Saturday, September 14, 2019
Good News Final Question Essay
A young man named Saul stood by and watched as a crowd stoned Stephen. He went on to be a major persecutor of Christians for a number of years. One day he was on his way to Damascus, he was blinded by a light and God spoke to him. He was converted to Christianity and changed his name to Paul. He made up for his persecution of Christians by telling the â€Å"good news†all over the region. What is the good news? The good news is that Jesus is the son of God. He was sent to earth to save the people from their sins. Those who accept him as their savior will have eternal life in Heaven. He knew it was true, because God himself told him it was in the blinding light. The difference it should make in the lives of people in modern society means people should live according to the words God has provided for people to live by.             Paul spent years trying to save people from their sin once he’d learned the truth. He was taught about God and Jesus. He taught many to accept the gift of eternal life through the acceptance of Jesus. Then he wrote many books of the Bible to teach people how to live their lives. He wrote basic instructions for Christians to follow to be an example for God. God sent his son to earth for the sole purpose of saving his creation (man) from their sins. He would not choose for anyone to be lost, but he provides humans the opportunity to make the choice for themselves. The life people live on earth is short, for most only about eighty years then there are two possible places to go. The best choice obviously is the one without eternal torture. When a person goes to Heaven it will feel like home (familiar, comfortable) (Alcorn, 1999)            Paul learned about God through God himself. God spoke to Paul through the light on the road. He then blinded him and gave him specific instructions on what to do. Paul realized he had been wrong and needed to follow the instructions, because he did this he was not only healed of the blindness, but he received the gift of eternal life. He had no reason to doubt this and neither should those he taught or those still being taught. Paul taught of God’s love for his people and his forgiveness. He also taught people to continue sharing the good news. An additional reason to believe the news is true is the hundreds of promises from the Bible, many of which have already been fulfilled and although people fail to keep their promises, God does not (LaHaye and Jenkins, 2003) In order to convince others the news is true, though, his people need to change the way they live in order to set an example. Just as Saul changed his name to Paul and turned from persecuting Christians to converting people to Christianity, his followers need to live by the words of the Bible.            How should Christians change the way they live their lives? It usually does not have to be as great of change as the one Paul made, but it does need to show a change of heart. God created people to have free will, the ability to make their own choices. From the moment people are born, they have choices. They can cry or sleep wet or eat, etc. As they get older the choices are more difficult. If they are lucky enough to be raised with religious parents, they are taught the news of Jesus and Heaven from an early age. Others have to hear it along the way, and like Saul may have several years of making rather bad choices first. However once the news has been heard and the person has accepted the gift of eternal life, a change must be made. God still expects mistakes since no one is perfect, but an attempt to live as he wants is how Christians teach others. The first step in this change is to strive to be like Christ being righteous, loving others and overcoming the world (Wiersbe, 1996). It is popular to wear jewelry that says WWJD, which stands for What would Jesus do? This is a very important message if people want to live their lives according to God’s word and to teach the good news to others. When a person stops long enough to consciously ask themselves what Jesus would do in a situation, they would be less tempted to make the wrong choice. Living the kind of life God wants people to live does not mean they have to act extremely different or carry their Bible around with them everywhere they go. They just need to think they are taking Jesus with them, because if they have truly accepted the gift, they are taking Jesus with them. He wants his people to be honest and caring. He wants them to make positive choices for their lives and not get caught up in things that would take their focus off of their ultimate goal (life in Heaven).            What Paul would tell people is that the news he has to share is the greatest news anyone could hear, because it promises an eternity without pain or sadness and it is a free gift. All anyone has to do is accept it show it off for everyone else in the world to see. If people receive a diamond or a new car they can not wait to show it off. How could they be embarrassed or afraid to show off the world’s greatest gift? Paul would tell people to believe in God and if they have questions to simply turn to the instruction manual (the Bible), because it contains all the answers. He would say it should change the way a person lives their lives simply because of the hope it offers in an uncertain world.  Paul heard the news, accepted the news and spread the news. He would encourage everyone who hears it to do the same. References Alcorn, Randy. 1999,In Light of Eternity, Colorado Springs, Colorado: Waterbrook Press LaHaye, Tim and Jenkins, T. 2003, God Always Keeps His Promises..            Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers Wiersbe, Warren W., 1996,Being a Child of God, , Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson            Publishers
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