The Gospel

I am grateful for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps you have heard that word before but never really thought about what it means. What is the gospel? It is simply God’s good news to mankind. Jesus came and preached the gospel. The Bible says in Matthew 4:23, "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” You might feel a long way from God. Perhaps you have made some decision that you regret. You have said some things you wished you would not have said. You have engaged in behavior that has compromised your family and witness for the Lord. Or perhaps, you simply feel like an outsider and have never really come to know the Lord Jesus so you can be reconciled to God. In any case, God has good news for you. The message of the Bible is like a letter of God’s good news delivered directly to you. No matter where you are in life, how hopeless your situation might seem, or how hard your heart might be to the things of God, I want you to know that God sees, knows and cares. God has good news for you. I would be remiss to simply tell you that God has good news for you, yet fail to deliver the news. Friend, God loves you. Yes, you who have never darkened the doors of a church. Yes, even you who have sat in church for years and your heart has become calloused and hard. Yes, you who are more interested in your own life than anything God would have for you. The God who created the universe loves you and demonstrated this incredible love by sending Jesus, His son, to rescue you from your own sin and self destruction. If you are living life without a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, it might seem like that is the right thing to do. It might even feel like it is alright to live life this way. However, the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” It is within the heart of man to determine his own way and rely on his own moral compass. Yet, for the one who creates his own way, it will end in death and destruction in hell. The good news is that there is a way that leads to life and that way is Jesus Christ, sent by God to deliver us from our selfish pursuits and egocentric living, and bring us into life abundantly and eternally. This, my friend, is God’s good news. You can be forgiven, saved from eternal destruction in hell, enjoy eternity in heaven in the presence of the One who died for you, and live each day in peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. May God Bless you with a great week as you reflect on how special and personal God’s good news is to you.