The Gospel
Several years ago, Tammy was feeling under the weather, so I took her to the doctor. The doctor looked Tam over, looked at the two of us, and said, “She has cancer. We’re gonna run a couple tests, but it’s obviously cancer. Come back next week, and I’ll have the tests results and we’ll make a plan.”
That week was horrible. I barely ate; honestly, I don’t think I did much more than cry that week. Tam and I went to the doctor the following week to hear the verdict. The doctor walked into the room, she smiled, and said, “It’s not cancer. We’re home free.” Was that ever some good news!
Have you ever received good news? Maybe when that sweet girl said that she would become your wife. Maybe when you found out you were going to be a mother. Maybe when you landed your dream job. Maybe when your child got a scholarship or was admitted into the college of his choice or found the man of her dreams.
However, there is no better news than the gospel: “The gospel is good news.”
Body
The Greek word gospel has two parts. The prefix means “good” or “well,” and the main part of the word means “to proclaim” or “to tell.” The word literally means a good proclamation; in other words, good news.
What makes the gospel good news?
The Gospel is Good News because of the Lord of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news because the gospel contains the truth about Jesus the Christ. At Pentecost, Peter finished his sermon by declaring, “Let all the house of Israel . . . know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). Proclaiming the gospel means proclaiming Jesus: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28). The gospel is about Jesus of Nazareth.
The Gospel is Good News because of the Lover of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news because the gospel demonstrates God love. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). The gospel exists because God loves.
The Gospel is Good News because of the Loved of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news because the people whom God loves are important. People are important, for they bear God’s image: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Gen 1:27). God made every race of man: God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). People are important, for everyone shall spend eternity somewhere: The wicked “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt 25:46). People matter.
The Gospel is Good News because of the Liberation of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news, for the gospel brings salvation. An angel appeared to Joseph and said, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). The very name Jesus means “Yahweh saves.” “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 7:10). The gospel liberates you from sin!
The Gospel is Good News because of the Legitimacy of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news, for it is legitimate—the events of the gospel historically transpired. “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor 15:3-5). “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal” (2 Tim 2:8-9).
The gospel is not myth; it’s truth. Peter said, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:16). The gospel is legitimate.
The Gospel is Good News because of the Loudness of the Gospel.
The gospel is good news, for Christians loudly proclaim the gospel. Jesus told the apostles: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Lk 24:46-47). The early church left Jerusalem following Stephen’s martyrdom, and “those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). The gospel is good news and deserves the loudest proclamation!
Application
“The gospel is good news.” So, what do you need to do? Jesus summed it up: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). You need to repent of any sin in your life—leave the sin behind and live righteously. And you need to believe the gospel—to accept the facts of the gospel as true and live in obedience to the faith.
Do you need to repent and believe the gospel this morning?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.