We are surrounded by all kinds of news. For example, there is a great deal of seriously bad news – news about bad things. I heard an article on the BBC World News about China’s persecution of some of her own people. Thousands of Chinese citizens are being jailed, tortured and killed for not toeing the party line. When some official thinks that a man is wearing a beard as a political or religious statement he is being arrested and “retrained.” In one Chinese province men, women and children are disappearing off the streets, never to reappear. When pictures and details of thousands of these people were leaked, or hacked out of official data bases, the Chinese government replied by declaring that it was fake news. But investigations have proved that every word of that bad news was true news. We are undoubtedly being inundated by fake, false, manufactured and manipulated “news,” but often it is hard to discern between them and what is true. That China is one of the most oppressive countries in the world is not fake news
Beyond the fake, there is really, really bad news. We hear of an 18-year-old who killed 19 children and two teachers. That is sad and bad news. We hear of a man who killed 10 people of various races at a grocery store just because of his hatred for as a certain race of people. I get daily e-mails from a couple of well-meaning acquaintances, relating prayer requests about others who are sick or dying, and some of those people I knew years ago. It is not uplifting news. There are Amber Alerts that pop up on my phone. I never hear if those children are ever found. I don’t need to multiply the illustrations. You are familiar with the flood of bad news in the world. And you’ll even find a bit of it in our church bulletin. Judy, after proof reading what is going to be in our bulletin for next week, pointed to an article and said, “This makes me sick.”
But I’m here today to remind you that along with the bad news, fake news and gloomy news, is the good news. Peter summarizes it here for us as chapter 1 comes to and end. “The word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
You are probably aware that the Greek word which is translated “gospel” means “good news.” You may not know that the English word “gospel” comes from the old Saxon word “godspell.” In that language “god” didn’t refer to deity; but to something “good.” And “spell” was not a reference to some sort of curse, or the way letters are put together to form a word, but to “telling something;” it was a “narration.” In other words, in all three languages “gospel” refers to sharing good news. But Peter is not referring the news that Post Falls finally broke the 70 degree mark for the first time this year, after the longest and coldest spring in history. That is good news, but it’s not Peter’s good news. He is talking about the greatest new of all; the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before getting to that good news, let’s step back and consider simply – the WORD.
“The word of the Lord endureth for ever.” As I said last week, Biblical references to “THE Word” could be to either the Son of God or to the written Word. John 1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men…” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Apostle John loved to speak of Christ as “the Word of God.” He did so in his first epistle. And in Revelation John wrote of Christ in His future glory: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he what sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.’ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God.” “And on this thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Why does John refer to Christ Jesus as “the Word?” It is because the Son of God is the ultimate revelation – the ultimate “word” of God. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” Nothing, and no one, has been able to better reveal God to man than the person of God the Son. That is because since the beginning He was with God the Father, and He himself is God.
Please notice something which I think is interesting. Verse 23 speaks of the “Word of GOD” – something which we do all the time when talking about the Bible. But verse 25 speaks of the “Word of the LORD.” Peter is referring to the same thing but in a different way and with a slightly different meaning. Eight times in his epistles Peter speaks of Christ Jesus as “the Lord.” “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord…” “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” What am I saying? I am suggesting that the Bible is Christ’s Word as well as simply God’s Word. God the Father and God the Son are co-equals – along with the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God. Christ is the revelation of the God, and the written Word furthers that revelation, under the authority of each person of the Trinity. But of course, the Son’s personal revelation lasted only a third of a century, and that was centuries ago. But before and since, we have enjoyed the blessing of the less personal, but still accurate written Word.
In God’s Word we can peer into the very heart of Jehovah. We see all of His attributes – from His holiness to His love. We see His power – from the creation of the world out of nothing, to His recreative hand in raising the dead to life – both physically and spiritually. We also see in God’s Word the history of humanity from innocence to mass murders. We see why it was necessary for the Son of God to become human flesh and then for that flesh to perish. “God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemning sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” who are nothing but wretched sinners.
Peter tells us that the written word is incorruptible, living and abiding for ever (verse 23); enduring for ever (verse 25). It is not going anywhere. “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in Heaven.” God’s word is not of this corruptible world. It is not of flesh or the will of man; it is of God. And even though the world and all its elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, God’s Word will not be consumed, because it is rooted and settled in Heaven. The temporal heaven above our heads and the earth under our feet, shall pass away, “but my words,” said Jesus, “shall not pass away.”
Beyond the protection of divine power and eternal will, there is something else about God’s word: “it liveth (as well as) abideth for ever.” God’s Word can do things which no book of man can do. It has a Heavenly life to it. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Then He said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Man can live eternally through the words of God, whereas the food of this world is temporary. Paul added, God’s Word is sufficiently alive to be able to “discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts.” And since we are unable to read our own hearts, we need the ministry of the Word to prove to us our sinfulness and our need of a Saviour.
When Paul was writing to his associate Titus, he referred to the fact that he was “in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began,” adding that God has in these last time made plain His word through preaching (Titus 1:2-3). He Paul told another associate: “preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season…” And to the Corinthians he said, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel… For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.” And that brings me to my second point.
God’s Word is settled in Heaven, but His gospel is to be PREACHED here on earth.
The Biblical good news – the gospel – is the power of God unto salvation from sin. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand (before God); By which also ye are saved… For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” The Lord’s good news is the best possible news. It’s value extends throughout eternity. You won’t hear this good news on the television at 6 o’clock or 11 o’clock. You won’t read it in all the news feeds you receive on your computers and phones. About the only place you’ll hear this good news is in one of God’s churches. But sad to say: fewer and fewer so-called “Christian” churches are presenting the gospel to people.
Of course it will not be heard in the various major religions outside of Christianity. Muslims are taught that the gospel is the history of Islam, which includes a bit about Jesus of Nazareth, but with a much heavier emphasis on Mohammed. Muslims are “saved” through their obedience to all the laws and precepts of their religion. But there is no “good news” in the gospel of Islam, if salvation is dependent upon people’s works. Not even death during jihad is a guarantee of future bliss. To the Hindu salvation is the breaking free from the cycle reincarnation and Karma. The Hindu gospel, if there is one, are the steps necessary for that freedom. However, very, very few Hindus are able to reach that level. So the main object of their religion and their gospel is nothing more than getting by in the world. Nirvana is sometimes compared to the Bible’s Heaven, but there is no comparison. To be in Nirvana is literally to be extinguished; it is a stateless-state, and unreal reality. Buddhists are a people without hope.
But the average “Christian” hears AS corrupt a gospel as the 4 billion Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. Those “Christians” who are told they need in intercession of Mary and a host of saints in order to have peace with God, are being fed a false gospel. Those “Christians” who rely on their baptism or confirmation in order to be saved, have not heard genuine good news. And those “Christians” who must augment the work of Christ on the cross with their efforts at reformation or at religious service are not clinging to the gospel which is found in the Word of God. Even those “Christians” who are told to place their faith in their prayer and pleading with Christ for salvation have not the gospel. Sad to say, many of the people who talk about “the full gospel” don’t have genuine good news.
What is the gospel? It is the news that Christ Jesus has done everything necessary for our deliverance from the penalty of sin. It is the message that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” There has been nothing left for the sinner to do but to accept the gift of His grace. There is nothing the sinner’s religious advocate, preacher or priest to do, but to tell him to put his faith in and on Christ.
This past week a man installed wood flooring in the Oldfield our house. He finished up on Friday. Judy and I were pleased with what he did and how he did it. So I decided to give the man a tip, writing out a check while he was doing his final clean up. Do you know what he did when I thanked him and offered the check? With a smile and his own thank you in return, he reached out and took it. That is an illustration of all that the sinner is to do to be blessed with salvation. Accept it by faith as a perfectly good check and with humble gratitude. Simply “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
Peter brings something to our attention about the gospel which needs to be reemphasized. He says, “Being going again… by the word of God… which endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is PREACHED unto you.” When Paul first brought the gospel into that region of Asia Minor, he presented it through preaching. He said to the people of Pamphylia, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Christ Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” In Lycaonia, “there they preached the gospel.” “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch…” “And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia…” “Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord…”
There are so many professing Christians today, who refuse to attend church, preferring, or pretending, to worship the Lord at home with their families. I am not going to say that they are not Christians just because they don’t go to church. But I am going to say they are putting the souls of their children, and others, at risk. I have participated in Bible studies and worship services in people’s homes, and I have to say that I found it very difficult to preach amid the chesterfields, sofas and La-Z-Boy recliners. God has ordained that the gospel be preached. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The gospel can be put into to song, but that is not the primary method of its delivery. It needs to be printed in tract form and published in the papers, but that is not God’s primary way. Paul wrote to the people of Corinth, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” What is the power of God? It is the public presentation of the cross of Christ through preaching.
Those of you who may be listening to or watching this message on your television or computer, when you could be in one of God’s churches – you are doing yourself a great disservice. You are robbing yourself of the blessings of Christian fellowship and the enjoyment of the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, you are in clear disobedience to the will of God, forsaking the assembling with other believers (Hebrews 10:25). Furthermore, by example, you are telling people that the preaching of the gospel is not important.
There is one more important word in Peter’s closing statement.
“This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto YOU.”
Ordinarily, I would say, “It’s not all about you,” but this time it is. The gospel is for you, and whether or not you are blessed by it, you must respond. The Philippian Jailer cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul essentially replied, “YOU must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Lord Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto YOU, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto YOU the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
There are more than a billion Buddhists in the world. The majority of those Buddhists live in India, Nepal and Korea; in other words – many miles from here. It is highly unlikely that any gospel message I preach among you will ever be heard by any of those Buddhists. They will not hear me if I say with Paul, “YOU must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” in order to be saved. But there is a sense in which people may sit in these pews, and yet my gospel message will be no more important than to them than to that Buddhist in South Korea or that Hindu in India.
Your ears, and your heart, have to hear the gospel, before it can have any effect upon YOU. The Holy Spirit must take the preaching of the word, bringing it to life and applying it to you before it will bring you eternal life. You must say, “What must I do to be saved?” and you must yearn for salvation before the gospel will produce the blessing of salvation in your soul. You may be easily within the sound of my voice, and yet be as remote as that Muslim in Iraq.
Don’t you yearn for the peace which comes by way of forgiveness of sin? Haven’t you grown tired of constant defeat by the temptations and addictions of life? Don’t you want assurance of eternal joy in the presence of God? Then listen to the gospel and humbly put your faith in the gift of God’s saving grace. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and THOU shalt be saved.”