Simply Good News: Why The Gospel Is News And What Makes It Good

Biblically the Christian faith is presented as good news. That is the original meaning of the Old English word gospel. I am arguing that the idea of seeing the Christian faith as news that is good is itself, ironically, news to many people today. In many churches the good news has subtly changed into good advice: Here’s how to live, they say. Here’s how to pray. Here are techniques for helping you become a better Christian, a better person, a better wife or husband. And, in particular, heres how to make sure you’re on the right track for what happens after death. Take this advice, say this prayer, and youll be saved. You wont go to hell; you’ll go to heaven. Here’s how to do it.

This is advice, not news.

The whole point of advice is to get you to do something in order to get a desired result. Now there’s nothing wrong with good advice. We all need it. But it isn’t the same thing as news. News is an announcement that something significant has happened. And good news is what Jesus and his first followers were all about.

-from Simply Good News