Introduction
If you have been a Christ follower for some time, the ‘Gospel’ is a word you have probably heard many times before. As a result of this, it is easy for us to feel that it is ‘old news’ and there are more important things for us to focus on. We couldn’t be more wrong.
The Gospel is divine truth, an incredible declaration of God’s sovereign grace and mercy. It is also profoundly simple: God came to earth in Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life, suffered and died on the cross, and triumphantly rose again so that we may be saved.
This message, while beautifully straightforward, often meets a heart of resistance. In our fallen state, accepting the Gospel fully requires a radical transformation of our inner being – a transformation that only the Holy Spirit can work within us. For many, in our world of ‘I did my way!’ it is difficult to accept that we need the help of someone or something in life.
Yet, even as believers, we are prone to forgetfulness. The magnificent truths of the Gospel can, in moments of weakness and distraction, slip from the forefront of our minds. We get caught up in the trivial and transient nature of everyday life, losing sight of the eternal and immeasurable riches we have in Christ.
But, when we anchor our lives firmly in the Gospel, embracing its truths not just intellectually but with all of our hearts, it wields great power! It becomes the wellspring of our joy, the strength in our suffering, and the guide in our darkness. To live by the Gospel is to live a life of ceaseless worship, a life that magnifies the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ in every thought, word, and deed. It is simple, yet profound; easy to forget, yet immeasurably powerful to live out when held close and cherished.
First, Bad News
Finding positive news has become increasingly challenging in today’s world. Scroll across news stations and websites and the vast majority of reporting appears to be negative. Our screens are consistently inundated with stories of turmoil, tragedy, and tension, portraying a world seemingly approaching a state of chaos and disarray.
News outlets often predominantly feature bad news for several reasons. Negative stories tend to be more attention-grabbing and captivating, which can boost viewership, readership, and advertising revenue for media organizations leading to sensationalism. Additionally, human psychology plays a role, as individuals are naturally inclined to focus on potential threats and dangers, making bad news more engaging.
The competitive media landscape, driven by ratings, website traffic, and social media engagement, incentivizes news outlets to prioritize stories with shock value. Bad news often revolves around pressing issues that demand immediate attention and dissemination. Ultimately, news organizations respond to what their audiences are interested in consuming, and contribute significantly to fuelling the perpetual cycle of anxiety and negativity in the world around us.
For example, here are three prominent global news stories in the world as of January 2024.
Sudan war ‘a living nightmare for children’: UNICEF Representative: War in Sudan is putting the future of its 24 million youngest citizens at risk, the Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country has warned. Nearly 10 months have passed since clashes erupted between the Sudanese Army and a rival group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving 14 million children in desperate need of lifesaving assistance.
Source: UN News. (2024, January 25). Sudan war ‘a living nightmare for children’: UNICEF Representative. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145882
Haiti’s Escalating Crisis: In Haiti, gang violence has surged, with more than 8,400 people falling victim to killings, injuries, and kidnappings last year. This represents a 122% increase over 2022. The UN Special Representative for Haiti has described the situation as reaching a “critical point,” with violence spreading to other areas beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Source: United Nations. (2024, January 25). Haiti crises have reached ‘a critical point’: UN envoy. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145897
US Execution by Asphyxiation with Nitrogen Gas: Alabama has carried out its first execution by asphyxiation with nitrogen gas. Convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who had previously survived an attempted execution by lethal injection, was executed on January 26, 2024.
Source: Al Jazeera. (2024, January 26). Alabama carries out first US execution by asphyxiation with nitrogen gas. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/26/alabama-carries-out-first-us-execution-by-asphyxiation-with-nitrogen-gas
This prevailing sense of disorder and brokenness in our world is a condition the Bible attributes to sin entering the world through the fall of Adam and Eve. As a result of their sin, all of humanity inherited a sinful nature, or a tendency to sin. Suffering, conflict, and moral struggles on a personal and global scale, are at their core consequences of humanity’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.
Sin has fractured the harmony of God’s creation, leading to the brokenness that we are still witnessing today. Every one of us, as part of God’s creation, was affected by Adam’s sin; there are no exceptions. We don’t teach ourselves to do wrong, it is inbuilt in us, from birth. Ask any parent of a toddler, and they will tell you they don’t have to teach them to disobey mum and dad!
Romans 5:12 teaches us “12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—”
Isaiah 53:6 – We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The Gospel – The Good news!
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. – John 3:16-17
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” – Tim Keller
Originally, God created a perfect world. Adam and Eve, the first people He created, chose to listen to and obey Satan and made a decision to move away from the perfect life they had with God. That was the first sin, which can be summed up as any transgression, disobedience, or wrongdoing against God. It brought about the decay of spirit, body and world for all of us. It fractured the relationship between a perfect holy sinless God and a now sinful people. It meant we could no longer experience sustained eternal life. We would decay on earth and experience eternal separation due to the sin in our spirits.
But because God loved us, He sent His son Jesus to pay the price for our sin. God came. He reached down. He died in our place, for all our sin. He took in from us and placed it on himself. So that we would not have to eternally perish, but have everlasting life with Him. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the declaration of God’s ultimate love for humanity, manifested in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God and the depth of our sin, highlighting the desperate need for redemption. Through faith in Christ alone, we are justified, declared righteous before God, and granted eternal life as a free gift of His grace. This message isn’t just about escaping hell; it’s about embracing the eternal joy of knowing and treasuring God above all else. The Gospel calls us to a life of obedience, worship, and the pursuit of God’s glory in all things. It is a call to embrace the unsurpassed satisfaction found in Jesus Christ, the greatest treasure of all.
The good news of the gospel should be prominently displayed on the homepage of every news station, featured on every social media platform, and included in every school bulletin across the globe, every single day! It should be readily available around the clock and distributed on every street corner. It is not just Good News, it is the best news you could ever hear!
Resources:
Desiring God, The Gospel. Available at: https://www.desiringgod.org/topics/the-gospel (Accessed: 26/01/2024).
Lewis, C.S. (1952). Mere Christianity. HarperOne: United Kingdom. ISBN 978-00-61350-21-4.
Chandler, M. and Wilson, J.C. (2012). The Explicit Gospel. Crossway. ISBN 978-1433530036.
