Being Good News People

Prayer

What Is the Gospel?

Today marks the first Sunday of Lent, and with it, we’re starting a new sermon series which we’re calling Good News People. Another way to say that would be Gospel People. So, what do I mean by that - what the heck are we going to talk about for the next seven Sundays? Today, we’re going to start with that question, what is the gospel, the good news, and what’s the big deal about it? Why is it so important?

So, let’s start with that question, what is the gospel? It’s a very churchy word - I can’t think of any other context in which we use the word “gospel.” I want to answer the question in two ways - first, the definition of word, gospel and then, what is the content of the gospel, what does it consist of (hopefully, that will make more sense as we go along).

I want to start with book of Mark, first chapter, first verse. This is important because Mark was the first gospel written (before Luke, Matthew and John). So, Mark 1:1 (ESV) - The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is an introductory statement, Mark is introducing his book by telling us what he’s writing. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Other translations, such as the NIV, it says, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. Gospel means good news. So Mark has this news he wants to share, it’s good news, something to celebrate, rejoice over, and it’s all about Jesus. That’s what his book is all about (as his Matthew’s and Luke’s and John’s - why we call them the gospels, it’s their version of the good news about Jesus, this message about Jesus that you want to hear, because it’s good.

Now, in the Greek, what we read as gospel, is the word, euangelion, it’s where we get our word evangelism, or evangelical, from. So when someone says they are an evangelical Christian, they’re saying they are a “good news” Christian. That’s actually part of our identity as a denomination, ECO. Our full name is a Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. We’re good news Presbyterians (who covenant together, we order our lives around Jesus).

So this word, gospel, euangelion, has a long history - it was the word used to describe big news. For instance, if an heir, a son, was born to the king, then messengers would go throughout the kingdom announcing the euangelion, the good news of that birth. Or if your nation’s army won a great victory over your enemy, then a messenger would come running back to give the announcement of that triumph.

We see this in numerous times in the Old Testament - one great example from the prophetic writings of Isaiah, 52:7, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

So we see the elements of a gospel announcement here - it’s good news, the messenger is proclaiming peace, salvation, this great news of God acting on behalf of his people, showing himself to be sovereign over their enemies, “Your God reigns!” That’s why the messenger’s feet are beautiful - because whoever the messenger was, they traveled by running over a long distance to deliver this great news (not that his feet are literally beautiful, they’re probably dirty and sweaty and all beat up for running for miles).

So when Mark starts his writing with saying this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, he is saying that he’s going to share some great news about who this person is, about Jesus. You’re going to want to know what he said and what he did. This is news you want to pay attention to.

Now Mark wrote a whole book about the good news of Jesus, as did Matthew, Luke and John, but this morning we’re going to do a very condensed version as to what the gospel is, but over the next six weeks we’ll cover it in more detail. It’s actually part of the beauty of the gospel, on the one hand it’s so simple a child can understand, and on the other hand, it’s so rich and deep that volumes can (and have) been written about it.

So, what is the good news about Jesus? We’re going to turn now to our primary Scripture passage for this morning, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. This is the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth (hence, 1st Corinthians), and he’s addressing some issues in the church - one of which is that they are beginning to believe false things, rather than the good news about Jesus that Paul shared with them.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 - Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

I’m going to come back to the first couple of verses in a few minutes, but for now I want us to focus on verses 3-8, because it’s here that Paul gives us a brief synopsis of the gospel, the good news. This is what Paul is reminding the Corinthians of, and it really is simple:

Christ died for our sins (adds this note, according to the Scriptures, in other words, this was prophesied, the Lord told us this was coming - when Paul says Scriptures here, he is referring to the Hebrew Scriptures, what we know as the Old Testament). So, Christ died for our sins. And he was buried (confirmation that he was indeed dead, he was put to death on the cross).

And then, he was raised from the dead on the third day (again, according to the Scriptures). That’s it. That’s the good news of Jesus. Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and on the third day, he rose again. I told you it was simple. This news, this message, if you trust it to be true, then you will be saved. You will be forgiven of your sins (Why Jesus died, for our sins) and you’ll receive the gift of eternal life (that’s why Jesus rose again, to conquer death).

That’s it. That’s the gospel, it’s that simple. I hope none of this is news to you in that it is new, that rather you’ve heard this over and over again here and elsewhere. That’s part of what it means to be Good News People - we share the good news, we remind each other of it regularly. And if it is news to you, I pray you will receive it, you’ll hear it as good news, news that will change your life. Save you, your sins forgiven because Jesus died for you.

In the rest of those verses Paul talks about how he appeared to Cephas (that’s a reference to Peter, that’s his name in Aramaic), then to the other apostles (the Twelve), and then to 500 more believers all at once. He makes a point of saying that most of them are still alive - he says that because some of the Corinthians were doubting the resurrection from the dead. Paul mentions the 500 plus people as a way of saying - if you don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead, there’s no shortage of people you can talk to who saw him. Who were eyewitnesses. They’ll tell you, it’s real.

He specifically mentions James. James was the half-brother of Jesus. What’s significant about James was that he was initially not a believer, he was a skeptic. He did not believe that his brother, Jesus, was the Messiah. That is, until Jesus, risen from the dead, appeared to him. As you might imagine, that changed his mind, he believed in Jesus and ended up becoming one of the primary leaders in the early church.

So this is it, the core of Christianity, what we believe - Jesus died for our sins and he rose to life again. And through him, through faith in him, we can be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life. So I hope we’re already getting a sense of our second question for the morning - why is this so important? What does it matter?

Simply because this is the good news. Not just good news, the best news ever, it’s great news. I’d go as far as to say it’s the mostest bestest news ever - you can’t get better than that. It’s good news for anyone and everyone. This is the way of salvation. This is the way to life, to full and forever life (or, as we like to say here at PCC, abundant life) for anyone and everyone.

In Young Life, one of the core values was this idea, “It’s a sin to bore a kid with the gospel.” Now by that, we don’t mean that God added another commandment, thou shalt not bore a kid with the good news of Jesus Christ. It was a shorthand way of saying that the gospel is good news, it’s news worthy of celebrating. That ought to be reflected in the way that we share it with each other, and with others.

(Monotone) Yeah, so Jesus, he died. They buried him. But he rose to new life. There’s a lot of news that we share with each other that, at best, is mildly interesting. I can tell you about my recent doctor’s appointment or a story about a driver who irked me on my way home. But this news is huge. It’s news that, when I share it, assumption is that you’re going to rejoice with me. I don’t think I’ve shared this with everyone, but Wendy and I are going to be grandparents! Our oldest, Evan, and his new wife, Rachel, are expecting. That’s fun news. It’s good news, kind of news that people celebrate together (and we’re celebrating - in fact, Evan texted me just the other day because he’s so excited about being a father, he wanted to share it with someone. That’s what you do with good news!)

How much more the good news of Jesus Christ! There literally is no news that we can share that is important, more life-changing, more worthy of our time and effort.

Why it’s so essential that we keep reminding ourselves of it, keep sharing it with one another. One reason is that we’re prone to forget. We’re prone to minimize it. Or trust something else, some other gospel, some other message we think is better.

That’s what’s happening in this letter, why Paul is writing to remind the Corinthians, that’s exactly what he tells them, “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” Why is he reminding them? Because some of them are doubting the reality of the resurrection of the dead. They don’t think it’s possible.

Paul is pulling his hair out here - how could you?! This is the gospel, the good news, and you’re letting it go! This is your salvation. If there is no resurrection from the dead, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith is futile. We’re still trapped in sin. All this is vain. Don’t give up the gospel!

And this isn’t the only early church that was pulling a maneuver like this - it was the church in Galatia as well. We’re going to look at this more next Sunday, when we’ll be in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. But that church was abandoning the Gospel as well, they were reverting to following the law. The belief that if I’m a good enough person, obedient enough, that’s how I’ll be saved.

This should be an alarm bell for us - these are the very first churches, the original believers. And the church in Corinth was falling away from the gospel, doubting the essential truth of the resurrection. And the church in Galatia was falling away from the gospel, thinking that it’s all about their obedience to the law. We ought not be so foolish, so proud, to think that this might not happen to us.

There’s something so radical, so unbelievable, about the good news of Jesus. We saw some of that last week, quoted Paul from 1 Corinthians 1 - Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, they saw it as weak and foolish, they didn’t get it (God of all, creator of heaven and earth willing dying a shameful death for his creation, for those who had rebelled against him - seriously, what God does that!?).

All that to say that we have a hard time receiving the good news as it simply is. Just to embrace that Jesus did this for us, he laid down his life for us, our sins, because he loves us. No other reason. It mattered so much to God that we could be with him that he sent his Son. That he raised him from the dead, defeating death forever. This is incredibly good news. News that should never be boring. News, that as unbelievable as it sounds, we need to hold firm to, take our stand here and never let go. This is our very life.

So it’s essential that we keep evangelizing one another, we keep reminding each other of the good news, keep sharing the story. Because we are prone to forget, to move on to other gospels - it happens all the time in all sorts of ways. I heard someone suggest the reason churches start to die is that they just assume the gospel. Because they assume it, they don’t talk about it any more - and just move on, I guess to things that seem more important, more worth their attention, I don’t know.

But we want to be good news people, people who’s very lives are rooted in the gospel of Jesus. This story is our story. Jesus died for my sins. I am forgiven. I hold the hope of eternal life because Jesus died and rose to new life - and that’s his promise to me. And I claim that promise, I claim that victory. Not because of what I’ve done, but because of what Jesus did for me, for the whole world.

Here’s the last thought on the gospel, and why it’s so vital, so important. The good news is meant for everyone. It’s one of the reasons why we got involved with Young Life Capernaum - the mission of Young Life is that all adolescents would have the chance to hear the good news of Jesus in a way they can relate to - and and that includes youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (that’s focus of Capernaum), because we want everyone to know about Jesus. It’s why I hope all of us are praying regularly for the people that God has placed on our hearts, that they might come to know and experience life in Jesus.

Here’s the thing about the gospel, it must be shared. The very nature of news - if it’s news that matter, and this news matter, this is front-page, all caps, big bold print news - but very nature of news is that it is to be spread. It’s meant to be shared. It’s why the feet of those good news messengers are so beautiful - they were willing to travel great distances to spread the good news.

Notice what Paul says here in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “for what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.” He’s talking about the gospel, it’s of first importance, the most important, nothing else in front, it’s first, head of the line. Someone shared the gospel with him. And he received it. Then he passed it on to the Corinthians - and they received it. Here, as we’ve seen, he’s pleading with them to hold on to it, to keep standing on it. Not only so they can experience salvation, but so they then can pass it on, too.

This is the point, like any good news - but especially THE good news, the gospel, it is meant to be shared, to be passed on in the hopes that others will receive it. Someone cared enough for you to pass it on to you so you would receive it. Now it’s up to us to pass it on to others. This is how the Christian faith has been passed on for generation after generation after generation, for over 2,000 years! The Church dies in those places where the gospel is not held onto, and where it is not shared.

Spiritual Disciplines - how do we put into practice what God is teaching us? Habits to develop, soul-training exercises.

Season of Lent - season set aside to remember and reflect on the gospel - Jesus’ suffering, his death on the cross, his rising to new life. Be intentional about doing exactly that. Read through one of the gospels, a chapter a day). Use one of the Lenten devotionals. Be here every Sunday for worship, for our Maundy Thursday service during Holy Week. We want to hold firmly to what we believe, let the truth of gospel sink deep within us. As you’re reminded of it, thank God. Rejoice in who Jesus is and what he’s done for us.

Another discipline I want to encourage you toward - pray daily, every morning, a prayer of surrender, of willingness - to join with God in whatever he’s doing that day. Be open to what God is doing in the lives of the people you interact with. And as you have opportunity - invite them to worship. Share your faith story. Share the good news of Jesus.