Is it really good news?

The gospel is good news, but not all the news is good. This past Sunday our New Testament reading was from Acts 17 (16-34) which includes this portion:

18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

According to verse 18, he preached Jesus and the resurrection in the synagogue and in the market place. We are not told what he said but based on his other sermons in the book of Acts I think it is safe to say that (at the least) it was: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who died on the cross, and was raised from the dead. Then in 22-31 we have his sermon on Mars Hill. So where is the part that's not good?

He had to have told them that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. That is not good news. Crucifixion was a horrible death. His message begins thus, "Christ has come and they killed him. Jesus is the Christ and he was crucified." It actually sounds like the gospel ends before it begins. But God takes this terrible beginning and turns it into good news:

+ Jesus died for us, for our sins, that he might deliver us from sin. Now that is good news!

+ Jesus was raised from the dead. He is the living One! He now offers us forgiveness and life. That is also good news!

From his sermon we glean two other not so pleasant parts of the Gospel.

First he makes it clear, God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Repentance is something that many contemporary preachers ignore. Why? Because it's negative, it sounds like I'm telling you you're doing something wrong and you need to change. Well, that's exactly what it means. Repent means to change your mind, change the way you think. And in this sermon Paul tells the Athenians their ideas of God are wrong.

The city was wholly given to idolatry and he declares, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven [sculpted] by art and man's device. He explains that God is the creator, sustainer, provider; He doesn’t need us, we need Him. Everywhere the Gentiles were idolaters, so he very clearly proclaims, God commands all men everywhere to repent. That is, change the way you think about God; turn away from your idols to the true and living God.

John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus, Peter, and Paul preached it as well. It is as necessary today as it was back then. And even though it sounds negative (no one appreciates being told they are wrong), repentance has positive results. It is linked to forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 5:31), life, (Acts 11:18), and salvation (2 Cor 7.10). And that is good news!

Second, Paul mentions something else that is largely overlooked by modern preachers, God hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. In fact, this is why we are urged to repent - judgement is coming and we are not ready for that Day. This is most definitely not a happy thought. Surely this can’t be good news. Ah, but this is why Jesus came and died on the cross, that he might save us from and prepare us for this Day. By his death on the cross we can be forgiven our sins, we can be justified or declared righteous before God. His resurrection is living proof of this. And that is good news!

The gospel is good news, even though not all of it sounds good. It is the good news of salvation, of forgiveness, of justification, of restoration to God, of life – all through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You can be saved if you will repent and believe in Jesus. That is good news!

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.