Being the Good News: Showing God’s Love to Others

Sep 26, 20244 min read

You have probably heard the Gospel referred to as “The Good News” and you have likely heard the expression of “Sharing the Good News.” This is because the Greek word for gospel (“euangelion”) means good news. It was typically used to proclaim a good military outcome, and we can see why the Gospel writers chose it since Jesus came to defeat sin and death.

A couple of months ago, a young Baptist man sent me an online question asking why some Christians in his life were giving him grief about preaching on the street. I had never heard him preach, and I did not know the motives of the people telling him to stop. I explained the Bible tells us only to preach to receptive people. After that, I reminded him of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

I also explained that when most people saw Jesus coming, they thought it was good news.

Jesus was good news, and He gave good news.

Matthew 4:23-25 (ESV) And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

So, I challenged him and asked, “after people have heard you or seen you, would most say it was good news to see you coming again?”

What about you?

After you have interacted with someone, how would they characterize the experience? Would they say they felt an overflow of love? Would they think their day was brighter? At the very least, would they say it was pleasant?

To be clear, I am not just talking about the people at your church, your friends, families, neighbors, or people you interact with because of your church, ministry, or charity work. I am talking about the cashiers, the wait staff, telemarketers, and the customer service agents handling a mistake that happened to you. More than that, I am talking about the people who hurt you, hurt someone you love, the people that embrace their sin, the people who have done something reprehensible, and the people who fully reject God.

What about the people you interact with digitally?

It is a common thing to hear people talk about receiving nasty comments from people and then looking at their profile to see them talking about church or posting Bible verses. It is a lie that how we act online should differ from we act in person. Everything we say reflects our heart condition. You may have heard the expression, "If I can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all." As a disciple of Christ, we should modify it this way:

“If I can’t say something loving and uplifting, I should say nothing and spend more time in prayer and repentance. “

Love is sacrificially caring for the needs of other people. Jesus showed His love for us by being a willing sacrifice. We are responsible for His torture and death and yet He welcomes us with no reservations or boundaries. We are commanded to love Matthew 22:36-40 and if we don’t get love right, nothing else matters 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

It requires the Holy Spirit to love people the way Jesus commands us to love them. However, the Holy Spirit will not override any bitterness and anger you have for someone (Ephesians 4:17-32). The Holy Spirit takes the good intentions that He finds in you and amplifies it. You must be walking in the Spirit for this to happen (Galatians 5:14-25).

Here is your challenge: Everywhere you go and whenever you communicate with someone online, try to make at least one person feel the love of God coming through you.

Be someone’s good news today!

All Scripture quoted is in the ESV translation unless otherwise specified.

Don't take my word for it. Look through these Scriptures to see what was used or considered in the writing of "Being the Good News: Showing God's Love to Others" by RD Montgomery

Proverbs 3:3-4

Proverbs 10:12

Proverbs 12:18

Proverbs 17:9

Proverbs 27:17

Matthew 4:23-25

Matthew 5:21-22

Matthew 5:27-28

Matthew 5:43-48

Matthew 7:1-6

Matthew 8:1-17

Matthew 22:36-40