Starting Feburary 4th we will be moving to one Sunday gathering.

GoodNews_BG-02

Why the Gospel is Good News for All People

Gospel.

It originates from the Greek word euangelion, meaning good news. 

We see it in Mark’s account, the second book of the New Testament:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,” Mark 1:1-2

From these two introductory verses, we learn some significant things:

  1. Mark is claiming to tell the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ.
  2. Mark clearly states Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus wasn’t a political leader, moral figure or prophet, but deity.
  3. The Gospel begins earlier than the New Testament. Many New Testament writers cited the Old Testament, Jesus himself did it too. Mark’s first citation is of the Prophet Isaiah.

This statement is essential. The Gospel wasn’t a backup plan that God added along the way. God foresaw humanity’s fall and need for redemption in his infinite wisdom. 

It’s hard to truly understand or even appreciate the good news without first examining the bad news. 

The reality is sin has plagued humanity since the Garden of Eden. Faced with the choice of obeying the commands of God, who provided everything they needed to live a fruitful life, Adam and Eve instead chose to eat of the one tree God commanded them not to, opening the door to sin entering a perfect world. They were told they’d be like God, a temptation offered by the serpent, and they chose to take him up on that offer. 

Since that day, our world has been plagued with sin. The root of sin is selfishness. 

War, injustice, prejudice, crime and more originate in the selfish human heart. Sin makes us less human because it isn’t how God designed us to live. We weren’t meant to live at odds with God or with those around us. Pain and suffering weren’t meant to be a part of the human experience. These things came as a result of the fall of man.  

God, in his graciousness, offered a way back to him through the Law and Prophets. His people would follow for a season, wander away from him, or make the law their idol. 

God’s laws given through Moses ultimately show us that we can’t measure up to His standard on our own.

None of this came as a surprise to God, yet it broke His heart. 

Before the mountains were formed, before the sun was hung in the sky, before animals of every kind filled the earth, God knew and put in motion a plan to redeem his people once and for all. God wanted to make us truly human, how he initially designed us to be. 

So He sent Jesus. Jesus is God incarnate, meaning God taking on human flesh. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He was born of Mary in a humble stable. He grew up from boy to man. He was baptized, filled with the Spirit and showed us how to live. 

Jesus confirms He is the Messiah by quoting Isaiah’s prophecy about him, given hundreds of years earlier:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captive
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

He called out the religious leaders, showing them how they weaponized the law but still couldn’t live up to it. He healed the sick, raised the dead and empowered his followers to live in a way that honours God and shows mercy to those around us. 

Jesus knew his life would culminate with a single act that would change the course of history.

By ancient and modern standards, He received a rushed mistrial. He was crucified on a criminal’s cross, a death he did not deserve. The Jewish leaders thought they had silenced this nuisance. Yet they couldn’t see what was happening behind the scenes. 

Each of us is guilty of sin. We can’t live up to the letter of the law. We couldn’t even live up to Jesus’ commands. For example, where the law says don’t commit adultery, Jesus’ command says don’t even think about another person with lustful intention. Where the law says murder is sin, Jesus says just hating someone constitutes murder. 

Because he is God, Jesus lived a sinless life. This made him the only one suitable to take on the sins of the word. He satisfied God’s justice by dying for our sins in his death. He also satisfied God’s grace by making it possible for us to come to God. 

If Jesus died, all he’d be is a good man.

But it doesn’t end there. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. 

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:8-11 (ESV)

In His death, our sins are forgiven once and for all.

In His life, we, too, are brought back to life and have the opportunity to live truly and fully human as God intended. 

God, who loves you so dearly, sent His Son to die in your place. In the greatest act of love ever seen, Jesus’ death satisfied the justice and mercy of God. The triune God invites you to accept the gift of salvation. It’s more than just a “get to heaven free” card. Because of what Jesus did on the cross when God looks at you, he sees Jesus. He doesn’t see where you’ve fallen short. He sees what His son did for you.

It’s an invitation to live life right now, fully alive. To be selfless instead of selfish. To see justice in this age, not just in the age to come. To see relationships reconciled, to see broken hearts made whole. It doesn’t matter what your past looks like. With Jesus, your future will be immeasurably better. That’s a promise to all people. 

There’s no striving or work needed to attain this, but the fact that God himself did this for us – pushes us to live like Jesus did, selflessly, pursuing all he asks of us in scripture. 

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9 (ESV)

This is the Gospel. This is the Good News. 

Share This Post

Service Time Update

Starting February 4th

ONE SUNDAY GATHERING

Join us this easter

April 2

Palm Sunday

9 & 11:15 AM
ONLINE & ON-LOCATION

April 7

Good friday

9 & 11:15 AM
ONLINE & ON-LOCATION

April 9

Easter Sunday

9 & 11:15 AM
ONLINE & ON-LOCATION

April 2 - APRIL 9

PASSION WEEK
DEVOtional journal

Available in the GKM APP