The Good News Behind the Good News

I’m teaching through Romans these days, and I’ve had this whole concept of “the gospel” poured into my head in terms I hadn’t considered before. We know it is God’s gracious gift of His Son, who died in our place so we could be justified by faith apart from works. But I’m seeing other things here. “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Have you ever thought of the gospel as the power of God? “In it the righteousness of God is revealed” (Rom 1:17). Have you considered how God’s righteousness is displayed in the gospel? Or how “the wrath of God” (Rom 1:18) is part of that righteousness revealed?

I realized in this study that sin, as Paul describes it here, is not primarily about doing bad things. The “bad things” are simply the result of the original “sin problem.” In this context, sin is our failure—no, our refusal—to honor God or give thanks (Rom 1:21). The cascade of sins that follows is the consequence of that refusal. Sin is a relational violation of the Most High. Jesus made that clear (Matt 22:37–40; John 14:15). Our refusal to love God as we ought results in our failure to obey.

And then it occurred to me: What is the gospel? Yes, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). A wonderful, one line expression of the gospel. But look deeper.

Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). He wrote, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…” and includes “by grace you have been saved” in that (Eph 2:4–5). We even find that “the Lamb” was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). That is, God’s original plan was to send His Son to die for us on the basis of His love for us.

So what is the gospel—the ultimate good news? It is God’s amazing love. We rightly sing about His amazing grace, but His love is astounding: unwavering, never failing, faithful love. Steadfast love. Love given to those who do not return it (Rom 5:10; Rom 8:7). Great love (Eph 2:4). A love that exceeds our capacity to know (Eph 3:19). The gospel begins with God’s love shown over against our refusal to love Him, and it floods us with His grace and mercy where we deserve only righteous wrath. Now that is amazingly good news.