Today I want to focus on some good news.  All of us love to hear good news.  President Bush shook up the news media when he complained that they did few stories about the good things happening in Iraq.  I remember the defensiveness of the news media that day as they interviewed one another to confirm that they were ok.  But since then I have seen a few more items of “good news” from Iraq.

              We celebrate “good news” events.  The birth of a baby, the announcement of a wedding, a golden wedding anniversary, the Boston Red Sox’s winning the World Series or the Patriots winning the Super Bowl.  A woman will come home and say to her husband, “Let’s go out to eat, I got a raise today.”  We love good news.

              The Bible has a word for good news.  I wish it had been translated “good news” but it is one word in the Greek language and so the translators tried to keep it to one word in the English.  It is the word “gospel.”  The gospel is good news!

              The apostle Paul said, 1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

              The good news has the power to save.  Paul said in Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to everyone that believers, to the Jew first and to the Greek.

              That is the good news, the gospel, that we are saved, we are delivered, we are rescued. 

              The gospel has four parts according to our passage.

              The first part is the cross.

              3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

              We have spent most of the last month discussing the cross as of first importance.  Three things can happen to you if you believe in Christ

              First,  His death works for you to save you from the penalty of sin

              Second, His death will work in your life to save you from the power of sin.

              Third, His death will work for you to save you from the presence of sin.

              Isn’t it good news that  you are delivered from hell, that God is working in you to help you overcome destructive thinking and habits of life and that he is giving you the assurance of eternal life?   This is great news.

              Christians identify with Christ’s death.  As a matter of fact, baptism illustrates that.  Our participation in baptism is not just the proclamation that Christ died, but that he died for me.  Christ died for my sins according to the scripture.  The individual who goes under the water is showing the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for their sins.

              But symbolically, not only is our sin buried at the cross, the old way of life is as well.  This signals that we view the old way as the old way.  That is the way that is past.  We sing the song, “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart.  My sins, which were many are now passed away, since Jesus came into my heart...”

              The second part is the burial: 4 that he was buried,

              Why the burial?  The burial represents the funeral service for the old way of life!  Colossians 2:11-12 tell us,   11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 

              Notice that the burial is related to circumcision.  Circumcision cut away flesh.  It marked the end of a child’s identification with the world at large and signified the beginning of their identification with the nation of Israel.

              So, the cross signifies the burial of the old nature, the old way of life. Christ’s burial was the funeral service.  When we put people under the water, they are signifying the funeral of sin.  Jesus took their sin away.  They are dead to sin and baptism symbolized the burial of the old life. 

              We don’t have a funeral when people die.  We have a funeral after they die.  So baptism is the funeral service that shows Christ’s death for us.  It also is the funeral service for the old life.

              Paul tells us that “there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...”  The past is past.

              Have you ever wanted anyone who keeps bringing up the past to stop that?  We say, “Just drop it.”  And when a person puts their faith in Christ, the past is dead, the sin debt has been paid, as Jesus said, “It is finished.” 

              We need to worship Him for His love and goodness to him

              The third part is the resurrection: that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

              The fourth part is that he appeared...5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, (1 Cor 15:1-7).

              We all know the story of the resurrection morning.  What we do not know is the story of the resurrection.  No one witnessed the actual resurrection.  The stone was rolled away, not to show the resurrection, but to show that the resurrection had happened.  About all we know about the resurrection is that it took place by the power of God.

              When a person becomes a Christian, no one sees it happen.  At the very moment that a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ, some amazing things happen.  They are saved from the wrath of God.  The Holy Spirit comes in them.  They are transfered out of this world into the kingdom of God.  They become children of God.  They are heirs with Jesus Christ of all that God has.  It is totally invisible.

              After the resurrection, Jesus appeared.  This was proof that He was alive!  We have eyewitness account that the resurrection took place.  This is good news because if one person said it or saw it, we might be skeptical.  But many saw the risen Christ.  Some were still alive when Paul wrote this.

              So also, the Christian appears.  1 John tells us that the Christian is one who loves other Christians.  Jesus says that those who truly believe in Him will confess Jesus before men.  A true Christian appears as well.  We don’t see the invisible, but we start to see a change that springs out of the inner working of God in a life.

              Now what we find out about Jesus is that after the resurrection he was the same but different.  Before the resurrection he was both God and man and after the resurrection he was both God and man.  But before the resurrection we saw the man part up front, but the God part was somewhat hidden.  But after the resurrection he is walking through walls, rising of the ground in a cloud and doing truly supernatural things.  People saw this and wrote about it.

              So also with us.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are still the same people, but different.  We have the same body, but a new life.  Our sins are dead and buried in the past and we now can live for God.  We used to be in bondage to sin, now we are free to live a right life.

              As a matter of fact, the resurrection symbolizes the new life.  1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col 3:1 -4).

              The new life is a life of following Jesus.  It is a life where we live right, doing the will of God.  It is a life of love, a life of joy, a life of hope.

              This gospel is awesome.  It tells us that when Jesus died for our sins, they were dead and buried.  Through is resurrection, we are able to start over with a new life, the Christian life.

              We are called as a church to do three things for you.  First, we are to encourage you to be a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ.  Put your faith in Him.  Accept that Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again. 

              We are called to baptize new disciples.  Baptism is one of the “new life” things that a Christian does.  It illustrates the inner faith one has in Jesus Christ.  When we put someone under the water we show that Christ died for that person and that their sins are dead and buried.  When we bring them up out of the water we show the new life they have in Jesus Christ.  Baptism doesn’t save.  We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ.  But it is one way of confessing before others that we believe in Jesus and identify with Him.

              This Sunday we want to worship and praise God for raising Jesus from the dead.  As the worship team leads us, we will prepare to baptize several people who are coming today in obedience to Jesus’ command to be baptized.