The Gospel

“Gospel” simply means “good news.”  The Gospel is good news, because it is the message of salvation for those who believe.  For it to be perceived as the good news that it is, we first must understand the bad news that everyone has sinned and sin separates us from God.  The Gospel is the good news of how we are saved from sin and its consequence of hell when we place our faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul summarizes the main points of the Gospel message for us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 by describing the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected Christ (italics added for emphasis):  “1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.”  Thus, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin through His death.  His burial verified his death, and eyewitnesses who saw Jesus afterward verified His resurrection.  His victory over death proves His divine power and ability to offer us salvation through placing our faith in Him.

To deepen your understanding of the Gospel, familiarize yourself with these key points and verses:

  • God desires every person to be saved into a personal relationship with Him (1 Timothy 2:4). 

  • However, every person has broken God’s Law by sinning, and sin separates us from God (Romans 3:23 and James 2:10). 

  • The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). 

  • But Jesus paid the penalty for our sin by sacrificing His sinless life on the cross (Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Titus 2:14). 

  • Then, He rose again the third day to show that He has power over sin and death that we may place our trust in Him as Savior (Romans 10:9-10, 13).  

  • We are saved only through faith – through placing our full trust in Jesus – and no one else and no amount of good deeds or works will ever earn us salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9 and Acts 4:12). 

  • Through faith in Jesus, we receive forgiveness of our sins and are adopted into God’s family as heirs of heaven (Ephesians 1:7 and Galatians 4:6-7).

When we believe this “good news” that we have forgiveness from our sins through Jesus who died for them, we can rejoice because the barrier to knowing God is removed.  We get to experience eternal life with Him in heaven, and that eternal life starts now through a dynamic, experiential relationship with God (John 17:3).  When you understand that sinning leads to hell and yet God offers the gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, it certainly is good news when you put your faith in Him!  And it certainly is news worth sharing!