Paul prayed for the Christians in Thessalonica: “We always pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling and perform completely all he pleases of goodness and the work of faith with power.” (2 Thess. 1:11) Many are the examples of God’s abundant goodness to those who look to him. (1 Ki. 8:66; Ps. 31:19; Isa. 63:7; Jer. 31:12, 14) Moreover, “Jehovah is good to all, and his mercies are over all his works.” (Ps. 145:9) He extends good to all with a purpose, that his goodness may bring many to serve him, and that they may thereby gain life. Likewise, any individual exercising goodness is a blessing to his associates.—Prov. 11:10.

As servants of God and imitators of him, Christians are commanded to prove what is God’s good will for them (Rom. 12:2); they are to cling to what is good (Rom. 12:9); to do it (Rom. 13:3); to work what is good (Rom. 2:10); to follow after it (1 Thess. 5:15); to be zealous for it (1 Pet. 3:13); to imitate what is good (3 John 11); and to conquer evil with it. (Rom. 12:21) Their doing of good is to be especially extended to those related to them in the Christian faith; additionally, it is to be practiced toward all others.—Gal. 6:10.

A RELATED TERM

Similar to the Greek word for good (a·ga·thosʹ) is another word, ka·losʹ. The latter denotes that which is intrinsically good, beautiful, well adapted to its circumstances or ends (as fine ground or soil; Matt. 13:8, 23), and that which is of fine quality, including that which is ethically good, right or honorable (as God’s name; Jas. 2:7). It is closely related in meaning to good, but may be distinguished by being translated “fine,” “right,” “worthy,” “honest,” “beautiful” or “well.”

GOOD NEWS

[Gr., eu·ag·geʹli·on, “gospel” in AV and some other versions].

This refers to the good news of the kingdom of God and of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. It is called in the Bible “the good news of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23), “the good news of God” (Rom. 15:16), “the good news about Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1), “the good news of the undeserved kindness of God” (Acts 20:24), “the good news of peace” (Eph. 6:15) and the “everlasting good news.” (Rev. 14:6) An “evangelizer” (the English word being almost a transliteration of the Greek) is a preacher of the good news.—Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5.

ITS CONTENT

An idea of the content and scope of the good news can be gained from the above designations. It includes all the truths about which Jesus spoke and the disciples wrote. While men of old hoped in God and had faith through knowledge of Him, God’s purposes were first “made clearly evident through the manifestation of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death but has shed light upon life and incorruption through the good news.”—2 Tim. 1:9, 10.

God revealed centuries ago that he purposed to provide the good news through Christ by declaring the good news to Abraham, saying: “By means of you all the nations will be blessed.” (Gal. 3:8) Later, Jehovah spoke of the preaching of the good news through the prophet Isaiah. Jesus Christ read from this prophecy in the synagogue at Nazareth, afterward saying: “Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled.” (Luke 4:16-21) Isaiah’s prophecy described the purpose and effect of the good news to be preached, particularly from the time of Messiah’s coming.—Isa. 61:1-3.

ITS PROGRESS

At Jesus’ birth the angel announced to the shepherds: “Have no fear, for, look! I am declaring to you good news of a great joy that all the people will have.” (Luke 2:10) John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ preaching of the good news, saying to the Jews: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Matt. 3:1, 2) Jesus said of John’s preaching: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it.”—Matt. 11:12.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry he confined his preaching of the good news to the Jews and proselytes, saying: “I was not sent forth to any but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24) When sending out the twelve apostles, he commanded them: “Do not go off into the road of the nations, and do not enter into a Samaritan city; but, instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 10:5, 6) On one occasion he preached to a woman of the Samaritans, who were related to the Israelites. But he did not go into the city to preach. However, the response of the woman and others was so favorable that Jesus stayed with them for two days.—John 4:7-42.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he gave his disciples the command: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) He also told them that their preaching would reach to “the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) But for about three and a half years afterward the holy spirit led the disciples to confine their preaching to Jews and Samaritans. Then Peter was sent by God to bring the good news to the household of Cornelius, the Roman army officer. (Acts chaps. 10, 11; 15:7) From that time on, the good news was declared to the greatest possible extent over the widest area.

ITS IMPORTANCE

The apostle Paul made the strong declaration that the good news committed to the apostles was the only good news; that if the apostles themselves or even an angel out of heaven were to declare as good news something beyond what the apostles had declared as good news, “let him be accursed.” He then gave the reason, namely, that the good news is not something human, not from man, but through revelation by Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:8, 11, 12) This strong declaration was necessary, for even then there were some who were trying to overthrow the true faith by preaching ‘another good news.’ (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6, 7) Paul warned of an apostasy to come and stated that the ‘mystery of lawlessness’ was already at work, admonishing Christians to remember the purpose of the good news and to stand firm and maintain their hold on the spirit-guided traditions they had learned through the apostles.—2 Thess. 2:3, 7, 14, 15; see TRADITION.

Faithfulness in holding onto and continuing to proclaim the good news was counted by Jesus as more important than one’s present life, and Paul recognized that faithfully declaring it was vital. (Mark 8:35; 1 Cor. 9:16; 2 Tim. 1:8) The individual might suffer the loss of his most cherished possessions, even undergoing persecutions, but, in turn, would receive a hundredfold now, “houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, . . . and in the coming system of things everlasting life.”—Mark 10:29, 30.

The good news is the touchstone by which mankind is judged: acceptance of and obedience to the good news result in salvation; rejection and disobedience bring destruction. (1 Pet. 4:5, 6, 17; 2 Thess. 1:6-8) Particularly with this fact in view, the individual’s motive in preaching the good news must be pure and he must preach it from the heart, out of love for those hearing. The apostles were so appreciative of the life-giving importance of the good news and so fired with God’s spirit and with love that they imparted, not only the good news, but also their “own souls,” to those who listened to their preaching. (1 Thess. 2:8) God provided that the proclaimers of the good news had the right to accept material help from those to whom they brought it. (1 Cor. 9:11-14)