wHAT IS
THE GOSPEL?
The gospel means “GOOD NEWS.” The good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphing over our sin and His enemies. So, now “there is therefore no condemnation” for those who believe (Romans 8:1). Believers receive everlasting joy in the presence of God Almighty!
“The greatest good of the gospel is not forgiveness, justification, or eternal life – as good as these are. The highest, fullest, deepest, sweetest good of the gospel is God Himself, enjoyed by His redeemed people. The gospel is the good news that God bought for us the everlasting enjoyment of God.“
-John Piper
God, our Creator, is holy (set apart). He made the world and everything in it. He made us in His image to know Him (Genesis 1:1, 26-28) for the purpose of making Him known.
Although created good, because we are rebellious and disobedient by nature inherited from Adam, we sin against holy God and cut ourselves off from His presence. From birth, all people are alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to the wrath of God (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3).
In His great love, God sent His Son Jesus to come as King, Savior, Redeemer to rescue His people from their sin (Psalm 2, Luke 1:67-79, Ephesians 2:1-10). Jesus, being fully God and fully man, established His kingdom by standing in our place as priest AND becoming the sacrifice – He lived a perfect life and died on the cross, therefore fulfilling the law Himself and taking on the wrath of God, the punishment we deserve (Mark 10:45; John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 7:26; Romans 3:21-26, 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:5); then He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted His sacrifice and satisfying His wrath (Acts 2:24, Romans 4:25).
He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness (Acts 17:30, John 1:12). If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life gaining eternal life with God in His presence (John 3:16, Ephesians 1:3-14)
Some material adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever.