When Bad News is Good

 

Communicating the message of Christ is more then just listing off some Bible passages and saying “God loves you!” Really so many Christians think telling someone “God loves you” is a way of evangelizing the world. They think that “love” is enough and that “love will always win.” Yet their expression of “love” is empty, meaningless and shallow.

It’s like we think we are in some kind of game and we need to play nice. We don’t want to offend anyone least they won’t pick us to be on their team. We have deluded ourselves with an idea that we are still on the playground on recess. Although the signs of something much greater are all around, we think people are too fragile to handle the truth. We close our eyes and ears to the indicators around us that eternity is on the line.

In particular I believe the American church has been lulled to a sleepy apathy due to the prevalence of earthly pleasures. We feel so self-sufficient and our need for God seems so distant. Instead of fighting a spiritual battle daily, we Google search for our answers and PayPal to some humanitarian group to appease our guilt. We would rather talk about the latest movie, the weather or some Miley Cyrus rumor then broach the topic of the scandalous grace of Jesus Christ.

The Bad News (Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12)

If I have thoroughly ticked you off so far, then good. If I haven’t, keep reading. Have you ever been to your doctor, or a financial adviser who said, “I’ve got good news and bad news, what would you like to hear first?” Which would you choose? I for one always go with the bad news first so I can walk out with the good news. However, the fear is that the bad news is so bad that even the good news isn’t good.

At first blush, the bad news I’m about to say is that bad. It’s really bad. So bad that there isn’t anything you or I can do about it. We can’t escape it. It’s tied into the human condition; no it is the human condition. In one word, it is depravity. The bad news is that you and I are sinners. We like to pretend we are on some playground and avoid reality because we are all in the same sinking boat. Sin is the reality that we fall short of the holiness of God. Depravity means that we are so sinful that we cannot do anything about our sin. It’s like trying to clean yourself with muddy hands, your just not going to get clean.

The bad news is we are broken and we can’t fix ourselves. When we go to communicate the message of God, we have to remind ourselves, and those we are sharing with, that we are broken because of sin. We need a Hero, a Savior to put us together again. We cannot do it on our own.

Pushing Blame (Romans 1:20)

You may disagree with me that you are broken, or you are coming up with excuses for the sin that you have done. “If you grew up in my house with my situation you would do the same things!” “It’s my dad’s fault!” “My friends made me do it!” And the list goes on. We like to blame others for our sinfulness. James tells us that we sin because our hearts are sinful. We all blame others, but none of us are blameless. Part of the bad news is that, even when you push blame, the Bible says that “no one is without excuse!” We will all give an account one day to the One who knows and no excuses will work.

The Good News (Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Now is where it gets fun. Nobody likes to talk about the bad news. The Good News is that there is a Hero who has come to save the day. There is One who can fix our brokenness and forgive our sins. His name is Jesus Christ. And yes, Jesus loves you!

Earlier I mentioned that we think saying, “God loves you” is enough. It is a truthful statement, but 90% of the Word Religions will agree with that statement. It’s not enough to just say that, but it is a start. What the world needs to hear begins with what they already know: they are broken. And then what they don’t know: Jesus came to die for them.

We are sinners because we all disobeyed in Adam. We have hope because of the obedience of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:19). Jesus lived a perfect life and made the ultimate sacrifice for you and me. His resurrection shows that His sacrifice was accepted. If and when you trust Jesus as your Savior, God gives you His righteousness.

It’s like you have a really dirty shirt on and you only have dirty water to clean it in. Jesus comes and takes your dirty shirt and puts His own perfectly clean shirt on you. In reality, He comes and takes your sinfulness away and puts on His righteousness.

Go and Tell (Matthew 28:18-20)

Sometimes bad news is the way to make the good news seem all the better. It’s like going to the doctor to find out you are sick and there is a medicine that will cure it. Don’t settle for playing nice, tell the truth in love. Show people their need for a Savior and that Jesus is that Savior. “The only way to save the world is to tell the Story, the Gospel is that Story!”