IS there any good news?

As you look around the world, there's not much good news at all. Every time you turn on the TV, every time you pick up a newspaper, there are wars raging all over the place, economic pressure, environmental problems, health problems, subjects that just lead us to feel down and depressed and discouraged all the time. There just seems to be nothing but bad news out there.

So I Googled, is there any good news today? It told me there’s a device that harvests clean drinking water from the air, polio is nearly eradicated, a baby capybara was born in Edinburgh Zoo, and Indian cricketer MS Dhoni kept wicket for the first time in a year following an injury. That last story had 400 million hits in the first hour. That's what the world describes as good news.

But the bad news always seems to outweigh the good. The Bible, however, talks a lot about good news. The word it uses is “gospel”, which appears 93 times in the New Testament alone.

The gospel is the good news of God's redemption of sinful humanity through the life, death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ.

American theologian John Piper puts it this way: “The gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all His enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy”.

To understand the good news, we must start with the bad news. God gave us His law, His perfect measuring stick.

When you and I are placed against it, the Bible says we all fall short. We've all sinned, and the punishment of sin is death; separation from God Himself. Romans 3:23 says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. And Romans 6:23 says: “The wages of sin is death”.

But God doesn't just stand against us in judgment - God also stands over us in love. And that's where the good news comes from.

The good news always begins with God taking the initiative. Romans 5:8 says: “God demonstrated His own love for us while we were yet sinners. Christ came to die for us”. And John 19:28 reads: “Knowing that everything had been finished”. Christ did it all.

So what does God require of me? Not my best efforts, which are as filthy rags. “Through Jesus Christ the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,” Paul says in Acts 13:38.

Through Him everyone who believes is set free. All He requires is that we believe and repent, wholeheartedly trusting him, turning from our old life and following Him.

The world is in desperate need of some good news. Imagine knowing your past can be cleansed, that you can have peace with God, eternal life, His Holy Spirit living within you.

That's the gospel. And this good news is for you.

Stephen Cousley

Minister

St Thomas Baptist Church, Exeter