Why is the Gospel “Good News”?

Without the Gospel, we are held captive by sin and death

The Gospel (from the Greek evangelion, meaning “good news”) is, in short, the message of salvation: that God desires all men to be saved and that this has been made possible through his Son, Jesus Christ. Before the coming of Jesus, who died and rose for the salvation of mankind, the darkness of sin shrouded the earth. The prophet Isaiah said to the people of the Old Testament: “It is your crimes that separate you from your God; it is your sins that make him hide his face so that he will not hear you.” And in the New Testament, St. Paul quotes Isaiah: “The way of peace they have not known” (Romans 3:17; Isaiah 59:8).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings the good news that these bonds of sin and death have been broken for us: “And even when you were dead (in) transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Col. 2:13).

The “good news” of the Gospel is unique because it is a message that not only enlightens minds but carries the possibility of transformation for every person. Benedict XVI writes:

So now we can say: Christianity was not only “good news” – the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative.” That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known – it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life” (Spe Salvi, 2).

Every Christian has the duty, given by Jesus himself, of bringing this new life of the Gospel to those who do not know it in order to spread the Kingdom of God.