- What is the Gospel – the Good News?

1. What is the Gospel – the Good News?

Though this is a most basic question, yet all would agree that it is a vital question. It is no small thing to be preaching a false gospel, no matter how sincere one may be. No one is immuned from the great evil of preaching another gospel. There are those who would pervert the gospel of Christ. Apostle Paul warned in a most solemn manner, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” Gal 1:8-9.

What is the gospel of Christ? Various answers have been given to this one question. Nearly all the answers betray a deficient and inconsistent, and therefore an unbiblical understanding of what constitutes the gospel as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Such understandings of the gospel are based chiefly on worldly ideas. In essence, such understanding of the gospel is, ‘if you do something, then something wonderful will happen to you.’ These ideas of the gospel are patterned after the ‘good news’ of the mega-sale advertisements put out by the shopping centers, e.g., “Good news, good news! If you spend $888 or above in a single receipt, then you will receive a free gift of $777 in cash!!!” This is very good news indeed, but it is the ‘good news’ of the world; it is an offer of something wonderful conditioned upon the co-operation or the response/works of man in order that the offer may become true for him! Many counterfeit gospels are the same, but they are lies clothed in Christian terms! They are much like worldly ‘sale offers’ clothed in Christian terminology!

That is why the gospel is commonly but erroneously defined as: “The gospel is therefore good news to sinners, that is, if – if – if – if the sinner turns from his sins and trusts in Christ alone for salvation, then – then – then – then he will be saved… i.e., saved from eternal damnation, from eternal hell!” This is the ‘gospel’ espoused and defended by Peter Kek on behalf of the seven churches that issued the letter.

If that is ‘good news,’ then it is the worst lie there is. Why? Because no sinner, who is by nature condemned, spiritually dead, and a child of wrath will ever turn from his sins and trust in Christ alone for salvation. A sinner who is dead in sin by nature wants to wallow in his sins. In the mega-sale advertisement mentioned above, no one will come… because no one has life or ability to hear the ‘good news’! Whatever has happened to the biblical doctrines of the total depravity and the total inability of man? The world in spiritual blindness and bondage may be ignorant of this sober truth, but have Christians of the ‘standard reformed position’ forgotten them also? Have we forgotten that “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” 1Cor 2:14? Spiritually dead men cannot hear or receive the things of the Spirit of God! The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be! It is only those who have been saved by the grace of God, i.e. effectually called to life that will believe the gospel.

The counterfeit gospels are ‘if… then…’ The biblical gospel is ‘because… therefore…’ The counterfeits offer, “If a sinner will do this, then God will do something wonderful for him.” The pure gospel declares, “Because God has done, therefore this wonderful thing happens. Because God has secured and applied the salvation, therefore those who have eternal life believe when they hear the good news.”

The apostle Paul tells us what the gospel is in these passages:
1Cor 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” God through Jesus Christ performed all the actions in the gospel, and our believing and keeping the message or good news of the resurrection in memory (15:2) saves us from the hopeless despair of the world (15:19).

Romans 1:17 “The just shall live by faith.” ‘The just’ are those whom God has already justified. The justified ones are called to live by faith in Christ because they have been regenerated with eternal life and adopted as God’s children. The just do not become alive by faith. This is the gospel… because of what God has done by His grace, turning condemned dead children of wrath into justified living children of God; because of what God has done, therefore there are justified ones who believe. And these justified ones shall live by faith – beginning at conversion and then throughout life. That is the good news… whoever believes has eternal life already birthed in them – all by pure and sovereign grace, without man’s co-operation or response. Because God has acted, therefore His elect people are made alive and shall live by faith.

If the Scripture declares that ‘the just shall live by faith,’ then a man contradicts God and is a false witness if he teaches ‘”If you exercise faith, then God will justify you.” If the Scripture declares, that ‘God justifies the ungodly’ then a man contradicts God and is a false witness, if he teaches that ‘God justifies those who have faith’ – i.e., ‘if you exercise faith, then God will justify you.’ Faith believes what has happened; it is not in order to make something to happen! That’s preaching a false gospel.

Romans 5:6-10 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

The good news is news of what has happened when we were still without strength and ungodly, while we were still sinners and under God’s just wrath, and when we were enemies! Saving faith believes what HAS HAPPENED – what God’s grace has done for me through His Son Jesus Christ! That’s the gospel. It is not making something to happen. The evening news does not tell us what will happen if we do something, it reports what has occurred; the good news, the gospel reports what God has done.

2Cor 5:19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Our blessed God did the reconciling by Himself through Jesus Christ on the cross. The preacher’s role is to bring the word of reconciliation, making known the good news of the completed reconciliation, both legally at the cross, and vitally applied at effectual call. It is only those whom God has reconciled to Himself by His gracious act of effectual call (reconciliation applied) that will believe in the gospel and experience the reconciliation personally.

The gospel says: ‘because God has acted … therefore wonderful things happen,’ e.g., God justifies the ungodly; therefore the justified ones shall live by faith. The false gospels lie: ‘if sinner acts…then wonderful things will happen,’ e.g., ‘if you believe, then God will justify you’ or ‘if you believe, then your name will be written in the Book of life.’ The names of the elect were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world” (Rev 17:8), not when they believe!

2Tim 1:10 “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”: Jesus Christ abolished death and secured life and immortality for all of the elect given to Him by God the Father, and the gospel only brings these to light.

The gospel is the good news of what has ALREADY happened, not something that will happen with human co-operation! The gospel is the news of what the Triune God has done to save His elect people. The gospel is the good news of God having elected for Himself a people out of the fallen condemned race of Adam and given them to Christ; it is news of the eternal Logos/Word of God having become flesh in order to save His people by His perfect obedience and sinless life, and the sacrificial death for His people, thus perfectly securing their eternal salvation; it is news of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in birthing eternal life in Christ’s redeemed people… that whoever hears the gospel and believes possesses eternal life, not in order to have eternal life. That is the good news… whoever believes has eternal life already birthed in them!

The gospel is the good news of God’s love for His elect… of God having done everything necessary to give them eternal life… so that they may believe and repent at the gospel call. Yes, God so loved that He sent His Son, Who did everything necessary to secure eternal life for those who deserve eternal damnation… The Father justified them at effectual calling… The Holy Spirit birthed in them this eternal life by His immediate sovereign work. The Father adopts and gives them gifts. This eternal life evidences or manifests itself through faith in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ in the ministry of the word. We know that God so loved because He gave eternal life to His elect at effectual call, and as a result there are believers in Christ Jesus. Whoever believes has or possesses eternal life.

Good news is news of what has happened, what Christ has done for His people, not something that will happen if a sinner meets a condition. What has not happened and cannot possibly happen can hardly be considered news, much less good news!!! The biblical gospel is news of what has happened, what the Triune God has done for His chosen people; the Father elected, Christ purchased the redemption, the Father by His Word and Spirit effectually called and justified, regenerated and adopted condemned dead children of wrath. The biblical gospel is news of accomplished realities, not some future potentialities conditioned on human response. Saving faith believes them all.

Eph 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The good news is the gospel of our salvation – it is because we have been eternally saved at effectual calling that we are enabled to answer the gospel call to faith, i.e. to hear the word of truth and to trust in Christ. Believing, we experience the blessedness of being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.