The Gospel is Good News for You!

Gospel means good news. What is good news? Do we need to be reminded of the good news from time to time? How can good news shape our lives?

Seth Doyle

The Realities of Human Life

Everyone has sinned

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8

At its root, sin is an attitude of me first. It shows in what we say and how we talk. With that attitude, our actions are more concerned with self than anything else.

If we insist we haven’t sinned, we are calling God a liar

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:10

There is no such thing as personal righteousness. We are born in sin and we cannot escape that reality by any self-effort.

If we insist we are following Jesus while we live in darkness we lie

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 1 John 1:6

The fruit of our lives reflects the light of our path. Darkness yields only self-centered fruit.

The Good News of Jesus

Jesus is real

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – 1 John 1:1-2

The eternal son of God existed from before the beginning and forever, yet, he set aside his deity to become a man.

The goal of the proclamation of good news is to facilitate fellowship

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3

There is no better news than the reality that God desires fellowship with us. When that fellowship is growing, we find unique and encouraging fellowship between believers.

Proclamation of the gospel brings joy

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:4

Have you ever had really good news that you couldn’t share? It was a surprise and you had to hold it in until the appropriate time. What happened when you could finally share it? This is the experience that is expressed here. There is a powerful joy in sharing this good news!

There is also a profound joy for those who finally hear that good news. This good news brings life.

God is light

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

The light of God reveals the truth and banishes darkness. This light therefore also exposes sin but brings life. This light is the very nature of God.

Walking in the light leads to fellowship with God

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

This is good news: We are called to the light. We can continue in the light – ‘walking’ means ‘living.’ Continuing in the light allows us to enjoy communication with God. We communicate by word, by experience and by his presence with us.

Confession of sin changes us

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Simple confession of sin to God yields forgiveness. It also yields comprehensive cleansing. Notice that it says ‘all unrighteousness’ not some or partial. This total cleansing will totally change us.

The gospel makes it possible to not sin

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2

This is an oft repeated theme in the New Testament particularly. Sin is not inevitable – note the ‘if;’ it’s not ‘when,’ which would imply that sin will happen but ‘if’, that is, it could but doesn’t have to happen.

If sin happens, Jesus is our advocate

If we miss the mark, if we sin, he intercedes for us. Jesus is on our side because he has walked in our shoes and he died for our sins!

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins

That means he has satisfied the wrath of God – against sin. He has appeased divine justice and paid the ransom for our sins. His work is reconciling God and man – drawing us back into relationship with each other.

How Good News Shapes our Lives

It makes a relationship with God possible. The good news removes the barrier of sin and restores us to right standing before God.

God desires a relationship with us. While that relationship was destroyed by sin, it has been facilitated by the work of Jesus on the cross.

The gospel makes a life free from sin possible. The bonds of sin can be broken. We can live without guilt and the burden of scrutiny and judgment. We can truly experience true peace.

The good news also makes revelation possible. Living in the light means the truth is revealed to us. It allows us to see God’s will for us and our world. That revelation changes the way we perceive the world. It also changes the way we think, talk and act.

Your Turn

You can experience all these things when you:
Accept the work of Jesus
Confess your sin
Continue in the light of his leadership through consistent prayer, Bible reading, fellowship and worship.