How good is the News?

When I was young we had a neighborhood bully. I was scared to death of him. My older brother caught him beating on me one day and kicked the snot out of him. I never had to fear that he would kill me any more after that. I had my big brother to protect me.

But as with all bullies and cowards, they will do what they can to make you miserable as possible. This one did. He took every occasion offered to him to make me as unhappy as possible. My brother wasn’t always around and this bully knew just how far he could go without incurring my brother’s wrath.

One day I discovered I had the inner strength to stand up to him. He came up behind me and put me in a headlock. Without thinking about it, I threw my hip back, grabbing his arm and pulled him over my head and slammed him to the ground. My days of being bullied were over.

So what does this have to do with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Actually, aeverything.

Once I came to Christ the penalty of death was removed from me. My eternal salvation is secure, sealed, by the witness of the giving of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 4:30b … the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Romans 5

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

All those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ know that the war is over. God has won our hearts and we are no longer enemies.

Now Satan on the other hand hates us and since Jesus kicked the snot out of him, he’s like my childhood bully. He takes every occasion to make you miserable.

Romans 5: 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

We have peace with God.

But we do not have peace with Satan. Just like my childhood bully he will take every occasion to make our lives as miserable as possible.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If this were all that there is to "The Good News" then our lives would be a constant cycle of sinning, repentance and forgiveness, repeated over and over and over as Satan buffeted us about, taking every occasion to harass us.

Let me tell you that the Good News is more. Just as I found out against my childhood bully that I had an inner strength I did not recognize, so does ever Christian that has accept Jesus Christ into His heart and received the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Those lying accusations that Satan makes are the only weapons he has against us. He will try and frustrate our walk with God by lying to through our very flesh, telling us we are not worthy, that we don’t love God enough, that God doesn’t love us, that we have no power over sin.

I am hear to tell you that those are all lies of the enemy and we don’t have to believe his lies, we don’t have to put up with his taunting.

Look to the temptations the Lord endured at Satan’s hand.

Matthew 4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

If thou be the Son of God, with those words the plan of Satan is revealed. He wants to make us question our relationship with God, just as he did with Jesus. If he can foster doubt, he has sown the seed of unbelief. I am here to witness to you that unbelief is the root of all sin and our problems.

Matthew 17

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

And how was it that Jesus was able to stand against his bully? Look to the answer He gave Satan. "Man shall not live by bread alone."

Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you ^[1] understand that ^<*1> man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.

Jesus quoted the truth of God, right out of the Old Testament.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The way to break the chains Satan has bound you with is God’s truth.

Here are some truths of God that will help you stand against the lies of the enemy.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have a new nature. You are not what your were.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God will not leave you in your former state of being He will conform you.

Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us

He will provide you with the tools to assure successful transformation.

Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

God will lead you to the truth and correct error.

And finally; Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

We don’t have to put up with that bully any more.