The Good News?

“How can we make being saved good news again for people in our community?”

Keri and I have been attending a church down the street from us here in Carbondale, and this was a question posed by the pastor to the congregation at the end of last Sunday’s sermon.  My first reaction was simply, “When did the gospel CEASE being good news for people in our community?” Not wanting to just simply dismiss the question as flawed, I want to take the chance to see if I can communicate WHY the gospel is good news, no matter where you live.

First off, what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.  That’s the gospel. You can never outgrow your need for it, and we will be strengthened by God through the gospel every day till we die.  Which brings me to Romans 1:16:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The gospel is the only truth in the world which will triumph over every obstacle and bring you to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God.  It is the only truth that will not let you down when you give your life to it in faith. It will bring you all the way through temptation and persecution and death and judgment into eternal safety and ever-increasing joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God. The gospel will save you. And it alone.

Another question that comes to mind is what is ULTIMATE good in the good news? Is it justification by faith? Is it forgiveness of sins? Is it the removal of the wrath of God? Is it redemption from guilt and liberation from slavery to sin? Is it salvation from hell? Is it entrance into heaven? Is it eternal life? Is it deliverance from all pain and sickness and conflict? All of these are good, and paid for by the blood of Christ for everyone who believes in him. But they are not the ultimate good of the gospel.  It is possible to believe in all these things, and to want them and expect them, and still never have tasted what makes all the good things in the good news good. So what is the ultimate good that makes every part of the gospel good news?  The glory of Christ seen and savored in the work of redemption is the good news. 2 Corinthians 4:4 and 6 says:

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is not just historical events—Christ died and was buried and rose. The gospel is good news, and we do not see the decisive good in the good news if we do not see in the events the glory of Christ who is the image of God.  This is the ultimate good that makes all the other good things promised in the gospel good.  In other words, 2 Corinthians 4:4 and 6 tell us what the ultimate good of the good news is: the glory of God in the face of Christ, that is, the glory of Christ who is the image of God. This is a real glory, a real spiritual light that shines through the gospel from Christ in his saving work.  I pray that the good news of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross will become a common understanding of the gospel in Carbondale, Colorado, because this good news alone will save.