GLAD TIDINGS- Part 2

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the GOSPEL of peace, and bring GLAD TIDINGS of good things!" - Romans 10: 13- 15.

In Glad Tidings part 1, it was made clear that Salvation is tied to glad tidings. We then went on to discuss the first of three categories of glad tidings. In this write-up, we'll discuss the second category.

C.E (Christ's Era) GLAD TIDINGS
Luke 8:1- "And it came to pass afterward, that he (Jesus) went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him"... The C.E glad tidings are the GLAD TIDINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The pulpit commentary arranged the public work of Jesus, while physically on earth under three broad heads viz:
I. Master: This was in special relation to his immediate followers; women as well as men
II. Evangelist: This was his peculiar ministry to the general population. He functioned as a preacher of the grace, mercy and the love of God
III. Prophet: As a prophet, he spoke generally to an evil generation, especially to the political and religious leaders of the Jewish society of His day.

You see, what Christ made the constant business of His life was to show GLAD TIDINGS. Tidings of the kingdom of God are glad tidings... The gospel is good news, not bad news!

I think many preachers need to pause a little here, and have a rethink. We are not called to show men how bad hell is, and coarse them to serve God out of the dreadful fear of hell, rather, we are to show them the love, grace and mercy of God.

By the way, I remember, my father, Rev. Olusola Areogun once taught that sending sinners to hell is an act of God's love and mercy because the fire of God's glory in His absolute righteousness, splendor and majesty will torment a sinner far beyond the fires of hell.

The glad tidings of the kingdom of God include the doctrine, ordinances and the mysteries of God's love for mankind (particularly sinners) and His infinite grace and mercy towards us. The three major themes of these glad tidings are:
-Free Salvation
-Complete salvation
-Eternal Life

Salvation, by definition, is a deliverance from the POWER and EFFECTS of sin. This tells us that salvation does not only imply the forgiveness of sins, but also implies an empowerment against sin. When you are saved, you are not only delivered from the consequences of your personal sinfulness, you are also delivered from the very nature of sin (i.e the ability to enjoy and/or condone sin).

Romans 6: 23(BBE)- For the reward of sin is death; but what God freely gives is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

See, there is a price-tag on every single act of sin; God cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Work hard for sin your whole life, and your pension is death- the second death!

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" Rev. 21: 8.

The good news is that Jesus did pay the full price for our sins when he died on the cross, and rose victoriously on the third day. Consequently, salvation has been made freely available to us all. - "For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him"- 1 Cor. 5: 21.


Romans 5: 15,19 (BBE) has this to say:
"But the free giving of God is not like the wrongdoing of man. For if, by the wrongdoing of one man death came to numbers of men, much more did the grace of God, and the free giving by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, come to men. Because, as numbers of men became sinners through the wrongdoing of one man, even so will great numbers get righteousness through the keeping of the word of God by one man."

Beloved, the simple key to tap into this salvation is stated in Rom. 10: 9- "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved". (KJV)

If you wish to confess Jesus as your Lord today, please say this short prayer:

Father, I thank you for this privilege I have to hear this glad tiding. I realize and accept that I am a sinner and I cannot save myself, and I believe Jesus came to the earth in human flesh to die for my sins. Today, I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and saviour; I recieve the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus to wash away my sins.

Father, forgive me of my sins, deliver me from darkness, translate me into the kingdom of your dear son and help me to live a life that will please you. Thank you heavenly Father, In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN.

Congratulations!!! You are born again!
Son of light, go and sin no more (John 8: 11).
Go and win with Jesus!

If you just said this prayer, or for further enquiries on this subject, kindly mail me at [e-mail].

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