What is the Gospel?
The Message
The word gospel comes an old Anglo-Saxon word “God’s-spell” meaning “God’s story” or “God’s Word”. However, it is used in the New Testament about 100 times to translate the Greek word euangelion meaning “good message” or “Good News”. That is why we at Grace Baptist Church call ourselves an “evangelical” church—because we believe that the Bible is God’s message of Good news. The gospel isn’t our opinion or one view among many about the meaning of life. It is the truth!
Good News or Bad News?
What would you like to hear first, the good news or the bad news? Well there is bad news. Every single one of us has sinned against God’s holy laws and against our own conscience, and we have ignored God our Creator and turned our backs on him and gone our own way in life. Because of this we have become the enemies of God who is perfectly holy, just and true. He will not have anything to do with sinfulness and will eventually condemn everything unholy to be destroyed in hell. No amount of religion or good deeds could ever make up for our sin and save us from this.
The Gift of Life
Now for the Good News! God Himself can save us! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). 2000 years ago God’s own Son became a human being, born by the miracle of the Virgin Birth. He lived the perfect life no other person ever lived and he said: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Even though wicked men killed him by nailing him to a cross, it was all in God’s plan. Jesus Christ was dying as our substitute; God punished his Son instead of us so that we could be forgiven our sins and reconciled to God. That means we can have a personal relationship with God now, which will carry on in heaven when we die, and it will eventually mean being given a new body which will last for ever—this is all possible because Jesus rose from the dead. Now can you see why the Apostle Paul could write: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
What Must We Do?
But it doesn’t all just happen automatically. Salvation is conditional on our response to this message of good news—whether we will listen and do something about it. Only those who believe will be saved. That doesn’t just mean we believe it’s true, although that is of course necessary. It means trusting that Jesus is able to save you. And if you trust someone you will do what they say. Jesus tells us that if we want to be saved we must come to him (through prayer), repenting of our sins (confessing them and deliberately turning away from them), and handing over control of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do that, He forgives us completely and He changes us inside by sending His powerful Holy Spirit into our lives. He enables us to follow Him (that’s what a disciple is), and become more and more like Christ (a Christian).
Good News for You!
The Good news is for “everyone who believes”. That means you! It’s so urgent that you listen to God’s message, because there is no other way to be saved. Can you see now why, like Paul, we too are not ashamed of the gospel? We want to tell everybody! We are thrilled by it—Jesus Christ has shown mercy to us and saved us. He will save you too, if you believe and obey the gospel.
