The Good News

What is the Good News?  The central message of the Bible is the gospel, which means good news. It is the good news about Jesus Christ.To summarize:

• The man Jesus is also God.

• He died in our place, paying the penalty for our offenses against God.

• Three days later He rose back to life, defeating sin and death and giving salvation to all who will trust in Him alone for eternal life.

The great reformer Martin Luther rightly said that, as sinners, we try to get a relationship with God in one of two ways.

The first is religion/spirituality and the second is the gospel. The two are completely at odds with one another.

Religion says that if we obey God He will love us.

• The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people.

• The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person.

• The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control.

• The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God Himself as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do.

• The gospel is about what I get to do.

Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God.

• The gospel sees hardship in life as purifying suffering that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus.

Religion is about me.

• The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my relationship with God because I never know if I have done enough to please Him.

• The gospel leads to a certainty about my relationship with God because of what Jesus achieved when he died for me.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fail to keep God’s commands).

• The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.*

*adapted from Mars Hill church website.