Exploring the Good News
When you hear the words gospel or good news, what comes to mind? How would you explain these words to a five-year-old? How about a thirty-five-year-old? What about an eighty-five-year-old? What if someone comes from a background different than yours? Would your explanation be varied based on the age of the person or their life experience?
I think, sometimes, when we talk about the good news we say something like - Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we could spend eternity in heaven with him. This isn’t really the whole story and I think it is worth unpacking what our autopilot response is to these words because Scripture is rich when it comes to this topic, and personally I want to do better.
I’m reading Romans right now. I think I’ll probably be camped here for the rest of the year. Romans is dense and covers much ground. Yet, I find myself not able to move beyond the first 7 verses. I’ve read them over and over the past few weeks. I invite you to join me in thinking about these verses this week.
Romans 1:1-7 (The Bible for Everyone)
Paul, a slave of King Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the sacred writings - the good news about his son, who was descended from David’s seed in terms of flesh, and who was marked out powerfully as God’s son in terms of the spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead: Jesus, the king, our Lord! Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the believing obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name. That includes you, too, who are called by Jesus the king. This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people. Grace and peace to you from God our father, and King Jesus, the Lord.”
Paul’s introduction about who he is is jam-packed. He declares himself a servant of Jesus - Jesus is who he answers to and is working for in all things. He lets us know he’s called as an apostle, or one who is being sent out to share the good news. And he lets us know he is set apart for the good news belonging to God.
He then gives us much to think about concerning this good news. He lets us know this gospel message was promised long ago and recorded through the prophets in the sacred texts. This good news is about God’s son, Jesus the Messiah. He shares how Jesus was fully man descended from the genealogy of David, and also fully God as seen in the resurrection.
Then Paul says that through Jesus we have all been given grace and apostleship. This grace is a deep sense of gratitude, a freeness, a sense of belonging, and great favor. There is a joy that comes with this grace. A knowing you are part of a larger story and an understanding of God’s love for you on a personal level. In knowing these things we have all been given a commission to go and be ambassadors for King Jesus. This idea of apostleship is that we all are being sent into the world around us to bring about believing obedience to all people.
That phrase “believing obedience” has really grabbed a hold of me as I’ve been meditating on these verses. In other translations, it often says “obedience of faith”. As I thought about what these words mean I was reminded of the story in Matthew 8, where Jesus is asleep on the boat as a storm rages around them. His disciples woke him up because they were afraid, but Jesus wasn’t afraid. He spoke to the wind and the sea and the storm ceased. The wind and the sea listen to him because they understand who he is - they know his power and authority, and they obey.
At times I wonder - do I really understand the depth of who Jesus is and the magnitude of power that I walk in every day because I belong to him? Do I have the same faith as the wind and the sea - knowing that Jesus is King of all things and that I can trust him fully? I want believing obedience in every part of my life.
Some things to think about this week -
When you read Romans 1:1-7 what do you notice in regards to the gospel?
Do any of these words challenge or change your standard view of the gospel?
What Old Testament passages come to mind when you think about the words of the prophets pointing ahead to the good news?
When you think of “believing obedience” do you notice any resonance or resistance around the phrase?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. We’ll be exploring it more in weeks to come.
~ Melissa