GOD IS the Gospel

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”—Matthew 5:17

GOD IS the Gospel. That’s whom the Gospel is about…GOD. The Gospel is about the opportunity we have to participate, with eternal, soul-satisfying delight, in His cosmos-quaking display of love shown at the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross created a fault-line in time. When He died, there was an earthquake underneath the ocean of humanity, and the world has yet to see the coming tsunami at the end of time for all those who refused to embrace the universe-shaking love of Christ.

The Old Testament, full with the Law and with accounts of how we are to live and act in this world, pointed to Jesus. Jesus came not as a judge, or as a conquering king, but as a servant, a Savior, a triage medic on the battlefield of life, rescuing sinners who are sliding into hell. The entire Bible is about Him, from beginning to end. As Jesus said in John 5:39-40,  

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.”  

The Scriptures are about, have always been about, and will always be about Jesus. The story of the Bible is not about us, but about the God who loved us.

Jesus’ death made salvation available for any and all who come to Him in repentance and faith. There’s room at the cross for every sinner, great and small; room for every single race, tribe, tongue, creed, and color. When we accept or reject His message, there are consequences of a magnitude that we cannot fully understand. Christ’s message was one of love, but also of judgment. To embrace His message of love means to understand that we are broken and in need of His refreshing, live-giving grace. To have Christ as Lord and Savior means to live your life in the shadow of His wings, protected by His care, sheltered in His compassion, and soaring through the Spirit that He has given us as we continually submit to His lordship over our lives. But to reject His message of sacrificial love is to say that it meant nothing, that God’s love means nothing and that the cross meant nothing. It is to say that God either doesn’t exist or doesn’t care. But He does live, and He does care. He cares so much that He sent His Son to suffer on our behalf—what great, majestic, and wondrous love!

God loves us so much that we cannot truly comprehend it. That’s why the old hymn writer wrote,

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;

Or again,

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Let’s stop for a moment, set aside our preoccupation with the details of our lives, and contemplate the “good news”–the gospel–that is God Himself. Let’s thank Him sincerely for taking the step toward reconciliation with us that we were incapable of taking on our own, making it possible for us to be with Him forever. Let’s come to Him with the genuine affection of a beloved child, content just to be in His presence. He loves us with an eternal love. And THAT is Good News. Amen.