Good News

Have you ever heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? The Greek word used in the bible for “gospel” is “euangelion,” which means “glad tidings” or “good news” of the Kingdom of God and His provision for all people to be reconciled to God and forgiven all our sins through the One He sent: Jesus Christ. How is this good news?

The bible, inspired by God, tells us that because of sin (sin means “missing the mark” as in a target), we were estranged from God. We did not know Him or care to live our lives in a way pleasing to Him. We acted like rebellious children against our Heavenly Father. Because of this sin, we deserved to die and face His judgement. The afterlife is real. Jesus spoke of heaven and hell many times. He warned people to repent (turn from their own way of life and turn toward God). If we do repent, and place our faith in Jesus, the good news is that through Christ’s death on the cross we can become friends with God again, be reconciled to Him. In the bible, the book of Hebrews says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. [Heb 9:27-28 NIV]

Many people think that Jesus was merely a good teacher or a good prophet. But He Himself said He was the Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin named Mary, and was born as a flesh and blood man in order to give us a true image of His Father, to teach us right from wrong, and to suffer in our place and bring us eternal life in Heaven with Him for eternity. The angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. [Luk 1:35 NIV] Back in that day and in that culture, the Jewish people knew and understood that to be called “the Son of God” meant Jesus was claiming to be God. If Jesus were merely a good teacher or prophet, He could not make this claim, unless it was absolute truth. Otherwise, He would be greatly delusional or worse yet a liar.

Many people also think that Jesus is just “one path” on the road to heaven or the way to worship God. Yet, Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [Jhn 14:6 NIV] He also said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. [Jhn 14:9] Again, if these words were not true, they would be audacious claims and He would be misrepresenting God. You can not claim Jesus was merely a good teacher without making Him out to be a highly delusional man and a liar as well. You must admit He is either our cherished Savior or a plumb crazy man!

One reason the bible was inspired by God to give us a record of His dealings with man. And the record says that Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and was Himself raised from the dead and ascended to heaven: “That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [Eph 1:19-20 NIV] Again, this is the testimony of his close disciples who bore witness to the truth and reality of all the things Jesus said, supporting all His claims by His power to do far beyond what any mere man could accomplish.

Many people also think that heaven needs to be earned. I can’t think of any man-made religion that does not promote one’s own efforts at holiness or “higher states of being.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is unique in that it is offered as a gift from God. We can do nothing to “work” our way to heaven. The gospel is preached to everyone as a God-initiated offer of forgiveness. There is no merit of our own to boast about, no righteous resume we can offer to God to recommend ourselves to a perfect Creator. But a Christian is overjoyed at the overwhelming love and mercy offered to us in our helpless condition. We are works of God, and He is the Master Sculptor. We change because He applies the rasp, riffler, and chisel where He desires, and makes us beautiful. Therefore, we do not boast in something we have not made. It would be like feeling proud for our accomplishment of painting Van Gogh’s The Starry Night!

So, that’s a little background information on the good news. The gospel message is powerful in its simplicity. We come to recognize our sinful state, we hear that Jesus died on the cross to redeem us, we acknowledge Him as the Son of God and the promised Messiah, and we believe Him when He says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. [Jhn 5:24 NIV]

Repent, and believe the good news! [Mark 1:15 NIV]