Bad and Good News
Every day we get news reports on radio, TV, in newspapers and news magazines. Have you ever compared the number of good news stories to the number of bad news stories? It seems as ifmost news stories are about people who are:
robbed or cheated
injured or abused
killed or murdered
terrorizing or fighting
committing adultery or divorcing
starving or suicidal
using chemicals to destroy healthy bodies
and the list could go on and on. Do you find the news depressing? Is it possible that the Bible might be correct when it describes natural man in 2 Timothy 3:1-5? Make a second list describing people who live in the last days, according to showing that Bible verse..Do you see any correlation between the two lists?
Ephesians 2:1-3 describes natural man as:
1. Spiritually __ in _________ and .
2. Followers of___________and_________
3. Gratifying the cravings of our ________ ________ and following its ______ and ___ ____.
Talk about BAD NEWS! When you think about what people are like, don’t you wonder why things aren’t even worse than they are? Is there anything stopping things from getting worse? Picture World War III with nuclear weapons and chemicals weapons in the hands of hostile nations, more nuclear power plant melt downs, destruction of the ozone layer, etc.THE GOOD NEWS IS: In the Bible Psalms 145 and 146 tell us (make two lists again):
What God is like and What God Does.So, while God must punish sin (Psalm 145:20 and 146:7a),
He has also provided a way of Salvation (Psalm 146:7c)
For the following verses, write what it says about HOW we are saved, and what is the RESULT of our salvation.
John 3:16; Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1-11; Ephesians 2:4-10;
The God of the universe loves us even though he knows about our sin. And even though he is just and punishes evil, he has made it possible for us to receive forgiveness and eternal life with him. Romans 6:22 tells us that those who trust in Jesus “have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life.” We can think of our salvation in three tenses:
1. In thePast : God HAS _______ us from the GUILT of our sin
2. In the Present: God is ______ us from the POWER of sin
3. In the Future: God WILL ____ us from the PRESENCE of sin.
This is indeed GOOD NEWS! CHRIST IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD!
© Sue Found 1995
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