2017 EngFeb

FEBRUARY, 2017 1
THE GOOD NEWS
FEBRUARY , 2017
MONTHLY CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE
Over and over the young
man repeated his claim until the
judge was forced to silence him.
Kelly had been arrested on
the charge of stealing a watch.
The watch had been found in his
possession, and nobody could
deny that the evidence all pointed
at Kelly as the thief.
Just as the judge was about
to pass his verdict, I approached
the stand, wearing my police uniform.
“What do you want?” asked
the judge.
“I want to give evidence in
this case, Your Honor.”
Kelly immediately protested,
speaking to be heard above the
others. “Don’t listen to him! He
doesn’t know anything about it.
He’s out to get me, and he’s only
going to tell lies about me!”
It was useless to tell Kelly to
be quiet. He seemed to think that
because I was a police officer, I
was bound to testify against him.
After Kelly finally settled
down, the judge told me to proceed.
“A few days ago,” I said, “I
was taking two prisoners to the
county jail and overheard their
conversation. ‘I got Kelly good the
other day!’ the one said.
“’How?’
‘I sold him a watch for thirty
dollars that wasn’t worth five!’”
The whole courtroom looked
at Kelly with new eyes. It was
clear now that Kelly had been telling
the truth — he had not stolen
the watch! In spite of all the circumstantial
evidence there had
been against him, Kelly was let
go. The evidence I gave for him
more than counterbalanced the
evidence that had been against
him.
If Kelly had had his way, he
would not have heard what I had
to say on his behalf. But once his
case had been dropped, Kelly
was very glad for my testimony.

2 THE GOOD NEWS
This is how some people
treat God. They won’t listen to
Him because they think He is
against them, but He is for them!
“God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through Him
might be saved” (John 3:17).
Kelly was let go because he
was innocent of the charges, but
God is righteously gracious toward
those who are guilty and
who deserve a punishment. That
is more than any court of justice
can do without sacrificing name
and character. But God can be
both “a just God and a Saviour”
(Isaiah 45:21). He can be “just,
and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).
He can justify the ungodly.
The great question is this:
How can God righteously let a
man go free when He Himself has
proved him guilty?
The only answer is that there
had to be a substitution made for
those sins. In the cross God’s love
to the sinner is displayed through
the gift of His Son. Jesus, God’s
Son, was the only One capable of
taking the sinner’s place, because
He Himself was without sin. He
bore the sinner’s sins (1 Peter
2:24), suffered for them (1 Peter
3:18), and died for the ungodly
(Romans 5:6). This is the way —
the only way! — that a sinner can
go free. You must accept the gift
of the “Son of God who loved me,
and gave Himself for me” (Galatians
2:20).
A depressed young man had
been living for his next party. A
friend convinced him to hear a
well-known gospel preacher. It
may have been only curiosity, but
he found himself seated in the
congregation. The evangelist
read, “We are not ignorant of his
devices,” from the Bible. Then he
abruptly proceeded:
“I was walking along the
street the other day, and I saw a
group of pigs following a man.
This made me curious, because
pigs are hard animals to lead. If
you want them to go one way,
they invariably take another. But
this man seemed to have no difficulty;
the pigs eagerly followed
jostling and grunting after him. I
followed them and to my surprise
I found they were going to the
slaughterhouse. They went in,
and the door closed behind them.

FEBRUARY, 2017 3
I waited till the man came out and
asked him how he had managed
to lead them so easily.
The Secret Trick
“The man laughed and said,
‘Maybe you didn’t see the bag of
beans under my arm. I knew I’d
have a hard time getting those
pigs there if I didn’t humor them a
bit. So I got some beans they like
and dropped them along the road.
And you saw how they scampered
along picking up the beans,
never thinking they were going to
the slaughterhouse.’
“And this is the way,” continued
the preacher, raising his
voice and turning his penetrating
glance right on the pew where the
young man sat, “that the devil is
leading some of you captives at
his will down to hell. He knows full
well how to please you and lead
you. He drops his beans right
along the road, and very soon you
will pick up the last bean; then the
gates of hell will close behind
you.”
The story of the beans, with
its application to the ways of the
devil in ruining souls, convicted
his soul. The next day he left for
New York. Anxiously his friend
waited for news of his arrival.
A Surprise
Soon, to his delight, his friend
heard, “I’m glad to tell you that I’m
converted. The message of that
speaker, especially his opening
words about the devil’s beans,
grabbed me and woke me up. I
saw where I was going, how Satan
was luring me on, and what
my destiny would be. By the grace
of God I’m saved to follow a better
Leader and walk in a new path. I
will always thank God for that
good man’s words, by which I was
led to the Saviour, just before I
lost my soul forever.”
Are you being led on to death
and hell by the devil’s beans?
Someday you will taste the
“pleasures of sin,” often very delicious,
for the last time. Then hell’s
door will close behind you, and
the doom of the damned will be
your portion forever. Today a God
of love intensely longs for you and
wants to save you. Christ is able,
ready and willing. “Turn ye, turn
ye, for why will ye die?”
“If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost: in whom the
god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them” (2
Corinthians 4:3-4).
“God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting
life” (John 3:16).

4 THE GOOD NEWS
The postman has just passed
and left our box full of mail. We
can hardly wait to read it all! But
as we turn the envelopes and folders
over, one by one, the excitement
and anticipation fades. What
do we find today?
There is one post card from a
vacationing neighbor. Two utility
bills. A subscription reminder. All
the rest (and an amazing quantity
it is) consists of offers trumpeting
FREE in the largest possible type.
“FREE installation”- with a two
year contract. “FREE examination”
- with purchase of hearing aid
or eye glasses. “FREE groceries”
- with an equal or greater purchase.
You know: buy one, get
one FREE.
All free, at first glance, but with
strings attached. Strings, small or
large, visible or hidden, are always
present and the price must
be paid. It is easy to feel cynical
about everything and to grumble,
“Nothing in life is free.”
There is one offer that is real
and true. You cannot pay for it; it
is offered “without money and
without price.” It cannot be
earned; “to him that worketh not,
but believeth on Him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).
Just believing—just receiving— it
seems too good to be true!
For the heart that has been
sickened by the false offers, what
a relief it is to find reality at last—
an offer with no “strings attached,”
no quibbling, no “hype”; just a simple
and firm and truly FREE offer.
Nothing could be plainer; nothing
could be more wonderful.
It cost the One who makes the
offer untold suffering; it brings the
one who accepts the offer unbelievable
joy. That does not mean
there cannot be pain and sorrow
still as long as this life on earth
lasts, but through the darkest days
the knowledge of who and what
Jesus is and that He loves us so
much—well! It is just totally beyond
words to tell. It must be
known and felt—believed and enjoyed
personally.
“O taste and see that the Lord
is good: blessed is the man that
trusteth in Him” (Psalm 34:8).
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Also, please visit our website: www.GreekFreeChurch.org.au
Printed by Good News Magazine, PO Box 17, Northcote, VIC 3070