What is the Gospel?

: : SO… WHAT IS THE GOSPEL… : :

In short, the word Gospel means “good news”. 

The story of Jesus is good news to you because Jesus is for you. He is not just a great teacher, important historical figure, or mystical prophet. Those may be true, but he is more than that.

Jesus came to bring the good news that you and I can have a restored relationship with God! He came to show us what God was really like and how we can know him.

The story of Jesus is good news to the world (and all the universe, really) that God has not given up on his creation. Sure the world seems to be broken and the universe seems to be slowly falling into a state of chaos, but God is still in love with what (and who) he created. 

Jesus is the beginning of the restoration. The broken world will be put back together and made perfect again. He even invites us to be part of the restoration!

The story of Jesus is good news to all people because he paves a path for us to have a good relationship with God again…and a good relationship with each other, too. Jesus leads all people, like a king leading a march, towards God’s will for us and his will for the world around us. 

Jesus uses his life as an example for us to follow and when we choose to do things the way he would do them, we find we are more satisfied in ourselves and each other. He pays a price that is far higher than any of us could afford and we, in return, get the gift of a clean slate with God. Jesus teaches us the secret to healing relationships with our enemies and with those that hurt us. 

: : IS THERE “BAD NEWS”? : :

When discussing the gospel, there are no hidden strings attached or fine print. Jesus tried to speak very plainly and clearly so that we understand his “good news”. 

He didn’t do the “used-car salesman trick” of adding a piece of bad news onto the end that we didn’t see coming. But, in order for us to call it “good news” there must be something it is responding to…that something might be called the “bad news”.

The bad news is that the world is devastatingly broken and broken things hurt. Relationships with each other are impossible to navigate. We are constantly dissatisfied in ourselves and in each other. People are so very good at hurting each other we forget that it was meant to be better than this. 

The bible calls the source of that brokenness “sin” and says that sin has damaged everything we know. It has brought death into our world, it destroys relationships amongst each other, and it has damaged our relationship with God. 

Jesus’ good news is the answer to the bad news we see around all of us. The good news saves us from the bad news. 

So, how can I be saved?