Gospel Means Good News?

The Bad News of Sin and Human Depravity

The word gospel means good news, so in order for news to be good, we have to know the bad news first, and here it is. You have sinned. All sin is open rebellion against God, and the penalty is death. All of us were at one point dead in our sins, living in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, using the gifts that God gave us for His glory, and we blasphemed Him and glorified ourselves instead.

You were by nature the object of God's wrath, and God, being good, righteous, and holy, cannot spare wrath. Worse yet, there's nothing you can do to save yourself. No deed with your dead hands will ever be good enough, and that's bad news.

Mercy, Substitution, and Resurrection in the Gospel

So now that you know the bad, here's the good news. God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, didn't leave us dead in our sins. He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to die in our place, and God crushed Him.

All of the wrath that was due us was poured out on Christ instead. Then God raised Him from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the same power that brought Christ back to life is actively at work in all those who believe in Him.

Believing the Gospel and Eternal Life in Christ

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. Whoever believes is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he's not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God through His death and resurrection. Salvation is for those who believe in Him when we understand the text.