Other Teachings

Four Spiritual Truths

An alternative to the Four Spiritual Laws

Are you familiar with the Four Spiritual Laws? If not, do a search on the Internet and they will be easy to find. Here is a quick version taken from Cru's website (cru.org):

Traditional Four Spiritual Laws

  1. God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
  2. All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.
  3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.
  4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

Seems like the Four Spiritual Laws sugarcoat the situation. I've had trouble in the past understanding why it is called "good news" after reading passages like this fiery one from John the Baptist in Luke:

"I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. (Luke 3:16-18)

That's good news? Yes, if you look at it properly. To help in that regard, I'd like to put forth an alternative to the Four Spiritual Laws which I'll call the Four Spiritual Truths:

Four Spiritual Truths (which explain why the Gospel is good news)

  1. Good news: There is life after death. This was revealed by John the Baptist and Jesus. This is generally regarded as 'good news.' Human existence continues after the grave.
  2. Not-so-good news: There is a judgement after this life to determine where each person shall spend eternity. Good people will go the pleasant place (Heaven), bad people will go to the place of punishment (Hell).
  3. Bad news: God's standards for being declared righteous and good are stricter than most human standards.
  4. Good news: Jesus is willing to do two things for us so that we can withstand the Judgement to come: (a) Pay for our sins. He did this by dying on the cross. (b) Enroll us in His school of righteousness where we become progressively more righteous and good.

NOTE: Another aspect of the Gospel being good news is confirmed later in Acts 13:38-39: Forgiveness and justification from sins that one cannot be justified from under the Law of Moses. Adultery, for instance, was a capital crime without any remedy — no sacrifice was available to cover it.