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What is the gospel?
Gospel means good news. It is the Bible's good news about what God has done through Jesus Christ.
The gospel is first news about what God has done, before it is a call for what we should do. It begins with God.
God
It starts with God, not with us.
God made everything, including us. Because he is our Maker, he is our rightful ruler.
The Bible says he made human beings in his image, to live in his good world under his good rule.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Us
We haven't wanted him as King.
Every one of us has pushed God away and chosen to run life our own way. The Bible calls this sin.
- Sin noun
- Our rejection of God's rule: the settled attitude that says “my life is mine”, and the thoughts, words and actions that flow from it.
So sin is more than individual mistakes. Lying, cruelty, greed and betrayal are symptoms. The condition underneath is a heart that has declared independence from its Maker. The Bible traces the brokenness of our world to humanity's rebellion against God.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.”
Judgment
A good God takes evil seriously.
A good judge does not pretend evil does not matter. Neither does God.
He is patient and kind. He is also just, and he rightly holds us accountable for rebelling against him. Sin leads to death, and after death to judgment.
“… people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
That is what the good news answers.
My record
Jesus
Then God did something.
God did not leave the story there. He sent his own Son.
Jesus of Nazareth was a real man in real history. The Bible presents him as the Son of God: truly God and truly human. He lived the life the rest of us have failed to live, gladly under God's rule, without sin. Then he was executed on a Roman cross, and he went willingly.
Jesus died in the place of sinners. On the cross he took the judgment our rebellion deserves, so that guilty people could be forgiven and brought back to God.
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
The judgment we deserved
fell on him instead.
That is what Christians mean when they say Jesus died in the place of sinners.
Risen and Lord
Death did not keep him.
Jesus did not stay dead. God raised him bodily from the grave. He was seen alive by individuals, by small groups, and on one occasion by more than five hundred people at once.
Jesus is alive. He rules now as Lord, and he will return to judge the world.
- The resurrection settles who Jesus is. God publicly declared him Lord and King.
- Death has been beaten.
- Everyone who belongs to him has real hope on the other side of death.
So following Jesus is a change of ruler. How does anyone change sides?
Grace, and our response
You cannot earn this. That's the point.
God does not accept us because we become good enough. None of these earns acceptance with him:
- being respectable
- doing enough good deeds
- attending church
- being baptised
- giving money
- becoming religious
- cleaning yourself up first
Salvation is a gift. That is grace.
“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.”
Good deeds still matter to Christians, deeply. But they are fruit, not fee.
The price
a gift
A gift still has to be taken. Jesus put our part in two words: repent and believe.
- Repent verb
- Turn from ruling your own life to living under Jesus as Lord. A change of allegiance, not only a feeling of regret.
- Believe verb
- Trust Jesus and what he has done for you, rather than trusting your own record.
Repentance and faith do not earn salvation. They are our response to God's grace.
Two ways, and peace
In the end, there are two ways to respond.
We can carry on living as our own ruler, and face God's judgment ourselves. Or we can turn to Jesus, trust him, and live under his good rule, forgiven by grace.
My own way
My own king. My own record. On my own, when the record is read.
Under Jesus
Jesus as King. His record counted as mine. Forgiven, and never on my own again.
Turn to Jesus, and the result is peace with God. Through him, people who were separated from God are reconciled to him.
“… since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1 · Justified means declared to be in the right: a verdict, not a feeling.
This does not mean an easy life or a constant feeling of calm. It means the relationship with God has been made right. He is no longer only your Judge. He is your Father.
Grace is what none of us could earn.
Peace is what none of us could make.
Jesus is why both are possible.
Where to from here
Jesus calls people to turn to him and trust him. Check it for yourself.
Read about Jesus
Talk to a Christian
If you know a Christian, ask them to read one of the Gospels with you. Or visit a church that clearly teaches the Bible and the gospel of Jesus. In Australia, the FIEC directory is a good starting point.
Two Ways to Live
For another concise explanation, visit Two Ways to Live.
You can talk to God
Prayer is talking to God. Prayer does not save. Christ saves. But if you want to turn to him, prayer is the natural way to say so. In your own words, or something like this:
God, I have lived as my own ruler, and I'm sorry. Thank you for sending Jesus to die in my place and rise again. Please forgive me. From today, I want to trust him and live with him as my King. Amen.
If these words express your own repentance and trust in Jesus, tell a Christian you know and begin reading one of the Gospels.
Now you know what I'm wishing you at the bottom of every email: the gift, and the peace it makes possible.
Grace and peace.