The Gospel is the “Good News” that Jesus came into the world to save sinful men and women. You may have heard parts of the Gospel, but has anyone ever told you the full story? Here is what the Bible communicates as the Good News of Jesus Christ.
God Is the Righteous Creator and Created All of His Creation in Righteousness
The Lord God is righteous, perfect and holy. In God, there is no sin, error, or deficiency.
Isaiah 6:3: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!
The Lord God is the Righteous Creator, and everything He created was created righteous.
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:31: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
All Mankind Has Rebelled against the Righteous Creator and Stands Condemned
In order for there to be good news, there must first be bad news. The Bad News is that all men, women, and children have rebelled against the Creator and already stand condemned (John 3:18).
The Righteous Creator created everything righteous. But tragically, His creation rebelled against Him and fell into sin. God warned Adam and Eve that they could eat of everything but one thing—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they ate of this tree, they would surely die (Genesis 3:17).
However, tempted by Satan, both Adam and Eve, choosing their own desires above God’s desires, rebelled against God and ate of this tree (Genesis 3:6). Instead of choosing right, they chose wrong. They rebelled against God, and humanity has been reaping the consequences of their sin ever since.
These consequences were immediate and long lasting.
First, their relationship with God was broken.
Genesis 3:7–8: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Adam and Eve, for the first time in their lives, knew shame. Their disobedience severed the intimate fellowship they had previously enjoyed with God Creator.
Second, as God had warned, Adam and Eve eventually died.
Genesis 5:5: Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
Adam and Eve rebelled against the Righteous Creator, and the Bad News is that:
We are sinners.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Our entire nature is sinful.
Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
In this natural state, we don’t want to have anything to do with God.
Romans 3:11: No one understands; no one seeks for God.
The consequence of our sin is separation from God.
Ephesians 4:18: They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
The consequence for our sin is death.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death.
Every man, woman, and child will face an eternal judgment with eternal consequences for their sin.
Hebrews 9:27: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.
That’s a lot of Bad News, but this is why the Good News is so good! The Good News is that …
Jesus Came to Save Sinful Man by Taking upon Himself All of Our Sin and All the Consequences of Our Sin
The Good News is that Jesus, the Righteous Son of God, died a horrific death on the cross to take upon Himself all the consequences of our sin.
Romans 5:6–8: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Colossians 2:13–14: And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Although spiritually dead because of our sin, Jesus died a substitutionary death on the cross, taking upon Himself all of our sin and the punishment for that sin. Jesus died in our place so that we might experience the full measure of His forgiveness and the full measure of the life God always intended for us to live.
Jesus died, taking upon Himself all our sin. But Jesus also rose three days later, demonstrating His power over sin and death. And that same power that brought Jesus back to life is the same power that can bring us back to life, as well.
Romans 8:11: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
This is the Good News! That, although we deserved death and eternal separation from God the Father, in His infinite mercy He sent His Son, Jesus, to take up Himself all of our sin and all the consequences of our sin—to grant forgiveness, reconciliation, and fellowship once again with Him, now and throughout all eternity.
The Gospel Requires a Decision
The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus came to save sinful man, but the Good News requires a response.
First, to receive the Good News, one must first admit the Bad News.
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- To receive forgiveness, one must first recognize that they need forgiveness.
- To receive spiritual life, one must first admit that they are spiritually dead.
- To receive freedom from sin, one must first recognize that they are enslaved to sin.
The Bible teaches that our first response is to confess that we are, indeed, sinners, that our sin has offended a holy God, and that the offense is so great that it has separated us from fellowship with our Creator. The first step is to confess that we are sinners in need of God’s gracious forgiveness .
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Second, to receive the Gospel, one must turn away from trusting in his or her sin and to turn to Jesus, trusting that He alone is sufficient for salvation.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Friend, will you confess your sin today? Will you admit that your sin has offended a holy God, and will you put your faith in Jesus? Will you trust that His death is sufficient to remove all of your sin, all the consequences of your sin, and all the guilt and shame associated with your sin? Will you confess your sin and need for savior, and will you turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior?
The word of God gives us this confidence: that those who trust in Jesus will be saved.
Romans 10:13: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Will you trust in Jesus today? No one else will save you; no one else has the power to save you.
Friend, if, reading this today, you have been convicted of your sin and have put your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the next step is to begin reading God’s word (the Bible) and to get connected in a Bible-centered church. We would love to be that church for you. If you have made this important decision today, call us (623-566-0571), and let us connect with you and help you to grow in your faith.
* All Scripture quoted from the English Standard Version