Good news
God didn't send us to preach the bad news
The gospel is good news. We were sent, as believers, to herald the glad tidings.
The whole world already knows the bad news. Human kind has messed up–big time!
People don’t need to be told how terrible things are. It’s obvious to them. They need solutions to the problems they are finding in this fallen world.
They don’t really need to be told about sin, although reminding people pf the sin problem is fine–as an introduction to the good news, not to condemn. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but so that, through Him, they might be saved.
The world is steeped in sin. Unless you’re born again sin has a crushing hold over your life.
But that is the point of the gospel. Jesus came to take care of the sin problem. He laid down His life so that we could be made free from the law of sin and death. He wants to bring us into the law of life in the Spirit, that is, the law of love and liberty in Christ.
The word ‘gospel’ appears 93 times in the New Testament, and it always means the same thing, namely, ‘good news.’
The bad news is that everyone has sinned, and there is not a single righteous person, if they are without Christ in their lives.
The good news is that Jesus paid the price of all sin, yes, your sin, my sin, the whole world’s sin, age to age, past, present and future. He covered the lot. He died once and for all. He nailed the ordinances of sin to the cross.
He too was a herald of the good news.
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.” Mat.4:23-25.
Yes, the gospel included salvation, healing and deliverance for all who came to Him and received Him. He is still alive and His ministry goes on in His believers.
The Greek word for ‘gospel’ is εὐαγγέλιον, euaggelion, literally ‘a good message.’ We derive the word ‘evangelist’ from it, meaning ‘a herald of good news.’
We are sent to declare the good news that Jesus has paid the price of everyone’s sin, and, if they will repent and receive Him as their Lord and Saviour, they will be saved.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict or convince the sinner of their predicament, being dead in their sin. As we preach the good news the Holy Spirit pricks their conscience and they will either accept that they have need of salvation or they will reject it. That is their decision, not ours.
I they can receive Jesus as Lord they will be saved from their sin and made guilt free. That is good news.
We are sent to bring the good news so that people are given the opportunity to respond.
Let’s continue to announce the good news to a world filled with negativity and pain. Let’s help Jesus bring healing and deliverance to the world.