What Is The Gospel

 WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 

We are abundantly grateful for the Word of God, the instruction we glean from it, and the ever-growing understanding it provides for us of God's character. We are also thankful that Scripture continually points to one thing in innumerable ways, the gospel.

We remember our brokenness when we read about the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3), where sin entered into a perfect world and maimed it. We remember the necessity that something innocent must die to pay for our sin when we read about the atoning sacrifices in the Old Testament. We read that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23) and that the penalty for our brokenness, the wages of our sin, is death (Romans 6.23). We all need grace and mercy, but most importantly, we all need a Saviour.

We consider the goodness of God when we realise that He did not plan to leave us in this dire state. We see His promise to buy us back from the clutches of sin and death in Genesis 3.15. And we see that promise accomplished with Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ knew no sin yet became sin so that we might become righteous through His sacrifice (2 Corinthians 5.21). Jesus was tempted in every way that we are and lived sinlessly. He was reviled yet still yielded Himself for our sake, that we may have life abundant in Him. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could not live and died the death that we deserved.

The gospel is profound yet simple. There are many mysteries in it that we will never understand this side of heaven, but there is still overwhelming weight to its implications in this life. The gospel tells of our sinfulness and God's goodness and a gracious gift that compels a response. We are saved by grace through faith, which means that we rest with faith in the grace that Jesus Christ displayed on the cross (Ephesians 2.8-9). We cannot save ourselves from our brokenness or do any amount of good works to merit God's favor. Still, we can have faith that what Jesus accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection was more than enough for our salvation and our eternal delight. When we accept God, we are commanded to die to ourselves and our sinful desires and live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Ephesians 4.1). The gospel compels us to be sanctified, and in so doing, we are conformed to the likeness of Christ Himself. This is hope. This is redemption. This is the gospel.

Scriptures to Reference

Genesis 3.15

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Romans 3.23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6.23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5.21

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 2.8-9

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 4.1-3

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.