Blessed Be God
The Gospel means Good News
===
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you
1 Peter 1:3-4 (NET)
===
So many of the letters from the apostles to the early churches begin with this reiteration of the Gospel.
Which I find interesting, because, presumably, these people already knew the Gospel.
So, why repeat it?
Because we are a fickle people who constantly forget how great God is and how deep our need for His forgiveness is.
I know I try and do too much on my own. Trusting in my own intelligence and my ability to think things through.
(I know God gave me a mind to think with, but He also called me to trust in Him.)
I remember listening to a message when I was in college about Abraham. How he leaned so far into God, demonstrating his own faith in God, that if God didn’t come through then he would face disaster.
Basically, an extreme trust fall.
You know the ones where you’re at some sort of seminar and they do this exercise to demonstrate trusting your teammates so you have to fall backward and trust them to catch you.
We can always trust God, though He doesn’t always promise to catch us.
Particularly if we are falling because of our own sin; sometimes He will allow us to fall into the consequences of our actions.
Thankfully, the Gospel is a reminder of God’s rescue mission for our souls.
That we now have life in Christ, and adoption as sons & daughters of the eternal King.
That is Good News.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.