• "[The GOOD NEWS is] not too good to be true. It's too good not to be."

    Michael Card

  • "The [GOOD NEWS] is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."

    Tim Keller

  • "The [GOOD NEWS] is open to all; the most respectable sinner has no more claim on it than the worst."

    Martyn Lloyd-Jones

  • "By the light of nature we see God as a God above us, by the light of the law we see Him as a God against us, but by the light of the [GOOD NEWS] we see Him as Emmanuel, God with us."

    Matthew Henry

  • "The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales."

    John Stott

  • "The [GOOD NEWS] is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches."

    Charles Hodge

  • "The [GOOD NEWS] to me is simply irresistible."

    Blaise Pascal

What’s the real good news
that Jesus has to offer?

If you haven’t really bought into the whole Christianity thing to this point, I get it. Especially if your basis for deciding whether or not the Christian faith is legit or worthwhile has been — well, Christians…

As a Christian, I’ll be the first to admit that we, by and large, haven’t lived up to the name.

But the good news (well, part of it) is that the real good news Jesus has to offer has little to do with those of us who call ourselves Christians, and everything to do with who Jesus is and what He’s done for us!

The human problem we all face

You don’t have to live too long or look too far to find evidence that people aren’t very good. Sure, we might do “good” things sometimes — some people more than others. But at a heart level, every single one of us has a bent toward behaving in ways that are unloving, selfish, vengeful, immoral, or just downright mean. It wasn’t always this way, though…

In the beginning, when God first created people, we were good by His design (Genesis 1:26-27, 31). But instead of trusting that God knew what was best for us (Genesis 2:15-17), we decided that we would rather judge for ourselves what was good and what was bad (Genesis 3:1-7).

We disobeyed (or sinned against) God, despite His warning that our sin would lead to our deaths (Genesis 2:17) — death, both in an immediate spiritual sense, and in an eventual physical sense. And now, all people — including you and me — are born into this world spiritually dead, slaves to sin (Romans 3:23), and physically dying from the moment life’s first breath fills our lungs.

There’s nothing that we can do to save ourselves from this sinful, dead-and-dying state. No amount of good deeds can bring a dead person back to life. That’s the bad news.

But here’s the real good news…

God’s perfect solution

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins... But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with [Jesus] even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” - Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 (NIV)

Though we are powerless to save ourselves, God, in His great love for the people He created — including you and me — made a way for us to be saved (John 3:16)!

God the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world (1 John 4:14) to live a human life of perfect obedience and goodness (Philippians 2:6-11). Despite being the only human to ever live a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15) — the only human deserving of eternal life — Jesus chose to take the punishment for our sins upon Himself by dying on a cross (Romans 6:23; Romans 5:7-8).

Now this wouldn’t matter one bit if Jesus had stayed dead. A dead savior has no real power over death, and cannot offer anyone eternal life.

That’s why it’s real good news for us that Jesus rose again and is alive today (Matthew 28:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4)!

“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the [spiritually] dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.” - Jesus

Through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus conquered death, sin, and the grave! He made a way for sinners like you and me to be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7) and set free (Galatians 5:1) — free to live a full and eternal life with Him (John 10:10)!

If we put our faith in the saving work of Jesus, we receive the gift of His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14); and it is through surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives that we are made able to live our lives the way God intended for people to live (Galatians 5:16, 22-23).

But the choice is still ours…

What will you choose?

You and I cannot earn salvation by our own merit. Salvation is a gift of God, available by His grace, received through faith and faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We’re all sinners (Romans 3:23); but in His great love for us, God offers forgiveness of sins to anyone who admits that they are sinner in need of a savior (1 John 1:9), who puts their faith in the saving work of Jesus for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:2-4), and who acknowledges Jesus as the Lord (or master) of their life (Romans 10:9-11)!

This is the real good news that Jesus is offering you, today. He’s calling out to you, just as He did his earliest followers, “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 4:19, 9:9, 16:24).

Christianity starts with salvation, but the journey with Jesus is a lifelong journey — one that goes on forever.

“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)

Jesus is calling you to a real good life with Him. Are you ready to follow Jesus?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” - Jesus