What is the Gospel?

The word Gospel ​literally means "good news", and it is the central message of the Christian faith. It stands in stark contrast to other religions, and even false versions of Christianity, as it pertains to how we, as humans, can relate to God. Whereas most religions involve us seeking God, usually with a high chance of failure, the Gospel is all about God seeking us, with our only "job" being to respond in faith.

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The Bad News

As is often the case with good news, the good news of the Gospel stands in contrast with some bad news. That bad news is the depravity of man, and the consequences thereof. Starting with the first man, Adam, humanity as a whole has stood in rebellion to God. This is called sin. Sin is all the things we think, say, or do, that deviates from God's holiness. The Bible actually tells us that God's law is "written on our hearts" (see Romans 2:14-15), effectively describing our natural conscience. God's word brings about more specific knowledge, but each of us knows that there is an "ought" and "ought not". And, sadly, we all too often do not obey. For this, God says we deserve death.

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The Good News

Though we all deserve death, Scripture also tells us that
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11),
that He wants no one to perish (2 Peter 3:9), and that He wants all
to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
Thus, from the beginning of the world, He put a plan in place to save us.

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The Holy Trinity

The most difficult part of God's being to understand is that there is one God who exists in three separate, yet coequal persons. That is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is not the same as there being three gods, as each person is the same God. It's an exceptionally difficult concept both to grasp and to explain, however it is important to the Gospel.

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What did God actually do to save us?

Roughly 2,000 years ago, the Son, who can be described as the "second member of the Trinity", came to the Earth as a man named Jesus. He was born to a young virgin woman, named Mary, and He lived as a normal human being. Eventually, Jesus began a ministry, and chose 12 disciples. He performed numerous signs and wonders, proving indisputably that He really is God in flesh, and teaching them mysteries about God. However, the people, being in our naturally depraved state, sought to kill Him. Finally, they succeeded, giving Him up to corrupt authorities, putting Him through a bogus trial, and ultimately beating Him half to death before hanging Him on a cross to finish the job.​
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But this was the plan the whole time. Jesus was supposed to die, because it was not His sins He was dying for. Rather, He died for our sins. Jesus Himself never sinned, allowing us to effectively "swap verdicts". On the cross, He faced the punishment we deserve, allowing us to instead receive the reward we would deserve had we lived His life.

In order to receive this salvation, we need, in the simplest terms, to believe in Jesus. As John 3:16 famously says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This does go beyond simply affirming that at some point some time ago, a man named Jesus happened to walk the Earth. To begin with, especially due to the genuine existence of false Christs, one must believe in the real Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4). This includes His divine attributes - You are not a Christian if you do not confess Jesus as Lord. Many heretical religions confess some kind of Jesus who was not divine. On the flip side, there are the Gnostics, who believe Jesus is a bit TOO divine. At least, by their strange standard of divinity. They denied that Jesus had a real flesh body, and as such, are also not Christians.

Keeping the real Jesus in mind, it is important to believe not just that He is the Lord, and that He died for our sins, but also that He rose again. In His word, God summarises the Gospel this way: "But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”" (Romans 10:8-13).

Thus, the summary of the Gospel is that man sins, and deserves death, yet the Son of God came to live as a sinless man, dying the death that sinners deserve, and rising again. Therefore, by confessing Him as Lord, and believing in our hearts God raised Him from the dead, we will be forgiven for our sins, and given eternal life.
 

Articles about the Gospel