What is The Gospel?
The gospel is about fixing what is wrong, with everything. We all know that life doesn’t live up to its promise. Perfection in all things, for all eternity: in our deepest part we all know that this is how life should be.
This is what the gospel is about. It tells us what’s wrong with life and what God has done to fix it through His Son Jesus the Christ. Found in the Bible, the gospel is expressed via three key subjects:
Our rebellion
- We were created by God to live in a perpetual relationship with Him, filled with joy and glory (Genesis 1:26-28).
- We rebelled, losing this relationship and our perfect purpose for life (Romans 3:10-18).
- Called sin, this rebellion includes both who we are and what we do (Mark 7:20-23).
Jesus' redemption
- God judges our rebellion with punishment matching His eternal majesty: eternal suffering in Hell (Revelation 20:12-15).
- God sent His own Son, the God-Man Jesus, whose death pays for rebellion and whose life provides a renewed relationship with God (Galatians 1:3-4).
- Called redemption, Jesus restores what we lost (Galatians 4:4-5).
Our resurrection
- The Spirit gives us new life so that we repent (turn) from our rebellion and put faith in Jesus alone (John 1:12-13; 3:8).
- Accepting our response, God: declares us forgiven and obedient, makes us His children, and begins making us more like Jesus, a process He will complete on the day Jesus returns for those who trust in Him (Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 1:6).
- Called resurrection, in believing in Jesus we die in Him and are born again to an eternal life (Galatians 2:20).
This is the gospel through which the Spirit saves us (Titus 3:5-6). It is through this same gospel that the Spirit grows our relationship with God (Colossians 1:5-6; 2:6-7). Through the gospel God restores our original purpose: His glory fulfilled in us (John 15:8) and our joy perfected in Him (John 15:11).
More than anything else, we urge you: learn to believe in and live by this gospel!
If you would like some more information on the gospel and how it works, here are some great explanations from trusted sources:
3-2-1, The Story of God, the World, and You