Good News to follow...
THERE IS A SUBSTITUTE The “ good news” of the gospel is that there is a Substitute Who has stood in the place of every repentant sinner and bore the wrath of God in his place. He did this for all whom the Father had given Him from all eternity. It is for them that He prayed in John 17. They are “ His sheep.” The Father gave them to Him, and He died for them (John 10:15, 29). Substitution is the very heart of the gospel. Christ did not simply give His life to make salvation possible for those who contribute their part to what He has done by repenting and trusting Christ. He it is that gives repentance and faith (2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 2:8). Christ did not say to the religious Jews of His day that they were not of His “ sheep” because they did not believe; rather, He says, “ Ye believe not because ye are not of My sheep” (John 10:26). If they had been His sheep they would have believed. The “ good news” is that all whom the Father has given to the Son, and for whom He die