You need good news

In a sad world, full of bad news, it is not bad to want good news. The message of the Bible, in fact, has good and bad news. But in the end, the bad does not compare with the wonderful news that God has for us! 

I like to stay on top of the news. Much. I follow them on the internet, on the radio, on television and in magazines. And you won't be surprised to know that most of them are bad. Many are depressing and appalling; others, definitely terrifying.

A magazine I read regularly is The Week , where great stories are covered in a concise and clear way, and there's even a section called "It wasn't all that bad ..." with three short good news that are refreshing and encouraging. 

This section takes up a quarter of a page ... in a 40-page magazine.

Good news, for a change

I'm not suggesting that we should ignore what's going on in the world and dive into as many nice cat stories and videos as we can. While God wants our focus to be positive (Philippians 4: 8), Jesus Christ also demonstrated that we must be aware of world events when He said, "Watch therefore, always praying" (Luke 21:36).

The context of these words was the prophecy of the Mount of Olives, where Christ described the terrible prophetic events that will culminate in his second coming to save humanity from self-destruction (Matthew 24: 3, 21-22, 30). In other words, this wave of bad news will be a sign of something good: "When you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:31). 

The Bible gives us a preview of the good news of tomorrow: Jesus Christ will come to prevent us from destroying ourselves! And then it will establish a wonderful Kingdom of peace and prosperity on Earth. The Bible gives us a preview of the good news of tomorrow: Jesus Christ will come to prevent us from destroying ourselves! And then it will establish a wonderful Kingdom of peace and prosperity on Earth.

That is good news, isn't it?

The gospel: the good news of Jesus

The word gospel comes from the Greek term euangelion . "This Greek word was originally used to describe the 'good news' of a military victory that commanders sent through a messenger. Then it went on to denote a 'good message' in general ”(NKJV Study Bible , Study of Words, p. 1680).   

Jesus Christ came to preach a message of good news: “He came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying: The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel ”(Mark 1: 14-15).

What is the gospel?

The Bible generally describes this message as "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14). The Kingdom of God is a very important theme throughout the Bible, and it is the answer to all the problems and evils that permeate current governments.

God's government will be one of service and love (Matthew 20: 25-28) that will bring peace, prosperity, and good health to the entire world. All of humanity will have the opportunity to experience a purposeful and productive physical life, and also the opportunity to prepare for an eternal life of joy and glory.

The Kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price. Its value is greater than that of anything we may have (Matthew 13: 45-46).

Pedro, Santiago and Juan had a vision of that wonderful future, and their emotion was such that it kept them motivated for the rest of their lives.

The good news of the Kingdom of God

Try to visualize these descriptions of how glorious and peaceful the world will be when Christ rules on Earth:

“… There were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdoms of the world have become our Lord and his Christ; and he will reign for ever and ever ”(Revelation 11:15).

"It will come to pass in the last days that the mount of the house of the Eternal will be established as the head of the mountains, and higher than the hills, and the peoples will run to it. Many nations will come and say, Come, and let us go up to the Mount of the Eternal, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us in his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and out of Jerusalem the word of the Eternal. And he will judge among many peoples, and he will correct powerful nations far and wide; and they will hammer their swords for hoes, and their spears for sickles; Nation will not lift sword against nation, nor will they rehearse for war. And each one will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to intimidate them; for the mouth of the Eternal of hosts has spoken it ”(Micah 4: 1-4).

“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be opened. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing; for waters will be dug in the wilderness, and streams in solitude ”(Isaiah 35: 5-6).

All of this may seem too good to be true. But our Creator assures us that it will happen. And, after a thousand years of physical peace, an eternity of spiritual joy will come.

So God encourages us to seek his Kingdom despite all our current problems. And Jesus Christ tells us: "Do not fear, little flock, because your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

The gospel of Jesus and a different gospel

The gospel of the Kingdom is certainly wonderful news. However, Paul warns us about the existence of “a different gospel. Not that there is another, but there are some who disturb you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ ”(Galatians 1: 6-7).

There are many human ideas about the good news of the Kingdom, but the true gospel is a biblical message that encompasses the entire plan of God.

As we saw, Christ called it "the gospel of the Kingdom of God", referring to the government of justice and peace that He himself will establish when he returns to Earth.

Jesus Christ has a vital role in God's plan. He will be the King of his Kingdom when he comes the second time and, at his first coming, he was the Messenger of that Kingdom, in addition to the Savior who gave his life so that we could be forgiven by the grace of God and have access to life eternal as children of God in his Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is also the message that Paul preached. Acts says that he preached about the Kingdom on his first missionary journey (14:22), and continued to do the same at the end of the book. Even when he was under house arrest in Rome, the apostle met with those who came to see him and continued "preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, openly and without hindrance" (Acts 28:31).

Unbiblical Gospels

There are many different unbiblical Gospels , such as the idea that we can justify ourselves, just as the Galatians tried to do. Only the death of Christ can pay for our past sins and, therefore, no human being can justify himself.  

Another "different gospel" says that we do not need to be resurrected because we already have an immortal soul and we will go directly to heaven or hell to die.

Another says that there will be no Millennium of peace on Earth.

In contrast to all these different gospels and gospel distortions, the true gospel of the Kingdom really is good news — the best news in history.

If you are being called to understand the good news of the Kingdom of God — if God is inviting you to be part of that Kingdom — He expects you to respond. The message of God's good news is the only hope that our world has. Jesus Christ came the first time to save us from sin and the pain it brings, and he will return with power to save humanity from self-destruction.

The wonderful eternity that He is preparing for us is beyond our imagination (1 Corinthians 2: 9), but we can try to imagine it!

Repent, because the Kingdom of God is near

But this good news requires an answer.

If you are being called to understand the good news of the Kingdom of God — if God is inviting you to be part of that Kingdom — He expects you to respond.

"Repent, and believe in the gospel," he tells us in Mark 1:15.