The Gospel; Why Is It Called The Good News?

I was once one of those people who thought I knew everything about the Gospel, hence, there was no need to have it explained to me over again. Yet the truth is that was just my arrogance, I actually didn’t understand this fundamental message at all, just as I fear many believers do today. If you want to prove this, just ask any random Christian or even a Pastor; what is the gospel – give me a full presentation of this good news? And you will be amazed that the Gospel has long been lost in this modern church age. You see brethren, this message of our salvation is not something that you must only hear once the day you get saved and then you graduate away from it. Rather, it is the very thing that even the best of believers need to hear every day. It revives our souls and strengthens our eternal hope all the more. From that angle I appeal to you, brothers, this writing aims to explain this very important message of our redemption.

 

The key to understanding the Gospel is to know why it’s called the “good news.” To do that, we must start with the bad news. The Old Testament Law was given to Israel during the time of Moses (Deut 5:1). Hence it can be thought of as a measuring stick, and sin is anything that falls short of its perfect standard. The righteous requirement of the Law is so stringent that no human could possibly follow it perfectly, in letter or in spirit. Despite our “goodness” or “badness” relative to each other, we are all in the same spiritual boat—we have sinned, and the punishment for sin is death, that is, separation from God, the source of life (Rom 3:23). In order for us to go to heaven; God’s dwelling place and the realm of life and light, sin must be somehow removed or paid for. The Law established the fact that cleansing from sin can only happen through the bloody sacrifice of an innocent life (Heb 9:22).

 

Therein comes the story of Jesus’ death on the cross as the sin offering to fulfill the Law’s righteous requirement (Rom 8:3–4; Heb 10:5–10). Under the Law, animal sacrifices were offered year after year as a reminder of sin and a symbol of the coming sacrifice of Christ (Heb 10:3–4). When Christ offered Himself at Calvary, that symbol became a reality for all who would believe (Heb 10:11–18). The work of atonement is finished now, and that is good news.

 

Nonetheless, death could not hold this Jesus of Nazareth, because on the 3rd day, He rose from the dead. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom 4:25). The fact that Jesus conquered sin and death (sin’s penalty) is good news, indeed. Even more, the fact that He offers to share that victory with us is the greatest news of all (Joh 14:19).

 

The elements of the Gospel are clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3–6, a key passage concerning the good news of God: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living.” Notice, first, that Paul “received” the Gospel and then “passed it on”; this is a divine message, not a man-made invention. Secondly, the Gospel is “of first importance.” Everywhere the apostles went, they preached the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Thirdly, the message of the Gospel is accompanied by proofs: Christ died for our sins (proved by His burial), and He rose again on the third day (proved by the eyewitnesses). Lastly, all this was done “according to the Scriptures”; the theme of the whole Bible is the salvation of mankind through Christ. The Bible, therefore, is the Gospel.

 

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Rom 1:16). This Gospel is a bold message, and we are not ashamed of proclaiming it. It is a powerful message because it is God’s good news. It is a saving message, the only thing that can truly reform the human heart. It is a universal message, for Jews and Gentiles both. And the Gospel is only received by faith; salvation is the gift of God (Eph 2:8–9).

 

The Gospel is the good news that God loves the world enough to give His only Son to die for our sin (Joh 3:16). The Gospel is good news because our salvation and eternal life and home in heaven are guaranteed through Christ (Joh 14:1–4). “He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet 1:3–4).

 

The Gospel is good news when we understand that we do not (and cannot) earn our salvation; the work of redemption and justification is complete, having been finished on the cross (John 19:30). Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 Joh 2:2). The Gospel is the good news that we, who were once enemies of God, have been reconciled by the blood of Christ and adopted into the family of God (Rom 5:10; Joh 1:12). “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 Joh 3:1). The Gospel is the good news that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

 

Therefore, as you read this, I sincerely hope you received and are saved by this Gospel. Because to reject it is to embrace the bad news. Condemnation before God is the result of a lack of faith in the Son of God, God’s only provision for salvation. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17–18). God has given a doomed world good news: the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

Finally, I pray that you not only believe this message but that you go on and also get it out. For how shall others hear about this good news unless you pass it on to them? It’s not enough to live “good lives” in front of others, if that is all it is, they will go to hell thinking we are nice people. Above all, all honor and praise be to Jesus the King, for He is the Author and Finisher of this Gospel. Amen.

 

Ngwabiso Dube

Related Content...

Saved From What?

Salvation Is By Faith Alone, Not By Baptism or Goodworks!

Can You Lose Your Salvation?