Why Is It Good News?

Paul declared to the Athenians:


"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist , as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
- Acts 17:24-31 (NASB)

What a beautiful presentation of the gospel! For ages past the word "gospel" has been portrayed as meaning "good news," and I agree with this definition. My problem lies in the way in which we have offered this "good news" to the lost. For so long we have sought to make the "good news" more desirable by adding to the message of the "gospel." We have attempted remove the wrath of God, that abides upon every unbeliever (Romans 2:1-11), from the "good news" and replaced it with the question of "don't you want to go to heaven, or don't you want to be happy or have joy and peace?" Where is the "good news" when there is no bad news. How can a person rejoice and embrace the "good news" if they had no idea that there was something bad awaiting them? The "good news" would not be good at all but merely strange or silly talk. Look at Paul's message: First, it begins by establishing who God is - the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of all things, the Sovereign over all things and Supreme God over all things. Secondly, Paul admonishes the Athenians to repent, but he does not stop there. He goes on to explain why - they must repent because God will judge all people everywhere according to righteousness through Jesus Christ. Then Paul finishes by establishing who Christ is and what took place. How dare Paul tell them that God is going to judge them. Would not that make them turn away from the "good news?" The fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us so that we could go to heaven would not be "good news" if we did not understand that the wrath of God was storing up against us because of our sin. That is key to the "gospel." It is not "good news" to a person that does not know that there is a problem. The problem is their sin, which is first and foremost against God. Once this is presented, which can be done through the presentation of the Law of God (Ten Commandments - Gal. 3:24) then the "gospel" of Christ's life, death and resurrection for our salvation to remove the wrath of God from us, will be such glorious news that they will cling to it as the most precious treasure (Matt. 13:44-46). That is the biblical way to present the "good news" and the only true way. Search the Word, see how Christ did it, and begin loving others enough that you deliver to them the true "gospel" of salvation.