Good News MARCH 2024 - A4

CONTENTS
Why Did Jesus
Die?
Last Day
THE GOOD NEWS
M A R C H 2 0 2 4
SIN BRINGS
DEATH — In God’s
Word, the Bible, we
learn that death came
into the world because
of sin. “Therefore, just
as sin entered the
world through one
man, and death
through sin, and in this
way death came to all
people, because all sinned” (Romans
5:12). “The wages of sin is
death” (Romans 6:23). You and I die
because we are sinners; we have forfeited
our right to live on the earth.
“All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
JESUS DIED FOR US — Did Jesus
die because He had sinned? No. Listen
God’s Word: “In Him is no sin” (1
John 3:5); “He committed no sin” (1
Peter 2:22); “Who had no sin” (2 Corinthians
5:21). Therefore,
death had no claim upon
Him. But, blessed be His
Name, He “gave Himself
for our sins” (Galatians
1:4). It was love for you
and me that caused the
Lord Jesus Christ to come
down from heaven and die
on Calvary’s cross. It was
love for us that held Him
on that shameful cross until He had
finished the work of atonement.
A holy, righteous, just God cannot
let sin go unpunished. On the
cross, the Lord Jesus bore God’s judgment
against sin in our stead, as our
substitute; and now God is offering
not only forgiveness, but also justification
to the repentant sinner who believes
in Jesus. He is “just, and the
one who justifies those who have
faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

God showed His approval of that
mighty work by raising the Lord Jesus
from among the dead and seating Him
at His own right hand in heaven (Mark
16:19).
JESUS IS THE WAY — There is no
other way a sinner can be saved but
through the atoning death of the Lord
Jesus, “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me” (John 14:6).
“Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven
given to mankind by which we must
be saved” (Acts 4:12).
WHY DID JESUS DIE? — Have
you ever realized that it was your sins
that caused Him to die upon the cross,
or ever felt your need of Him as your
personal Saviour? As you read this
little message, He looks down from
heaven upon you, and He reads the
thoughts and intents of your heart. He
knows your attitude toward your sins,
as well as your attitude toward the
One who wants to be your Saviour.
Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.
Once you see the seriousness of
your sinful condition before God, you
will never get rest of conscience and
heart until you have trusted the Saviour
of sinners. He made “peace
through His blood, shed on the
cross” (Colossians 1:20). We are
“reconciled to Him through the death
of His Son” (Romans 5:10).
If you do not trust Him now as
your Saviour, you will meet Him in
eternity as your Judge. For God “has
set a day when He will judge the world
with justice by the Man He has appointed.
He has given proof of this to
everyone by raising Him from the
dead” (Acts 17:31).
Won’t you flee to Him now for
refuge while it is the day of salvation?
“We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be
reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians
5:20)
TURN TO HIM TODAY — Even if
you are a stranger, God knows all
about you. I urge you not to lay aside
this paper until you have settled this
great question and have received the

On the day of your death, do
you think you will wake up knowing
that it is your last day? No
matter how much we try to extend
our lives with regular exercise, a
nutritious diet, and the best medical
care, our “last day” will still
come, and often without warning.
How many people, minutes before
a fatal crash, can even imagine
what the moments ahead will contain?
And of those who stare death
in the face for a second or two before
it comes, how many do you
suppose have time to turn their
thoughts to God for salvation?
Tragedy most often strikes
unexpectedly, without warning. It
comes as a shock, abruptly cutting
off pleasure and comfort, and
shatters the normal course of life.
“As fish are caught in cruel net, or
birds are taken in a snare, so people
are trapped by evil times that
fall unexpectedly upon
them” (Ecclesiastes 9:12). Tragedy
“collapses suddenly, in an instant”
(Isaiah 30:13).
When that day comes for
you, will you be ready for eternity?
God in His mercy has not left us
without warning concerning our
eternal destiny: “Whoever believes
in the Son has eternal life, but
whoever rejects the Son will not
see life, for God’s wrath remains
on them” (John 3:36).
He pleads with sinners to
turn to Him for salvation: “’As
surely as I live, declares the Sovereign
Lord, I take no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but rather
that they turn from their ways and
live’” (Ezekiel 33:11). “Today, if you
hear His voice, do not harden your
hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). “Unless you
repent, you too will all perish”
(Luke 13:3).
You only live today. The past
is gone, and the future is unknown,
making the present the
only time you are sure to have. If
you are ever to turn to God from
your sin it will not be tomorrow,
for tomorrow never comes. Now is
the only time you have! “Do not
boast about tomorrow, for you do
not know what a day may
bring” (Proverbs 27:1). “Now is the
time of God’s favour, now is the
day of salvation” (2 Corinthians
6:2).
P A G E 3
T H E
G O O D
N E W S

Do you imagine that one day you
will wake up and say, “Today is the day
I’ll die. It’s time to get right with God”?
No, you wake up each day going about
your normal activities, never considering
the end of life. It is a dangerous
thing to put off the question of your responsibility
for your sins. There is “a
time to be born and a time to
die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). “Just as people
are destined to die once, and after that
to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed
once to take away the sins of
many” (Hebrews 9:27-28). You will
stand before God!
God has patiently given you time,
but He is calling you to recognize your
need of forgiveness and turn to Him
now. “The Lord is…patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Will you put Him off?
Dear reader, this may be the last
day that you have to accept God’s free,
loving offer of forgiveness and salvation.
Call out to Jesus Christ who died
for you and is risen again. Trust Him to
save your soul. Do it now, before it is
too late! “For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life. For God did
not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but to save the world
through Him. Whoever believes in Him
is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the
name of God’s one and only Son” (John
3:16-18).
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