What's so good about the gospel?

That day when Peter showed up in Caesarea at the request of Cornelius was extremely important in that it marked the opening of God’s work in history to the gentile world. You will remember that Cornelius had asked Peter to come and tell them what God had revealed to him. On the previous day an angel had appeared to Peter and revealed to him that God intended the good news of salvation to be for all who believed, not just the Jews. The message was simple and clear.
       1. The Jews had Jesus crucified (v. 39)
       2. God raised him from the dead (v. 40) 
       3. Those who believe are forgiven (v. 43)
This is the most concise summary of redemption to be found in scripture. It follows the sequence of every good novel – first, a problem, then a hero, then a solution. In our case the problem was sin, the hero, Jesus, and the solution, salvation by faith. Let’s think together about this simple, yet profound, series of events that lies at the heart the Christian faith.
       The problem has is origin in what man did, is solved by what God did, and concludes by telling us what we are to do. I love the “lucid clarity” of Peter’s presentation. Man stepped away from God by questioning what God had to say; God steps back into the story by providing the answer for man’s predicament; and in the history of mankind, everyone who accepts by faith what Christ has done on their behalf steps back into fellowship with God. And that is the gospel, the “good news” that although we are by nature sinners, the death of Christ on the cross paid the debt of our sin making it possible for us to be forgiven and return to the relationship intended by God from the beginning. 
       Down through history a countless number of people have been drawn back into a loving relationship with God by believing what the bible teaches about their sin and what God did about it. But note: To believe is not merely to accept that something is intellectually valid, but to embrace it in a way that allows God to transform how we live out our life. Belief is unreserved commitment to God of all we are. Now that takes power! And the gospel is, as Paul puts it, ”the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). No one is every argued into salvation. Logic is pitifully weak when it comes to spiritual matters. To bring a sinner back to God requires a power infinitely greater than reason at its best. And isn’t it just like God to provide the power necessary for the sinner to escape the consequence of his own sin!  
       The return to God that we call salvation has its necessary consequences. Every time you drive your car into a telegraph pole, you get the same result. Every act has what might be called a predetermined result, whether good or bad. Believing the gospel creates the setting for what will necessarily follow and that is eternal life with its responsibility to share with others the “good news” that has changed yours. The gospel is “good” because it provides an eternal relationship with God and he is the epitome of all goodness: it is “news” because we didn’t know it before and once accepted it leads to a brand new kind of life