The Goodness of the Gospel The goodness of the gospel is what makes persecution, not only bearable, but something worth embracing. Many of us American Christians have lost sight of the goodness of the gospel. We hear stories of Christians being persecuted and we think that something has gone horribly wrong with our “good news” message. But what makes the Gospel good is its’ ability to confront evil and, naturally, evil is going to fight back. Nevertheless, some Christians find themselves compelled to deliberately go to the most hostile areas in the world with the good news of the Gospel. “Mauricio” and “Dena” are a Christian couple who believe that they are called to minister in a part of the Columbian jungle that is saturated with guerilla warfare, even while they raise a family, because they believe the gospel to be the only solution to the conflict. In a recent newsletter from The Voice of the Martyrs, a story is shared about some Christian workers who got caught while trying to smuggle Bibles into a country that forbade them: “They (the Christians) prayed as security officials opened their suitcases, pulled out some Bibles and directed them to an interrogation room. As they were being questioned, they saw the security director reading one of the Bibles in his office across the hall. Occasionally, he wiped away tears. An hour later, he walked into the interrogation room. ‘Allow them to take all the New Testaments,’ he ordered. Then, turning to the Christians, he said, ‘I apologize for keeping you. How much the sayings of Christ affected me. You should not just bring these books in suitcase by suitcase, but ship by ship.”
(VOM Newsletter July 2016) Keep in mind that these are the words of the interrogation officer, the person officially appointed by his government to keep the gospel out of his country. This man was our sworn enemy! But the goodness of the Gospel transformed him. What if fear or apathy kept these Christians from completing their God-given task of proclaiming the gospel to “all the nations”? The goodness of the gospel would have never reached this man, or the others who would hear because of these Bibles. The goodness of the gospel transforms enemies into allies! When was the last time we were brought to tears by the words of Christ? When was the last time that love motivated us to break the rules for the sake of the gospel? When was the last time we were compelled to tell the whole world about this gospel? Have we forgotten its’ goodness? Richard Wurmbrand, who spent almost fourteen years in Communist prisons, argued that the greatest means of halting communism, or Islamic radicalism, or any other “–ism”, was by sharing the gospel. Bombs cannot bring evil to a halt, but the gospel can. We constantly take for granted the peace and goodness that the Gospel of Jesus has brought into the world. It’s stabilizing power and compassion holds our world together. The best news that anyone can ever hear is that Jesus is Lord and He is good. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17 (NKJV)