What is the Gospel?
The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sin; He was buried, but He rose again. Anyone who calls upon Him in faith will be saved.
To understand just how good the “good news” is, we need to understand just how bad off we are as far as our relationship to God is concerned. Apart from Jesus, we have no relationship with God because of our sin. Man is lost – he is separated from God. Ephesians 2:1 reads, “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.” This means, spiritually-speaking, man is dead because of His sin… “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23).
Many people mistakenly believe that if they are good enough, God will accept them because of their goodness. However, the Bible makes it clear that no one will be saved on the basis of works (Romans 3:20; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5). No one can ever work enough to make themselves right with God!
You see, God is a holy and righteous God, and He calls upon us to be holy, “Be holy, for I am holy,” (1 Pet. 1:16). For us be accepted by Him, means that we would have to fully live up to His standards – we would have obey perfectly all of His commands – and we cannot can do that. We may call ourselves good and righteous, but the Bible teaches differently, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one,'” (Romans 3:10-12). Later in Romans, Paul wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
In other words, no one can ever live up to God’s righteousness and holy perfection…no one even seeks after it, and there is a penalty for this – death! “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23). God cannot just overlook sin. . If He simply overlooked sin, then He would not be righteous, just, or good.
His law has been violated, and the penalty for that violation must be paid. This is where the “good news” part comes in. Jesus Christ, perfectly, fulfilled the law of God. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can have a relationship with God… “He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Cor 5:21).
Jesus did not sin, but He took our sin upon Himself and died for us so that God could give to us His perfect righteousness when we believe in Christ! Because of the perfect, complete work of Christ in dying for our sins, God’s standard of perfection was met and His justice was satisfied. He can now offer salvation to those who trust in Jesus Christ while remaining perfectly righteous and just!
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has already done all that is necessary to save us. The gospel is about what He did, not what we do for Him.
So, how are we saved? By grace, through faith in Jesus alone, “For by grace are you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast,” (Eph 2:8-9).
The good news is that, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” (Romans 10:13).
In Acts, a man asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s reply was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” (Acts 16:30-31).
In another place Paul said it like this, “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,” (Rom 10:9-10).
You can call upon Him today, right now, and be saved. You don’t need to do anything but believe. That’s the gospel…that’s good news!
Pastor Steve Brooks
To understand just how good the “good news” is, we need to understand just how bad off we are as far as our relationship to God is concerned. Apart from Jesus, we have no relationship with God because of our sin. Man is lost – he is separated from God. Ephesians 2:1 reads, “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.” This means, spiritually-speaking, man is dead because of His sin… “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23).
Many people mistakenly believe that if they are good enough, God will accept them because of their goodness. However, the Bible makes it clear that no one will be saved on the basis of works (Romans 3:20; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5). No one can ever work enough to make themselves right with God!
You see, God is a holy and righteous God, and He calls upon us to be holy, “Be holy, for I am holy,” (1 Pet. 1:16). For us be accepted by Him, means that we would have to fully live up to His standards – we would have obey perfectly all of His commands – and we cannot can do that. We may call ourselves good and righteous, but the Bible teaches differently, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one,'” (Romans 3:10-12). Later in Romans, Paul wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
In other words, no one can ever live up to God’s righteousness and holy perfection…no one even seeks after it, and there is a penalty for this – death! “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23). God cannot just overlook sin. . If He simply overlooked sin, then He would not be righteous, just, or good.
His law has been violated, and the penalty for that violation must be paid. This is where the “good news” part comes in. Jesus Christ, perfectly, fulfilled the law of God. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can have a relationship with God… “He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Cor 5:21).
Jesus did not sin, but He took our sin upon Himself and died for us so that God could give to us His perfect righteousness when we believe in Christ! Because of the perfect, complete work of Christ in dying for our sins, God’s standard of perfection was met and His justice was satisfied. He can now offer salvation to those who trust in Jesus Christ while remaining perfectly righteous and just!
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ has already done all that is necessary to save us. The gospel is about what He did, not what we do for Him.
So, how are we saved? By grace, through faith in Jesus alone, “For by grace are you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast,” (Eph 2:8-9).
The good news is that, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” (Romans 10:13).
In Acts, a man asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s reply was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” (Acts 16:30-31).
In another place Paul said it like this, “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,” (Rom 10:9-10).
You can call upon Him today, right now, and be saved. You don’t need to do anything but believe. That’s the gospel…that’s good news!
Pastor Steve Brooks