All through the New Testament there is reference to the Gospel. The core meaning of the word is “good news”. But it seems to me that in our day, what is proclaimed as the Gospel doesn’t seem to be particularly good news, even to Christians. And the problem is not the Gospel! Most people who claim one version of the Christian faith or another don’t seem to be particularly excited about what is billed in the Bible as good news. Most non-Christians don’t seem to think there is any problem that the good news would solve.
Good news is only received as good news when there is actual remedy for a real problem or struggle, and then only when a person realizes that there is a problem. If you go to the doctor for an annual checkup and, after checking you over thoroughly, he says that you are in good physical shape, you may be happy about that, but it probably is not a life-changing event. On the other hand, suppose you had some pretty severe headaches and a friend of yours said that his brother had the same type of headache and died six months later of a brain tumor. This scenario would probably set you on a course to find out what’s going on. If the doctor tells you that your headaches are from too much caffeine and if you stop drinking so much coffee, you’ll be fine. Your relief and joy in this situation will be much greater because your problem had a solution.
What the Bible gives us is life-changing good news. Paul tells us that the Gospel is God’s power for salvation. And what we all know we really want and need is salvation. So my plan for this series is to explain what the Bible says our problem or need is. It is not a pretty picture. But I think we really know that. And then we’ll look at God’s solution, which is really, really good news.
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