1. The Gospel is just good news about God and His Son Jesus Christ.
IT is not good news about myself, but simply and solely about God and Christ. It tells me of the exceeding riches of the grace of God. It tells me that there is salvation for me—salvation to the uttermost through the cross and blood of God’s beloved Son.
2. The believing of this good news brings
Peace to the soul. It is not the believing, coupled with something else in us — it is simply this believing that gladdens. That which brings joy to the sinner is what the Holy Spirit shows him in Christ. There he sees fulness—infinite fulness—fulness most suitable for a sinner—fulness free to all—fulness pressed upon him. And it is this that gladdens him.
3. It is in believing that there is joy and peace.
There is not merely joy as the fruit of believing, but joy in believing. It is not joy as the result of examining my faith and summing up my evidences; but it is joy in believing. For in these instances there was no time for evidences to manifest themselves, there was no time for self-examination at all.
4. There is no long period nor laborious process required to be undergone before peace is obtained.
In some of these cases, indeed, there was a protracted time of conviction: but it is evident that the length of time had nothing to do with the subsequent peace. It is clear from these that the Gospel is fitted and designed to bring us immediate peace, and if it does not do this the reason is because it is not believed!
5. It is of the utmost moment to press an immediate salvation upon the sinner.
He is bent upon delay, and he tries to make himself believe that forgiveness is something far off—something which he can only attain after a long struggle of fears and doubts. Hence the necessity for insisting upon the present peace which the Gospel is intended to bring, and to press upon the sinner’s conscience the urgent and imperative command of God to believe without one moment’s delay. It is this urgency which the Holy Spirit owns and blesses for the conversion of sinners and the comfort of the doubting. In nothing that God commands does He admit of one moment’s delay or hesitation in obeying it, and woe be to us if we lead any sinner to suppose that he is at liberty to wait one single moment before believing the Gospel!
6. It is the object of Satan to fill the sinner with doubt and unbelief.
It has always been his purpose to cloud the Gospel, so as to make it appear not to be the blessed gladdening thing which it was in the days of the Apostles. And hence there is a necessity for jealousy in regard to this. And it is very useful to point back to instances of its peace-giving power, and say to all gainsayers, “Such is the Gospel. See its nature: see its freeness: see its fruit: see the peace it brings.”
“NOW THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT WE MAY ABOUND IN HOPE, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST”