The Good News: The Gospel (Edited by ChatGPT)

 

When the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels sang, “Peace on Earth, goodwill to men, and glory to God.” The most important part of their praise is that God gives goodwill to man. Jesus came to give us goodwill — heavenly will — the will of the Heavenly Father.

 

God came to give us love, His love. So we should love our God with our full heart, mind, soul, and spirit. God came to make us love our brothers and sisters as ourselves. God came to make us love our neighbors and even to go as far as loving our enemies. For this, we need to be clothed with the holiness of God. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all holiness and truth and will grow us into the image of the Lord — the image of God — the image of Jesus Christ.

 

Such a mindset will not only give us social and political peace but also the peace of God within our hearts. God will give us His internal peace — the peace of the Holy Spirit — the unconditional kind of peace of mind. Our joy and happiness are not external but internal. Peace of mind in the middle of persecution, hunger, thirst, and even being burned at the stake for the Lord. Yet we will not only be peaceful but will also be agents of peace in society, because the children of God are peacemakers.

 

Besides this, since God so loved the world and sent His only beloved Son to save all who accept Jesus as Lord in their hearts, who declare by their mouths that He rose from the grave, and who are baptized into the Holy Spirit to live a spiritual life under the guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ, our salvation is His glory, because God makes His glory known by saving us.

 

So the good news — the gospel — is that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to be born as a human, to live a holy life, to die for our sins after teaching us a life of holiness, and after completing all this, the Lord rose from the dead. As He rose above all names and authorities in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, He gave us the free gift of becoming children of God by grace through faith in the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Now our duty is to witness His perfection by preaching the gospel and baptizing lost souls in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to make them disciples of the Lord who keep His commandments. Our gospel is to tell lost sheep that the Holy God sent His only Son to die for our sins and is waiting for us to reconcile with Him by the blood of the Lord.

 

When they accept Jesus as Lord, God will give them a new spirit — a born-again spirit — which is led by the Holy Spirit, and that will give them goodwill. What kind of goodwill? The will of Jesus. Not the will of our flesh and the judgment of the flesh, but the will of God and the judgment of God. We will not be holy by ourselves, but the Holy God will lead us into all holiness. We will be like the wind that nobody can understand, yet we understand all — just as nobody can understand the heart of Jesus who leads us.

 

The world is a heavy burden, and life is a heavy burden. Besides this, the thorns and trestles of culture, politics, economy, and social life make life a complex puzzle to deal with. Worst of all, we are enslaved by the forces of darkness — the devil — who leads us into all darkness and the ways of the flesh. We are confused beings living in ignorance and blindness while carrying the heavy burden of life.

 

When we accept Jesus as Lord, He takes our heavy burden — the devil, our ignorance, bad choices, and earthly problems — and gives us a light burden, which is obedience to Him. God will decide what is good for us, and what is good for us may not necessarily be worldly success, though it can include worldly success.

 

Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and others did not live successful earthly lives, but lives successful in heaven. Even when Jesus begged for earthly comfort to avoid the cross, God chose what was better for Him — to die on the cross. The giants of God keep all their treasure in heaven because their full dedication is for heaven. Yet not all are blessed with such glory, and many of us are given the glory of earthly comfort as well. We are not the giants of God — Paul was, John was, Peter was, and above all, Jesus was.

 

So we do not measure success by money, power, or respect on this earth, or by the lack of them, but by spiritual growth and obedience to the will of God. How much do I know God? How much do I understand the Bible and the Word of God? How much has my life improved in comparison to Jesus? If tomorrow I lose everything, would I still choose the Lord above all? These are the measures of faith and spiritual growth — not earthly trash.

 

That is why when we preach, it is not about us and our kingdom. We do not care whether people are loyal to us or not. We do not care how many people follow us or not. Our preaching is not about our personal Private Limited Company or how to grow it. Our preaching is about the perfection of Jesus — God — and how we should grow toward Him. What surprised me with some lost souls who open Private Limited Companies is that we do not speak the same language. We say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus — and they say I, I, I. We are not of the same spirit. There is something inside us that says Jesus, but I am not sure what is inside them.

 

But we know we must pray for them. Believing in the word-of-faith movement, prosperity gospel, dominion theology, progressive sin, and similar teachings is a curse. We do not need to curse them, because who they are has already become a curse. Still, we must pray for them. After knowing Jesus as Lord, to focus on self is a curse. To focus on power, money, and respect is a curse. That is why, when we see them in hell in the future, we must be sure we tried hard to save them. This is not a Harry Potter battle with magic sticks — this is a Jesus battle fought with prayer for lost souls.

 

Salvation is personal — there is no group salvation. If you believe Jesus is Lord in your heart, declare with your mouth that He rose from the dead, and are born again by the Spirit of God, you are saved. This is a personal matter, not a church matter. Some people strangely think Orthodox and Catholics can be saved privately, yet insist that a born-again Protestant cannot be saved without church membership. This is the yeast of the Pharisees — hypocrisy. Much of our theology is foolish, though much wisdom is also found in theology.

 

For an Orthodox or Catholic to be saved, they must believe salvation is by Jesus alone and accept the Bible as the final authority of faith. Salvation must be by faith alone, by grace alone, and for the glory of God alone. This means no praying to Mary, Michael, and so on. Such a person is a closet believer — hidden, faithful. He is Protestant in belief but not in public confession because he loves the honor of men more than the honor of God. Not the best kind of faithful, but possibly an infant faithful.

 

Salvation is not by church but by Jesus — through grace by faith. Yet salvation and justification bear fruit. If you are saved, you must produce the fruit of the Spirit. Joining the assembly of the faithful and practicing common worship in unity of spirit is critical. Love is the final command of God, and to love the faithful and grow in unity of faith, we must worship together. Unity of worship is not a condition for salvation but a fruit of salvation.

 

It is not being in the same building or maintaining formality that matters, but real unity of spirit. We can be in the same building forever and still have divided spirits. What matters is not coming together physically but unity of spirit. Coming together is fruit, not essence. Love for the faithful is expressed through unity of worship.

Besides love, we must go as far as taking the lower seat, because Judas lives within us and destroys assemblies from the inside. Jesus emphasized humility and taking the lower seat until Judas went to sell Him. Once the devil is revealed, the message of Jesus becomes love. When we see Judas working within the assembly, we must go beyond love into humility and unconditional love. People will do evil out of immaturity around Judas — so give them time to mature, but remember Judas is always Judas. Wait until he sells you openly for thirty coins, and God will allow the devil to expose him.

 

There are messengers of the devil in assemblies, so we must respond not only with love but with humility and unconditional love. When people insult you, attack you, rebuke you, or accuse you, receive it and respond with kindness. Do not respond to evil with evil, hate with hate, anger with anger, or disrespect with disrespect. By doing so, you disarm Judas. Go beyond love into unconditional love and humility.

 

Happy memorial birthday to Jesus. Happy birthday, Lord. And dear ones, when you are sent among foxes as sheep of the Lord, be gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

 

Happy Birthday to Jesus.