Take Courage

The News of the Gospel is Joyous

Wisdom from William Gurnall

If we hear insignificant news we will probably forget it. But if it is both important and very good, it causes rejoicing. The angel of the Lord said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). It has to be great joy because it is all joy; the Lord Christ has brought news of such fullness that He left nothing for anyone else to add. If you think something might be missing from the Gospel you must look higher than God, for He gives Himself though Christ to believers in the covenant of grace. We are fully persuaded the apostle Paul’s argument will hold: “All things are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

The Gospel places our vessels close to the fountain of goodness itself; and surely we must have all if we are united to the One who has everything. Can any good news come to glorified saints which heaven does not give them? We have proof of that glory in the Word: “Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). The sun in the sky hides heaven from us while it shows the earth to us! But the Gospel enlightens both at once – godliness has the “promise of life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

The audience must have a personal interest before an announcement can be good news. While we can be happy to hear about something good happening to another person, it affects us more when it is poured directly into our own hearts. For example, a sick man does not feel the joy of another’s recovery as strongly as he would his own.

The Gospel does not report what God has done for angels but for us. “Unto you,” the angel said, “is born …… a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). If angels rejoiced for our happiness, surely our benefit gives even deeper reason to be glad. – Taken from The Christian in Complete Armour, August 11. Edited by James S. Bell, Jr. Moody Publishers edition, 1994.

Christian reader, I do hope that you are encouraged to read your Bible daily and to pray daily. I hope that your prayers are not just for yourself or your family but that you intercede for other people that you know personally and for people that you don’t know personally. I also hope that you supplement your Bible reading and prayer with good devotional reading and a personal study of the Bible to learn truth to apply to your life that you may consistently “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and bring God glory.

Stay faithful and hopeful,

Bill (a fellow-laborer)

Romans 15:13; Psalm 138:1-3