The gospel is the best news in the universe. It is news that lifts the soul higher than we ever dreamed possible.
Have you had your soul lifted by the good news of Jesus today? Have you been flabbergasted by the fact that God loves you, even though He knows you better than you know you?
Have you been floored by the reality that though you are a sinner, God has adopted you into His family? Have you been shocked by the fact that the God of the universe has held nothing back from you in Christ?
If we take the time to consider – to really dwell – on the reality of the Gospel, then our souls will be lifted.
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The Worst News in the World...
Think, for a minute, about the most basic message of Christianity as it applies to humanity. Think about it and you’ll remember that it is, at its core, the most insulting of messages. Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian, said it like this: “All other religions spare us the ultimate humiliation of being stripped naked and being declared bankrupt before God.”
That’s pretty strong language. But perhaps not as strong as the language Paul the apostle used to describe the state of humanity:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. -Ephesians 2:1-3
Though it might be hard to admit, we were helpless. Hopeless. We had dark hearts and evil desires. We were spiritually dead, incapable of helping or changing ourselves and that is, in a real sense, humiliating.
No one likes to admit they need help; no one likes to feel out of control or unable to affect their situation. But this humiliating truth is fundamental to Christianity, and one of the things that makes Christianity unique.
No other world religion treats humanity with such pessimism. In all other schools of religious thought, we have something to bring to the table. We can strive toward God and meet Him and in a sense, be congratulated when we do.
Not Christianity.
In Christianity, we bring nothing to the table. In fact, the only thing we bring to the salvation equation is the sin we need to be rescued from. Part of the reason the gospel, at times, ceases to lift our souls is because we have bypassed that truth. We don’t like to consider this bad news.
That’s because the one character flaw that has, and will continue, to most keep people from Christ is not greed. It’s not lust. It’s not lying or stealing or killing.
The main thing that will keep us from Jesus is pride.
…Leads to the Best News in the World
There is no room for pride at the foot of the cross.
It’s that same pride that makes us forget our moral bankruptcy. It subtly creeps in, over years and years of belief, and like a snake in the grass whispers in our ear, “You really weren’t that bad, were you? You never killed anyone did you?”
You begin to play that out, and suddenly you find yourself distorting the Gospel because it makes you feel better about yourself.
We are the people of the measuring stick. We want to constantly know how we’re doing. We want to foster that sense of achievement whether we are exercising, at work, or with God.
That’s also why we are people of comparison – it’s because we love to have the ability to look at others around us and say, “I’m messed up, but at least I’m not as bad as him. Or her.”
But the Gospel would remind you that you are. You are as bad as him or her. And so am I. Acknowledging that is a prerequisite to coming to the cross.
It’s only when we know this to be true that we can, again, find our souls lifted by the Gospel message. Because the Gospel is really the best news in the world once we also acknowledge the worst news in the world.
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