At the bottom, the gospel is not good advice, but good news.
Second Corinthians, A.C. Armstrong and Son, 1903, p. 213.
The hope of the gospel can help you put the right interpretation on your past and make it a good thing for you. This is what will help you get past your past.
Bad Memories: Getting Past Your Past, P&R Publishing, 2004. Used by Permission.
The Gospel contemplates every descendant of Adam as a fallen, polluted, hell-deserving and helpless sinner. The grace which the Gospel publishes is his only hope. All stand before God convicted as transgressors of His holy law, as guilty and condemned criminals, who are not merely awaiting sentence, but the execution of sentence already passed upon them (John 3:18; Rom. 3:19). To complain against the partiality of grace is suicidal. If the sinner insists upon bare justice, then the Lake of Fire must be his eternal portion. His only hope lies in bowing to the sentence which Divine justice has passed upon him, owning the absolute righteousness of it, casting himself on the mercy of God, and stretching forth empty hands to avail himself of the grace of God now made known to him in the Gospel.
The Attributes of God, Baker Book House, p. 70.
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The Gospel is “Good News,” but we can’t get to the good news until we talk about the bad news because apart from the bad news we will see no need for the good news. Awareness of our sinfulness is the motivation to seek the cure of forgiveness found only in Christ.
Sermon, What is the Gospel According to Proverbs? Proverbs 20:9, September 24, 2017.
The Gospel makes us realize that we are far worse than we ever believed, but God’s love is far greater than we ever imagined. In the Gospel we realize the depths of our sin so we might better understand the greatness of God’s forgiveness. We see God’s holy hatred toward sin, but His incredible mercy in Christ toward the sinner. If God is God, he must inherently oppose that which opposes Him. Unless evil is dealt with, there can be no good news. The bad news is inherently part of the good news!
Sermon, Luke 3:15-20, February 25, 2018.
I have a friend who was sent to plant a church in a hostile city, in a neighborhood dominated by sexual perversion. While making the rounds, introducing himself to pastors already serving in the city one pastor warned him that so many others had sought to minister to that demographic, but, the pastor reasoned, they just weren’t reachable. My friend, though he had served in the special forces, and could well be Chuck Norris’s younger brother, broke down in tears. He explained to the pastor, “If the gospel has no power to save them, it has no power to save me.”
Do you believe there are people who are incapable of repenting? December 12, 2013, Used by Permission.
