What is the Gospel?

The Gospel means
“good news.“

The gospel is the good news of God’s grace invading the darkness of this world. It is the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation ordained by God and orchestrated through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel. His resurrection is the power of the gospel. His ascension is the glory of the gospel.

Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men can be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have in glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches, and ministries to proceed from and be related to the gospel.

— From “What is the Gospel?” (The Village Church)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and all living things out of the abundance of his perfect love that he shared with himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Man was created to be set apart from all other living things by being made in the image of God to reflect the glory of God and delight in God.
Sin entered the world when the first man and woman fell to temptation and ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
Sin not only caused a God-sized hole in our hearts that could only be filled by God, sin also condemned us to a God-sized pit from which only God could save.
However, God foreknew we would fall and already had a plan of redemption.
God’s plan of redemption was to send the Son, Jesus Christ, into the world and be born as a man and live the perfect life of obedience we could never live to die in our place for our sins on the cross.
And on the third day after his death on the cross, Jesus physically rose again from the dead.
By his resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death so that whoever would repent of their sins and believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Although sin and death was defeated on the cross, the promise of redemption has not yet been consummated.
After showing himself to many of his disciples, Jesus ascended into heaven and gave us the Holy Spirit so that we might be His witnesses in the world as we wait until his second coming when all the world will face the final judgment of God.
On that day, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ will enter into God’s glory where there will be no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow or pain.
However, those who continue to reject Jesus will not be able to enter heaven but be thrown into eternal hell.

1. We were created by God.

God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
GOD'S LOVE
“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).
GOD'S PLAN
Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10) — that is, that life might be full and meaningful.
2. The fall of man and the problem of sin.

But why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life? Because... all of us sin, and our sin has separated us from God.
WE ARE SINFUL
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We were created to have fellowship with God, but because of our stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own way, and our fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is what the Bible calls sin.
WE ARE SEPARATED
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Death is spiritual separation from God. God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates us. We are continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion – but we inevitably fail.
3. The good news of salvation.

There is no other way to bridge this gulf except through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Him we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
HE DIED IN OUR PLACE
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD
“Christ died for our sins ... He was buried ... He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures ... He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’” (John 14:6).
God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
4. We must respond to the Gospel.

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
WE MUST RECEIVE CHRIST
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
WE RECEIVE CHRIST THROUGH FAITH
“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
WE RECEIVE CHRIST BY PERSONAL INVITATION
Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20).