To start with, the word gospel means “good news”. To hear the gospel of Jesus Christ is to hear the good news about salvation through Jesus Christ.

 

Now, before we elaborate on the good news, we’ll need to consider some bad news.

 

The Bad News

 

It’s important for us to know the bad news first, in order for the good news to make sense, as well as for us to understand our need for the good news.

 

That being said, here’s the bad news:

 

- Everyone has sinned and done what is evil in God’s sight. (See Romans 3:23)

- God is just and must punish sin. (See Romans 2:5,6)

- The punishment for sin is separation from God and, ultimately, if not dealt with in this life, eternal condemnation. (See Isaiah 59:2, Revelation 20:15)

 

The Good News

 

Now that we’ve heard the bad news, let’s review the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

1. God sent his son Jesus to be born of a virgin.

 

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).” (Matthew 1:23)

 

2. Jesus did what no one else could do; he lived a sinless life.

 

“He committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22a)

 

3. Jesus died on the cross, taking the penalty for our sins upon himself, and then he was buried.

 

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…he was buried” (1 Corinthians 15:3b,4a)

 

4. Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day.

 

“he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4b)

 

5. Everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. That is to say they will be forgiven of their sins, spared from eternal punishment and given eternal life.

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 

6. Salvation is a free gift, made available by God’s grace; we can’t earn it and we don’t deserve it.

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

7. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to receive salvation.

 

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

 

More Good News

 

The gospel is about more than our eternal destination; there’s a number of things that happen here in this life when we make the decision to put our faith in Jesus Christ:

 

- Our relationship with God is restored. (See 2 Corinthians 5:18)

- God develops the character of Christ in us. (See Romans 8:28-29)

- We receive the Holy Spirit. (See Ephesians 1:13)

- God hears our prayers. (See 1 John 5:14-15)

- We find our purpose. (See Proverbs 29:21)

- God enables us to more fully comprehend scripture. (See 1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

- We’re freed from bondage to the Mosaic Law. (See Galatians 5:1)

- God gives us spiritual gifts, empowering us to serve others. (See 1 Corinthians 12:7)

- We’re delivered from the power of sin and death. (See 1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

- God’s promises apply to us. (See 2 Corinthians 1:20)

- We’re united with other believers as members of one family, the church. (See Ephesians 2:19) 

 

Do you know him?

 

Maybe you have yet to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. If that’s the case, I’d like to invite you to take a step of faith by praying the following prayer in response to the good news:

 

God, I believe that you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross and that you raised him from the dead. Please forgive my sins and help me to live in a way that pleases you. Thank you for the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

If you said that prayer, and meant it in your heart, welcome to the family of God!

 

Now that your journey with God has begun, I’d like to encourage you to practice three important spiritual disciplines:

 

1. Pray

 

Communication is important; God wants to hear from you. Pray for yourself. Pray for your family and friends. Pray for others. Pray about anything and everything. Pray first thing in the morning. Pray periodically throughout the day, every day.

 

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

 

2. Read the Bible

 

How can we learn about God? Read the Bible. How can we know what God expects from us? Read the Bible. How can we grow in our faith? Read the Bible. The list goes on. Read the Bible every day, taking the time to study it well.

 

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

 

3. Fellowship with other Christians

 

God created us to be people of community. Christian fellowship provides us with the opportunity to pray for others, as well as to be prayed for; to serve others, as well as to be served; to encourage others, as well as to be encouraged. Getting involved in a Bible based church, where we can fellowship with other Christians regularly, is important.

 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

 

It Should be Noted

 

1. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most central and essential doctrine of the Christian faith. To challenge any aspect of it is to threaten the very foundation of Christianity.

 

2. It’s been said that there’s only 18 inches between heaven and hell — the distance between our head and our heart.

 

God requires more from us than intellectual assent to a list of facts; he wants our heart. We don’t deserve salvation and there’s nothing we can do to earn it, but we do need to respond appropriately to God’s gracious gift. 

 

There’s a few things we must do, in response to the gospel, before we can experience the effects of the gospel:

 

- Believe in Jesus Christ (His crucifixion, death and resurrection)

- Repent of our sins (Make a decision to turn towards God and away from sin)

- Confess Jesus as Lord (Surrender our lives to his lordship)

 

Paul summarized this well in his speech to the elders from Ephesus:

 

“I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21)

 

3. After putting our faith in Jesus Christ we’re encouraged to undergo water baptism.

 

Baptism doesn’t save us, but rather is an outward display of an inward commitment to repent from our sins and surrender our lives to God as we identify ourselves with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. 

 

“(1) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (2) By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (3) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:1-4)​