Have You Heard the Good News?

We all can use some good news!

In this world, there is a constant stream of negative and bad news. Everywhere we turn, it seems that there are more and more bad things happening. This world is filled with injustice, violence, pain, and hurt. Because of this, when we hear some good news, it means so much to us!

Well, friend, God has given us the best news that has ever been heard in the pages of Scripture. This good news is so great that it can change someone's life - even yours. It may not "fix" everything in your life today, but it can give you hope even in the midst of all the negativity in this world today. This good news is nothing other than the Gospel. The word Gospel literally means "good news." God wants us all to know the good news, so please continue reading.

Why is the Gospel so important?

There are several reasons why the Gospel is so important and why it is such good news. We will explain what the gospel is after we look at these reasons.

The Gospel is important because we are all born with sin.

Now, almost everyone will agree with this statement that we are sinners. We are well aware of this fact because we have all told a lie or stolen something small. There are few people in the world who would reject this statement. The Bible concurs with this statement as well, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one..."(Romans 3:10) "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity[sin]..." (Psalm 51:5a) We all have the same plight - we are born as sinners.

The Gospel is important because we are not as good as we think.

Even though we might all agree with the previous statement, often, we like to think that we aren't too bad. After all, "We haven't murdered anyone," many people reason. That standard is a standard of man though. God says that all sin is serious. In the Ten Commandments alone, if we were honest with ourselves, we have broken most, if not all of them - thou shalt not bear false witness (lie); thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not covet (want what someone else has); honour thy father and mother; and others. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." That is a serious offense to God. Jesus also said that if we hate someone in our heart, it is the same as committing murder. God has a much higher standard of what sin is than we do. On top of this, if we have told just one little lie in our whole life, the Bible says that we are guilty of the whole law: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10) Our sin is much more severe than we like to think. But this is not the worst of it.

The Gospel is important because we cannot earn favor with God.

Not only are we born with a sin nature, and not only is our sin severe in God's eyes, the Bible also tells us that there is no amount of good that we can do to be able to find favor with God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23) God likens our righteousness to clothing ourselves with "filthy rags." (Isa. 64:6) Ephesians 2 tells us that we are not "...saved...by works, lest any man should boast." We could mention many more passages from the Bible that tell us that God is not impressed by the good that we do, but this still gets worse yet.

The Gospel is important because our sin has a wage.

The Bible says in Romans 6:23a, "For the wages of sin is death..." Just as someone works a job and gets paid for the work they do, so we have a wage for the sin in our lives. Statistically speaking, 100% of people die. This is because we all have sinned. But the Bible tells us that there is another death: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the SECOND death." (Revelation 21:8; emphasis added) Many people think that if they simply do more good in their lives than bad, that God will look past the sins. However, God, as the Holy, Righteous Judge of the universe, cannot look past a single sin. Just as an earthly judge would not be just to let a murderer free because he performed more good acts than murders, so God would not truly be just if He looked past any sin. The wages of our sin is not only physical death, but also a spiritual death. This does not sound like very good news so far, but to appreciate the good news, we must first understand our plight.

What is the Gospel and how does it impact me?

The good news, in spite of all this bad news, is that God loves each one of us in spite of our sinfulness. To remedy this terrible situation, God devised a plan whereby His justice could be satisfied, and our sin problem could be remedied. The Bible tells us in probably the most well-known verse of all time, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth to solve our sin problem. Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin, thereby not inheriting the sin nature that we all have inherited. He lived a sinless life even though He was tempted "...in all points...like as we are, yet without sin." Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost. Our natural state is to be lost in our sin. Jesus came to offer an option to have a relationship with Himself and with God the Father. This mission caused some anger on the part of the religious leaders of the day and they ultimately conspired to kill Him. However, the Bible tells us this was all part of God's plan to redeem (buy back) all of sinful man back to Himself. The Gospel starts here at a cross on Calvary. The Bible tells us that:

The Gospel is the substitutionary death of Christ.

Because the "wages of sin is death," Jesus Christ took our death upon Himself. Because He was free of sin, Jesus did not have to die, but He chose to die to take our place. "...Because Christ also suffered for us...Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree...by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:21-24) Jesus took each person's death upon Himself. He died in our place upon a Roman cross - the most painful way to die. He did not deserve it, but He sacrificed His blood for us. Our sin required a blood sacrifice, but this blood could not be tainted with sin in any way. His blood is the only blood that will satisfy the justice and wrath of God against sin. Jesus' blood can wash away all sin. He died in our place! "But God commendeth (showed) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

The Gospel is the burial of Christ.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was taken down from the cross upon which He was crucified and was lain in a borrowed tomb. This seems like even more bad news - the One who was here to save us was dead! That is not good news! But what Christ did in being buried is that He caused the sin nature in all who believe in Him to be put to death. We are told that our sins were placed upon Christ on that cross. In being buried, Jesus took all that sin that kept us separated from God and took it to the grave with Him. The good news is that though our sin remained in the grave, Jesus did not!

The Gospel is the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus did not stay dead! On the morning of the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead to give us the opportunity to have eternal life! The resurrection of Christ is attested to in the final chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5 that over 500 people witnessed the risen Christ at one time. That is sufficient evidence for any court of law! In the resurrection, Christ provided the promise that even after our physical death, we can have the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven and an abundant life, free from the bondage of sin while here on earth. The wages of sin is an eternal death, but "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23b)

The Gospel is a free gift from God to you.

Notice that last verse - it is a gift. This eternal life is not something that we can earn. A gift cannot be earned; if you have to do something to receive a gift, then it no longer is a gift, but a wage. God has offered to us this eternal life as a free gift. How can this be? Christ's death and sinless blood paid "the fine" for our sin. All we have to "do" to receive this gift is turn from that in which we are trusting, and turn to Christ in faith. Good works, baptism, church membership, "being spiritual," reading the Bible, praying, and all other things that we could do will never earn us eternal life. We must believe that eternal life comes through Jesus Christ alone. This is not a head knowledge, but a faith from the heart. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." (Titus 3:5a) Romans 10:9-10, 13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." All you has to do is to turn from that in which you are trusting, call out to the Lord from your heart of faith, and God promises that He will save! This is the good news! Through Christ, it is not about what we do, but about what He has done! In Christ, we can be assured that we are free from the penalty of sin, the second death, and that we can have freedom from the power of sin today. Do not wait to call upon the Lord in faith! "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)