Why is the gospel good news to me? We know that the gospel proves that God loves me because He sent His only begotten Son to die for my sins (John 3:16). We know that Jesus was raised on the third day, overcoming death (1 Cor. 15:3-4). This provides me with eternal life with Jesus. In addition to redemption, the gospel also bring adoption. I am now a Son of God and have an intimate relationship with Him (Rom. 8:15-17). Knowing the gospel and that I am saved, I can have peace in knowing how everything will turn out in the long run.

Because of me being saved by God’s grace, because of my belief in the gospel, I have the Holy Spirit indwelling within me (1 Cor. 6:19). Vanderstelt explains, “He died to forgive me of my sins and change my identity from sinner to saint, from failure to faithful, and from bad to good and even righteous and holy.”[1] Because of the Holy Spirit, I am able to spiritually mature and grow towards Christlikeness, which is sanctification (2 Cor. 3:18). Vanderstelt states, “Sanctification is just a big word for becoming more and more like Jesus through faith in Jesus. You become like what you believe in. So becoming like Jesus requires believing in him more and more in every part of your life.”[2] This is because I am a new creation in Christ as the old me is gone (2 Cor. 5:17).

The gospel is good news because I have been set free from sin because of God’s power, not my own. I can now be led to a life of righteousness and holiness by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:18-12). The Holy Spirit that dwells within me enables me to fulfill the law of love and removes me from being under the law (Gal. 5:16-18, 22-23). Because of Christ’s redemptive work, I am justified freely by God’s grace (Rom. 3:23-24).

The gospel is good news because I now know what the end has in store for me and it is good! I have eternal life with Jesus and a new body will be made and sent to Him at the second coming of Jesus (1 Thes. 4:16-17, 1 Cor. 15:52-53). This knowledge provides me with “Holy Optimism” which is Christian Joy with hope. It is a celebration knowing that God will have ultimate victory over the devil. It is also knowing that I have eternal life with God after this physical life (Rom. 8:37-39, 1 Pet. 1:3-4). When I am living within the sphere of Love and I add Christian Joy, I have God’s peace knowing that I am eternally His through my Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). As I go deeper into this course and life, I am sure that I will continue to add “layers” to why the gospel is good news to me.

Bibliography

Vanderstelt, Jeff. Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.

[1] Jeff Vanderstelt, Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 20.

[2] Ibid., 21-22.