The Gospel

What is the gospel?  The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here is the gospel in 15 words:God creates us.  God convicts us.  God saves us.  God sends us.  God rescues us.Let’s elaborate on those words for a moment.

GOD CREATES US

In the beginning, God created all things (Gen. 1:1) and created Mankind in his very own image (Gen. 1:27).  In fact, he made each person specifically and uniquely (Ps. 139:13-16).  Not only were all things made by him, but all things – including us – were made for him (Col. 1:16).  As Creator, he alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Rev. 4:11).

GOD CONVICTS US

Just like Adam and Eve in their first rebellion (Gen. 3:22-24), the curse of sin is on each of us (Rom. 5:12), and every person has made the choice to rebel and sin against God (Rom. 3:23).  Our sins have caused us to be separated from the presence of God (Is. 59:2), and God’s punishment for our rebellion is death (Rom. 6:23).

GOD SAVES US

Jesus reconciled us to God (2 Cor. 5:18).  Jesus lived a completely sinless life in unbroken obedience to God’s commands (Heb. 4:15).  Through Jesus’ death, he became a substitute for our punishment (Rom. 5:8).  He took our place!  Through Jesus’ resurrection, he defeated death and provided the way (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) to eternal life (1 Cor. 15:55).  We aren’t saved by any works of our own but only by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9) as we simply receive this gospel message (John 1:12-13).

GOD SENDS US

After receiving the gospel, we are left on this earth to tell others about this gospel (Rom. 10:14-15).  Jesus has commissioned his church to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20) by unashamedly proclaiming the gospel (Rom. 1:16).  Through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), we express the reason we have hope in this life (1 Pet. 3:15) and invest our lives in others due to our love for them (1 Thess. 2:8).

GOD RESCUES US

For believers, we are promised that one day, we are going to to reunite with God in heaven forever (John 5:24).  Since salvation is not in our hands but in the hands of Jesus (John 10:28), we are kept by him until we reach him (Eph. 1:13-14; Phil. 1:6).  As we go with our lives, we wait expectantly when Christ will appear a second time to rescue us fully (Heb. 9:28; 1 Thess. 4:16-17).