Good News!

Imagine this: A friendly-looking stranger approaches you and says, “I have some really good news,” while handing you a neat little, nicely wrapped package. “Inside is the remedy!” says the stranger. What would be your first question? “Remedy for what?” of course. The person replies, “Well, let’s not talk about that! That’s depressing! People don’t want to dwell on negative things; we’ll just emphasize that inside that little box is the remedy. Now, aren’t you excited to know there’s a remedy?”

Offering a remedy without defining a sickness of some kind is like “finding” something that is not lost. Telling someone you have some really good news means little unless there might be some really “bad news” against which to contrast it. So, how do we point people toward the good news of Christ’s remedy without constantly railing about hell?

Interestingly, the bad news isn’t all about that fiery place of eternal punishment. That’s terrible news, no mistake about it. But many don’t consider the part of the bad news that gets them to that place. One horrific part of the bad news to consider is our guilt as we stand before a holy God. We all have that! It can often be much easier to communicate the bad news as a function of our moral guilt before a holy God than as the eternal abode of the condemned.

Christian apologist and author Greg Koukl shares an incident he experienced at a book signing. He got to use this technique of sharing the “bad news first” without completely turning someone off to the Gospel before even getting started. Greg writes:

While giving a talk at a local Barnes & Noble, someone asked why it was necessary for him to believe in Jesus. He was Jewish, believed in God, and was living a moral life. Those were the important things, it seemed—how you lived, not what you believed.

To him, our message depicted a narrow-minded God pitching people into Hell because of an arcane detail of Christian theology. How should I answer?

Here’s how I responded to my Jewish questioner. I asked him two simple questions.

“Do you think people who commit moral crimes ought to be punished?”

He thought for a moment. “Well, since I’m a prosecuting attorney…yes.”

“So do I,” I agreed.

“Second question: Have you ever committed any moral crimes?”

There was a slight pause. This was getting personal. “Yes, I guess I have,” he admitted.

“So have I,” I confessed, agreeing with him again.

“So now we have this difficult situation, don’t we? We both believe those who commit moral crimes ought to be punished, and we both believe we’ve committed moral crimes. Do you know what I call that? I call that bad news.”

Many more readily understand—and are more willing to sit still for—an explanation of their culpability concerning moral crimes against God. It’s hard to deny, we’ve all blown it morally, and there is a price to be paid! So, even if they don’t want to talk about hell, they can’t deny the bad news of their guilt.

Good news! Christ paid the price. Now the question becomes one of receiving the payment. When you receive the payment, that’s good news! You are completely forgiven. Not only that, you become a child of God with all the rights and privileges. Your life’s story is on a new trajectory. You have a unique tale to tell. Your rescue account is meant to be shared and intended to direct others to the forgiveness found only in Christ.          

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

─2 Corinthians 5:20-21