2018-07 EngJul

CONTENTS
• Are You Ready?
• Illusions
THE GOOD NEWS
J U L Y 2 0 1 8
You must meet God. Are you
ready?
In comparison with this question,
all others are utterly
insignificant. You
may be successful
in business, have a
wonderful family,
and be healthy in
both body and
mind. You may
even be religious and respected by all.
But can you say with certainty that
you are ready to meet God?
To be ready to meet God requires
a new birth. Jesus said, “Unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God” (John 3:3). This statement
has no exceptions. It cannot be
ignored, as it was given by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Have you been born
again?
The need for new birth arises
from the fact that we are all sinners by
birth and by practice. Sin is contrary to
the nature of God. He hates sin, and it
keeps us from having fellowship with
Him. The Bible declares that God is “of
purer eyes than to behold evil, and
cannot look on wickedness”
(Habakkuk 1:13).
But while God hates sin, He loves
sinners. In fact, He
loves us whether
we walk the clean
or filthy side of the
road to Hell. Because
He loves us,
He has provided
the way for us to
be restored to fellowship with Him:
“God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God’s judgement for sin fell upon
Christ on the cross, and there is
cleansing and forgiveness for all who
believe on Him. “As many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who
believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Through new birth, by receiving
Christ, by believing He died for my
sins, I am born into the family of God
and can answer the question “Are you
ready?” with a glad and confident
“Yes!”

P A G E 2
Have you known this
change? Have you experienced
this new birth? Have you turned
to God in repentance, admitting
that you are
a sinner in
need of salvation?
Have
you given up
the false
idea that you
can earn
God’s favour
through your
own “good” works? Have you by
faith accepted Jesus Christ as
your Saviour and Lord?
Do not resent these personal
questions, for they are intended
to lead you to blessing. If I
were to tell you of a path to
wealth and
fame you
would probably
be very
interested.
What Jesus
Christ offers
you—
forgiveness
of sins and
eternal life with Him in Heaven—
is of infinite value. Put the matter
to the test. Do it now!
“Your
response to
Jesus Christ
now will
determine
your destiny
for eternity”
T H E G O O D N E W S
The terms are simple:
“This is His commandment:
that we should believe on the
name of His Son Jesus
Christ” (1 John 3:23). Will you
receive Him, the living Christ of
God who died, rose again, and
now offers salvation to all who
believe on Him? Will you trust
Him now as your very own Saviour?
It is not the reception of a
creed, or identification with a
church, or becoming a religious
person that saves. It is the acceptance
of a Person, the Son
of God. Your acceptance or rejection
of Him answers the solemn
question, “Are you
ready?”
“It is appointed for men to
die once, but after this the
judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).
When you stand before God,
will you be stained with your
sin or will you have been
washed clean through faith in
Jesus Christ? The issue is very
clear: your response to Jesus
Christ now will determine your
destiny for eternity. “Nor is
there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under
Heaven given among men by
which we must be
saved…’Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved’” (Acts 4:12; 16:31).
You must meet God. Are
you ready?

P A G E 3
Illusions are fun because
they challenge our sense of reality.
We see them everywhere,
from tricks in magic
shows to special effects in
movies, and can usually tell
the difference between what is
real and what is not.
But did you know that
there are some deceptions
which millions of people fall
for every day? They are the
work of the master illusionist,
Satan, who is called “the father
of lies” in the Bible (John 8:44).
He has been tricking people
into disobeying God since the
beginning of time, and is an
experienced deceiver. Have
you fallen for any of Satan’s
illusions?
#2—IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT
Should we care about
what we do? Is there such a
thing as right and wrong? God
says we will reap what we sow:
“Do not be deceived, God is
not mocked; for whatever a
man sows, that he will also
reap” (Galatians 6:7).
#3—THERE IS NO HELL
If you start to ponder
what comes after this life, Satan
may try to convince you
that there is nothing to worry
about. God says otherwise:
“Do not fear those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able
to destroy both soul and body
in Hell” (Matthew 10:28).
“Jesus died on the
cross for sinners
like you and me”
#1—THIS LIFE IS ALL THAT
MATTERS
We can get so caught up
in this life that we pay no
attention to eternal realities.
God says that is foolish: “For
what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
#4—EVERYONE GOES TO
HEAVEN
Another much-believed
lie is that no person will ever
have to go to Hell. While it’s
true that Hell was created for
Satan and his angels, the Bible
says that those who fall under
Satan’s deceptions will go
there as well: “’Depart from…
T H E G O O D N E W S

...Me, you cursed, into the everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his
angels’” (Matthew 25:41).
#5—YOU’RE NOT THAT BAD
Every time we answer one of Satan’s
lies, you can be sure that he has another
one ready to go. Are we really bad enough
to go to Hell? God’s Word says: “All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23).
#6—YOU CAN EARN HEAVEN
Once we admit that we have sinned,
the next lie we often fall for is that we
have probably done enough good to overcome
our faults. However, in God’s eyes
“we are all like an unclean thing, and all
our righteousnesses [good works] are like
filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
#7—YOU’RE TOO BAD
Sadly, lots of people
fall for this one, too. Yes,
it’s true that we have all
messed up. But it’s also
true that God stands
ready to help us: “The
one who comes to Me I
will by no means cast
out” (John 6:37).
Why does God want us to come to
Him? Because He loves us. He loves you,
and He loves me—not because we have
earned it, but because He chooses to. God
proved His love for us when He sent His
only Son, Jesus, into the world because of
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our sins (Romans 5:8).
When Jesus died on the cross, He
made the way for sinners like you and me
to be brought back to God. Our sin was
like a debt that needed to be paid; Jesus
paid it. Our sin was like a
sentence that needed to
be served; Jesus served
it. Our sin was like a burden
that needed to be
lifted; Jesus lifted it.
Now He is using
messages like this to
awaken people to their
need of Him, to “turn
them from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan to God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:18).
Don’t fall for Satan’s illusions any more.
Turn to God and put your faith in someone
you can trust—Jesus Christ—today!