and come into my life. Help me to follow and obey you as my Lord.
Amen!
Amen!
Will you pray this prayer or express your thoughts in your own words?
You can know that Jesus has come into your life:
The text content on this page is taken from the booklet “And Now For The Good News” by Pastor Leigh Robinson.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
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Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.