The Gospel Message
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel means the good news, "glad tidings", which Jesus lived and proclaimed. It is a message that is both joyful and deadly serious.
The Bible tells us what the Gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Now I make known to you brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..."
Romans 10:9-10 declares, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Saved, from what? The Bible says that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). As sinners, we fall short of God’s righteousness, and deserve condemnation, not redemption and deliverance of our soul. Sin results in judgment. God loved the world, and sent his Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins by suffering and dying on the cross. To satisfy God's holiness and save us from judgment, Jesus lived a holy life, without sin, and took the judgment for us. Then, God raised Jesus from the dead. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As sinners, we are incapable of becoming righteous through our own efforts. God is holy and just, so He cannot ignore our sin. The good news is that although God hates sin He loves sinners! Salvation is bestowed by God's amazing grace, obtained by faith in Christ, plus nothing else. And this rebirth isn’t just about a soul having peace with God; it is about the transformation of all of creation! The Gospel message calls us to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, repent of our rebellion, and humbly receive Him as our Lord and Master. "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.
If you are starting to realize that you are guilty of rejecting God's gracious provision mercy, if you have a sense of your need for salvation from the offense of your rebellion and from God's justice, then call upon Jesus, and receive Him on His terms. Jesus said, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:16-17