Good News meaning

[Chan26]

.WHat is the Good News?

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

Is Isaiah 40 etc, the Good News?
Is the Good News of what has come to pass? That is, announcement of God/s state of mind, His unconditional love for us? If so, if our iniquity is pardoned, what more is there? Is the Good news only an announcement of what will come?
If the OT announces God’s unconditional love, does Jesus come to confirm the Good News and show just how magnificent is God’s unconditional love, that He would dwell with us, die by our hands and more clearly announce that the Kingdom has come and that it is with in us?
Please excuse my confusion.
thank you
chan26

 

[fhansen]

.WHat is the Good News?

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

Is Isaiah 40 etc, the Good News?
Is the Good News of what has come to pass? That is, announcement of God/s state of mind, His unconditional love for us? If so, if our iniquity is pardoned, what more is there? Is the Good news only an announcement of what will come?
If the OT announces God’s unconditional love, does Jesus come to confirm the Good News and show just how magnificent is God’s unconditional love, that He would dwell with us, die by our hands and more clearly announce that the Kingdom has come and that it is with in us?
Please excuse my confusion.
thank you
chan26

The good news is that God would suffer pain, humility and death to become mans God again, after being spurned and forsaken by man at the Fall. We’re all born in separation from God. By the Incarnation He definitively proves His existence, His power, His trustworthiness despite mans doubt and mistrust, and, most importantly, His unconditional love. By the New Covenant He not only forgives man of sin but, by reconciling with man, restoring relationship with him, God indwells man as was always intended whereby He helps man to also overcome sin, to achieve authentic righteousness. Gods purpose is to perfect His creation, having created it “in statu viae”, in a state of journeying towards perfection according to the Catechism. He accomplishes this as He fulfills the NC promises in Jer 31, of placing His laws on our hearts and writing them in our minds. In this process justice and order are restored as man communes with God, partaking of His nature, coming to love Him with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength and his neighbor as himself. Then God’s will is done. Bottom line: man needs God, apart from whom-apart from intimate communion with-he can do nothing.

 

[Chan26]

The good news is that God would suffer pain, humility and death to become mans God again, after being spurned and forsaken by man at the Fall.

This is Good News? Could be, but if so, doesn’t that create a new definition of the word “Good”?

By the New Covenant He not only forgives man of sin

Does that mean forgives all sin, past and future, the the burden of sin is no longer upon us? Now that is good news.

He helps man to also overcome sin, to achieve authentic righteousness.

Why does Man have to overcome sin if sin has been forgiven? And what Man has overcome sin. I haven’t. Have you?. Anyone here? I might change my mind if I ever heard a human I respected say, “I am sinless.” I thought the new covenant was based on the belief that God realized that Man could never perfectly comply with all the laws and be sinless. Even in today’s reading, Paul says that gentiles would fail if they were expected to keep the Jewish Laws and so only had to believe, not eat certain mean and not fornicate.–that was enough, he said. Wow, that sounds easy.

His laws on our hearts and writing them in our minds. In this process justice and order are restored as man communes with God,

*Is this the Conscience? And, if it is well founded, then is conscience Supreme over all other rules, doctrines and laws.? It has to be, else God would be in conflict.(yes-no?)?
Thank you for your help and it does help.
chan26

 

[PJM]

=Chan26;10734932].WHat is the Good News?

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

Is Isaiah 40 etc, the Good News?
Is the Good News of what has come to pass? That is, announcement of God/s state of mind, His unconditional love for us? If so, if our iniquity is pardoned, what more is there? Is the Good news only an announcement of what will come?
If the OT announces God’s unconditional love, does Jesus come to confirm the Good News and show just how magnificent is God’s unconditional love, that He would dwell with us, die by our hands and more clearly announce that the Kingdom has come and that it is with in us?
Please excuse my confusion.
thank you
chan26

While God “Love” Is unconditioal; nevertheless His assistance is just the opposite. Highly conditional.

Matthew 4:4 "Who answered and said: It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.

Great OPQ!

 

[fhansen]

This is Good News? Could be, but if so, doesn’t that create a new definition of the word “Good”?

I’m surprised I need to explain this but God truly becoming the God of man again is the basis of the New Covenant (Jer31) "Apart from Me you can do nothing". (John15:5) God and man communing, His Spirit dwelling within, can only be good news because He’s the very source of all goodness, happiness, and eternal life, along with our moral integrity; this intimate relationship, which Adam spurned, is absolutely vital-and it begins, on man’s part, with faith. And laying down one’s life for his friends is the clearest demonstration of the ultimate good, Love, according to Jesus.

Does that mean forgives all sin, past and future, the the burden of sin is no longer upon us? Now that is good news.

We need to understand God’s purpose. He didn’t suddenly stop caring about sin-about whether or not His will is done. Rather His purpose is to restore/achieve true righteousness in His universe-so that His will is done- but the right way: "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Phil 3:9)

Why does Man have to overcome sin if sin has been forgiven?

Why shouldn’t he? God wants only the best for us. As Jesus told the woman caught in adultery,** “Your sins are forgiven, go, and sin no more**”.

And what Man has overcome sin. I haven’t. Have you?.

I will, before heaven, unless the scripture that informs us that no sinners will enter heaven is lying. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt (19:26) Maybe you need a little more faith.

Anyone here? I might change my mind if I ever heard a human I respected say, “I am sinless.” I thought the new covenant was based on the belief that God realized that Man could never perfectly comply with all the laws and be sinless.

Not at all. God would never give man laws he couldn’t possibly obey, then blame him for not obeying them anyway, then decide to save some but not others, presumably on a whim. The basis of the NC isn’t that man could never perfectly comply with the law-**the basis of the NC is that man could never comply with the law without God. ** Sinlessness is nothing more or less than to be who God created us to be.

Even in today’s reading, Paul says that gentiles would fail if they were expected to keep the Jewish Laws and so only had to believe, not eat certain mean and not fornicate.–that was enough, he said. Wow, that sounds easy.

In Rom 2 Paul tells us this: "12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14" I’m sure, at this point. He’s speaking of the Ten Commandments.

Is this the Conscience? And, if it is well founded, then is conscience Supreme over all other rules, doctrines and laws.? It has to be, else God would be in conflict.(yes-no?)?

God’s the author of man’s conscience, aka “natural law”. As Augustine said, “God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts”. Now, with the New Covenant, God 'places His laws on our hearts and writes them in our minds’. (Jer31 again as well as Heb 8 & 10)

 

[Chan26]

While God “Love” Is unconditioal; nevertheless His assistance is just the opposite. Highly conditional. I have no idea what your talking about when you say “His assistance” All want is His love.
Matthew 4:4 "Who answered and said: It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
Again, your answer must be too esoteric. I don’t understand what you are saying in relation to the post.
I hope you will explain it. Thank you
chan26

Great OPQ!

 

[Chan26]

I’m surprised I need to explain this but God truly becoming the God of man again is the basis of the New Covenant (Jer31) "Apart from Me you can do nothing". (John15:5) God and man communing, His Spirit dwelling within, can only be good news because He’s the very source of all goodness, happiness, and eternal life, along with our moral integrity; this intimate relationship, which Adam spurned, is absolutely vital-and it begins, on man’s part, with faith. And laying down one’s life for his friends is the clearest demonstration of the ultimate good, Love, according to Jesus.If a person lays down his life when he doesn’t have to, has the power not to, that would be described as suicide

We need to understand God’s purpose. He didn’t suddenly stop caring about sin-about whether or not His will is done. Rather His purpose is to restore/achieve true righteousness in His universe-so that His will is done- but the right way: "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Phil 3:9)I agree. righteousness comes by faith and we are saved by faith.

Why shouldn’t he? God wants only the best for us. As Jesus told the woman caught in adultery,** “Your sins are forgiven, go, and sin no more**”. It is hard for me to believe that Jesus would tell any human go and sin no more when he must know we are sinners. It’s inconsistent with His other teachings, his healing and forgiveness were not conditional except on some demonstration of great faith.

I will, before heaven, unless the scripture that informs us that no sinners will enter heaven is lying. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt (19:26) Maybe you need a little more faith. I will judge no one. but i believe that all humans fail in some ways that are often called sin and it never ends, no matter how hard you try. Paul says we are saved by God’s grace so that no man will boast he did it himself.

Not at all. God would never give man laws he couldn’t possibly obey, then blame him for not obeying them anyway, then decide to save some but not others, presumably on a whim. The basis of the NC isn’t that man could never perfectly comply with the law-the basis of the NC is that man could never comply with the law without God. Sinlessness is nothing more or less than to be who God created us to be.

In Rom 2 Paul tells us this: “12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14” I’m sure, at this point. He’s speaking of the Ten Commandments. When you say,Sinlessness is nothing more or less than to be who God created us to be. " do you mean that as a platitude or that we truly are, nothing more nor less, with all our faults and failings and weaknesses , what God created us to be. If this is the case, then we are sinners, always will be sinners but it’s our faith is all the unconditionally loving God wants

God’s the author of man’s conscience, aka “natural law”. As Augustine said, “God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts”. Now, with the New Covenant, God 'places His laws on our hearts and writes them in our minds’. (Jer31 again as well as Heb 8 & 10)

That seems to support what I said about the preeminence of conscience over all other doctrines or laws

 

[fhansen]

If a person lays down his life when he doesn’t have to, has the power not to, that would be described as suicide

According to our faith Jesus* had to*, even though He could’ve walked away at any time, as an act that saves man. He did this due to His profound love for man. He also knew, in a way that we could not at the time, that He would rise again. We don’t know why this particular act was necessary-or why it needed to be done in this particular way,

It is hard for me to believe that Jesus would tell any human go and sin no more when he must know we are sinners. It’s inconsistent with His other teachings, his healing and forgiveness were not conditional except on some demonstration of great faith.

Well, first of all then, His forgiveness and healing were not universal, but, as you say, already conditional. The offer was unconditional; Jesus means to tell us that God is always waiting with open arms for His creation to return to Him. And while the message of Jesus to us is that man is a sinner in no uncertain terms, God certainly doesn’t *will *that man remains a sinner; He didn’t create man to sin to begin with, after all. By the grace of the New Covenant God purposes to restore man, to heal His creation, to set it on even higher heights from which it fell, in fact. He knows our potential, having created us-in His image-and wants more from us and for us than we know enough to want for ourselves.

I will judge no one. but i believe that all humans fail in some ways that are often called sin and it never ends, no matter how hard you try. Paul says we are saved by God’s grace so that no man will boast he did it himself.

Yes, grace is what man needs-it what he’s needed all along. It’s basically what Adam refused and rejected when he defied the authority of God, when he rejected God as his God, IOW. But, As Adam had then, we now have the choice again: to accept or reject grace, to accept or reject* God.*

When you say,Sinlessness is nothing more or less than to be who God created us to be. " do you mean that as a platitude or that we truly are, nothing more nor less, with all our faults and failings and weaknesses , what God created us to be. If this is the case, then we are sinners, always will be sinners but it’s our faith is all the unconditionally loving God wants

God didn’t create us to be sinners. If He did then He’d be the author of evil. Man was given a nature, proper to himself, according to God’s wisdom and perfect will, and He expects us to live up to it. the message of the Incarnation/ Atonement, with the New Covenant that it ushered in, is simply that man cannot do this alone-he was never meant to do it alone, he can only realize his righteousness in communion with God. And this is a choice, meaning man must cooperate, as per the Parable of the Talents, for example.

That seems to support what I said about the preeminence of conscience over all other doctrines or laws

God’s laws are perfect-our consciences were created to align with His will for man. But only when the conscience obeys spontaneously is man truly just.Only then is God truly the author of man’s righteousness. This is what the Divine Potter wishes to accomplish in us:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.

A quote from Basil of Cesaerea, an early believer, is related to all this:
**If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children. **

 

[PJM]

=fhansen;10739521]I’m surprised I need to explain this but God truly becoming the God of man again is the basis of the New Covenant (Jer31) "Apart from Me you can do nothing". (John15:5) God and man communing, His Spirit dwelling within, can only be good news because He’s the very source of all goodness, happiness, and eternal life, along with our moral integrity; this intimate relationship, which Adam spurned, is absolutely vital-and it begins, on man’s part, with faith. And laying down one’s life for his friends is the clearest demonstration of the ultimate good, Love, according to Jesus.

We need to understand God’s purpose. He didn’t suddenly stop caring about sin-about whether or not His will is done. Rather His purpose is to restore/achieve true righteousness in His universe-so that His will is done- but the right way: "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Phil 3:9)

Why shouldn’t he? God wants only the best for us. As Jesus told the woman caught in adultery,** “Your sins are forgiven, go, and sin no more**”.

I will, before heaven, unless the scripture that informs us that no sinners will enter heaven is lying. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt (19:26) Maybe you need a little more faith.

Not at all. God would never give man laws he couldn’t possibly obey, then blame him for not obeying them anyway, then decide to save some but not others, presumably on a whim. The basis of the NC isn’t that man could never perfectly comply with the law-the basis of the NC is that man could never comply with the law without God. Sinlessness is nothing more or less than to be who God created us to be.

In Rom 2 Paul tells us this: “12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14” I’m sure, at this point. He’s speaking of the Ten Commandments.

God’s the author of man’s conscience, aka “natural law”. As Augustine said, “God wrote on the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts”. Now, with the New Covenant, God 'places His laws on our hearts and writes them in our minds’. (Jer31 again as well as Heb 8 & 10)

Nicely done:thumbsup:

Thanks

 

[Chan26]

According to our faith Jesus* had to*, even though He could’ve walked away at any time, as an act that saves man. He did this due to His profound love for man. He also knew, in a way that we could not at the time, that He would rise again. We don’t know why this particular act was necessary-or why it needed to be done in this particular way,Is Faith one thing but not knowing what you believe in is another?

Well, first of all then, His forgiveness and healing were not universal, but, as you say, already conditional. The offer was unconditional; Jesus means to tell us that God is always waiting with open arms for His creation to return to Him. And while the message of Jesus to us is that man is a sinner in no uncertain terms, God certainly doesn’t *will *that man remains a sinner; He didn’t create man to sin to begin with, after all. By the grace of the New Covenant God purposes to restore man, to heal His creation, to set it on even higher heights from which it fell, in fact. He knows our potential, having created us-in His image-and wants more from us and for us than we know enough to want for ourselves. Would humans know how far they are from being Gods if they didn’t sin? Laws are to make us know we are not capable of perfection so it is said, but actually, it’s sin that does that. Law most often is broke in secrecy. Its the sin that doesn’t let us get away with it.

Yes, grace is what man needs-it what he’s needed all along. It’s basically what Adam refused and rejected when he defied the authority of God, when he rejected God as his God, IOW. But, As Adam had then, we now have the choice again: to accept or reject grace, to accept or reject* God.* I agree and acceptance means…? To me it mean admitting we are sinners.We have to try otherwise how could we say out the other side we love God. The difference would be that we try without fear but from love, in gratitude to our Father.

God didn’t create us to be sinners. If He did then He’d be the author of evil. Man was given a nature, proper to himself, according to God’s wisdom and perfect will, and He expects us to live up to it. the message of the Incarnation/ Atonement, with the New Covenant that it ushered in, is simply that man cannot do this alone-he was never meant to do it alone, he can only realize his righteousness in communion with God. And this is a choice, meaning man must cooperate, as per the Parable of the Talents, for example.Perhaps he didn’t create us to be sinners but he created us knowing we would sin. It is our sin that drives us to our conscience and to asking for mercy and submitting to the Father. There is a difference between embracing sin and accepting it as a reality. Don’t we accept the Holocaust as a reality?. Did God desire it?.

God’s laws are perfect-our consciences were created to align with His will for man. But only when the conscience obeys spontaneously is man truly just.Only then is God truly the author of man’s righteousness. This is what the Divine Potter wishes to accomplish in us:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.

A quote from Basil of Cesaerea, an early believer, is related to all this:
**If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children. **

No matter what we do in response to sin, we can be forgiven. So your point is what? You are above me on this one.

You wrote,
God’s laws are perfect-our consciences were created to align with His will for man. But only when the conscience obeys spontaneously is man truly just.Only then is God truly the author of man’s righteousness. This is what the Divine Potter wishes to accomplish in us:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord. is this Jeremiah? And then, do you agree with me or disagree?

 

[fhansen]

Is Faith one thing but not knowing what you believe in is another?

Well, I guess as an alternative we could feign perfect knowledge as to why the atonement was carried out in the way it was, and exactly how it effected reconciliation of God with man, then pretend to believe in more than we really do, but the truth is that honest observers over the years have acknowledged that its not perfectly clear how the atonement serves to accomplish its purpose-only that it does. Ransom and penal substitution theories are, in the end, just theories, and not particularly satisfactory ones. What we believe is that Jesus died for our sins, as a radical act revealing the radical reality and nature of sin while simultaneously proving the radical love and mercy of God. Much more than that is just talk. Most theologians recognize that God could’ve accomplished this in other ways, anyway He wishes. Again, why, exactly, Christ needed to strike a tent of flesh and suffer and die for His creation in the way He did is not precisely understood.

Would humans know how far they are from being Gods if they didn’t sin? Laws are to make us know we are not capable of perfection so it is said, but actually, it’s sin that does that. Law most often is broke in secrecy. Its the sin that doesn’t let us get away with it.

Doesn’t make much sense; the reason laws teach us that we’re sinners is simply because the law is holy, spiritual, and good, as scripture attests, but we’re not. The law shows us how we were made to be-what righteousness should “look like”. When we disobey and break the law we reveal that we’re not in line with God’s will, that we’re in opposition to our own God-given natures.

I agree and acceptance means…? To me it mean admitting we are sinners.We have to try otherwise how could we say out the other side we love God. The difference would be that we try without fear but from love, in gratitude to our Father.

Acceptance of grace is simply to do the will of God-and His grace prompts us to act in a variety of ways. The first is faith. Conviction of our sinfulness and contrition for that sin is another work of grace/the Holy Spirit. Hope and confidence in the promises of God are further steps, as are confessing our faith and performing various works of love as per Galatians 5:6. The ultimate work of grace is to perfect us in love of God and neighbor.

Perhaps he didn’t create us to be sinners but he created us knowing we would sin.

True-He wouldn’t be God otherwise.

It is our sin that drives us to our conscience and to asking for mercy and submitting to the Father. There is a difference between embracing sin and accepting it as a reality. Don’t we accept the Holocaust as a reality?. Did God desire it?.

Yes, sin/evil in the world should drive us to choose the good alone; the ultimate Good, and source of all other goods, being God.

No matter what we do in response to sin, we can be forgiven. So your point is what? You are above me on this one.

Well I’m not sure what you mean by “response to sin”. Again, conviction of sin and forgiveness of sin are only parts of the whole picture. God’s after more than that. Otherwise He may as well have just forgiven Adam and restored Him to Paradise immediately-or prevented him from sinning to begin with. He’s still creating, bringing His creation to perfection as we increasingly come into agreement with His will. Acknowledging our sinfulness and unworthiness is an important first step, and continues to be necessary at times throughout our lives, but gets a bit trite-and stifling, a bit priggish maybe-after awhile since God desires to bring us beyond that point. He didn’t create man unworthy, after all. Everything He created was good, very, very good.

is this Jeremiah?

Yes

And then, do you agree with me or disagree?

I guess I’m not altogether sure of your position. I certainly agree with Jeremiah. God’s purpose is to accomplish in man, by truly becoming his God, what man can’t accomplish on his own, apart from God: authentic righteousness.