What Makes The Gospel Good News?

What is it that Christians believe? And how does it differ from other religions? Simply put, Christianity is not a religion.

Why? It is the only faith that offers redemption to the whole man. It is not a momentary relief, or a simple peace of mind, but it is a full-on transformation of the inner man. Man is made a NEW creature.

When Jesus was on Earth, His message was, “repent, for the kingdom of God is here”. Could they actually see the kingdom, or could they see God? No. They had to accept what He said by faith. However, Jesus demonstrated through miracles that His claims were true. Jesus could do what no other man had ever done.

Christians believe that they have changed citizenship, they now are citizens of another kingdom. They have passed from this present world, to the kingdom of God. And it has happened through one sacrifice that paid the price for all of mankind’s sin. Through the death of Jesus, a man without sin, the son of God, righteous and pure, mankind was offered redemption from the penalty and the condemnation that the sinful nature of mankind sentenced him/her to.

This redemption allows for all men and women to return to a personal relationship with their Creator, God. That’s the Good News that Jesus brought on the Earth. It’s the liberating good news that man is no longer a slave to his sin nature, but reunited to their Father, in a child-father relationship.

The Christian believer must believe in incredible things: that Jesus was born of a virgin who was impregnated by the Spirit of God, that His blood was pure and without guile, that He was crucified and then rose from the dead. All that takes faith to believe… a lot of faith.

Christians must believe that Jesus is alive now and that He lives in and through the life of all believers. They must believe that He’s given all believers His Spirit so they could live eternally as He does, and that through that Holy Spirit, He gives the believer the authority to do all that He did, and more. That’s why Christianity is not a religion, but an empowered life. 

Most religions require good works, penance, constant culpabiliy and  confession of sins in order to deserve redemption, along with ongoing offerings, self denial and self-torture, veneration and adoration of sacred things and/or saints, along with the recitation of prayers, all sorts of good works to merit eventual salvation.

But Christianity stands alone because God engineered a new agreement between man and God; a New Testament so that from hereon, the only requirement is believing and receiving that one sacrifice from His son, Jesus. –That one sacrifice would not only blot out all previous and future transgressions but also empower the life of any man/woman by the seed of God’s Word received in receptive and a fertile heart.

If I were a professional marketer, this would be the very best of all deals to offer anyone. This would be the “American Dream” on steroids. This is the best guarantee ever given to any man. Guaranteed eternal security, safety and protection, ongoing health care, and peace of mind, along with deliverance from all woes. And it’s all FREE. I couldn’t ever think of a better offer. The good news is the best news ever. 

Christianity not only brings a new identity to the believer, but dignity to all human beings. Why? Because God created you to be like Him. And to have His life inside of you. He wants to eradicate the slavery that was imposed on mankind by the devil and make you His child, as was originally intended at Creation.

The full inheritance of sonship was made available with only one requirement: faith in the redemption that His son paid for. Christianity makes you royalty and makes it possible for you to walk with God and to become fully empowered as an heir to bring the kingdom of God on Earth.

Christianity offers the greatest freedom ever offered to man. It eliminates worry and fear. How? Because having become a child of God, you’re guaranteed the ongoing love of God. It eliminates depression and condemnation; it eliminates financial stress and servitude. Why? Because He’s promised to provide all your needs. It eliminates anger, envy and bitterness and all negative emotions, because He has made you a new man and He gives you His Word to renew your mind with the incorruptible seed of God. Pure and truth-filled.

Plus, Christianity frees you from all the ills of society such as selfishness, lust, greed, lethargy, pride, etc. Why? Because your identity is now in God. You’re no longer at the mercy of the evils of the world. Even the best of the world’s politics can only change man from the outside in, and still, it doesn’t work. But God changes man from the inside out, and makes him a new man, filled with integrity and righteousness.

That’s the good news of Christianity and that’s why it’s not a religion. It’s a NEW LIFE.