What is the Gospel?
Good News! The word “gospel” simply means “good news”, and if you understand and believe it, the
gospel will be the best news you have ever received. The gospel is the means by which God grants
forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, eternal life, freedom from your bondage to sin, and escape
from the ultimate penalty of sin; eternal death and separation from God. The following are the critical
points of God’s good news:
As the Creator of all, God owns everything, including you (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1), therefore everyone,
including you, is accountable to God. Ever since Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, all mankind,
including you, has lived in a state of hostility and alienation toward God (Colossians 1:21), consciously
rejecting God’s revelation of Himself, assuming he/she can live independently of God, and naturally
gravitating toward what is evil (Romans 1:18-23). As creatures created in the image of God, mankind’s
greatest need is to be reconciled to his/her holy and righteous Creator (2 Corinthians 5:20). But how can
unholy sinners be reconciled to a holy God? Since even our best works are tainted with sin (Isaiah 64:6;
Romans 3:23), we can never satisfy God’s holy, just, and righteous requirements, and as a result, all of
mankind, including you, is under the wrath of God (Ephesians 2:1-3). Only God can satisfy His own
righteous demands; and that is precisely what He did in the person of Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans
5:8; Ephesians 2:4-10). Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth to live the life you and I cannot live, to
bear the wrath of God that you and I deserve, on the cross in our place (Philippians 2:5-11), and to die
the death we deserve. After three days Jesus rose from the dead and lives today (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
so that all who repent of their sins, place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and willingly follow
Him, can be reconciled to God, have forgiveness of sins, and live eternally with Him in heaven – including
you. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).