What is the Gospel?

“I speak the truth in Christ – I am not lying…“  Romans 9:1

As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to share the Gospel. But what is that, exactly? Is it a story, a path, a list of instructions? What is this message we are meant to tell others about - the life-changing Gospel that has impacted our own lives?

Simply put, the Gospel is the story of how God redeems sinful and disobedient people and restores their relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. We often capitalize the word Gospel because it indicates that there is only one Gospel, and so there is also only one way to know God and spend eternity with God. There are just four things to remember in defining the Gospel.

Everyone dies. The Bible says that disobeying God is a sin, and sin has a penalty. The penalty is death. Not just physical death, but spiritual death - eternal separation from God. The worst place imaginable. Forever. (Read Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10)

We cannot save ourselves. Because we have all sinned, we all die. And because death is the penalty, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t un-die, or defeat death. No matter how many good deeds we do, how much we give to the church, or how we try to redeem our wrongs, we’re still sunk. (Read Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23)

Jesus died for us. The Bible teaches that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sin. He died on a cross, and there He took on the punishment—death—for our wrongs. Only He could be a sacrifice for our sins because only He was perfect, without any sin. (Read Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8)

We can be made right with God through faith in Jesus. We can choose to turn our lives over to Jesus. When we do, we receive His free gift of salvation. Because Jesus also rose from the dead, He gives us also the gift of eternal life. So He forgives our wrongs and invites us to spend eternity with Him—God—in heaven. The Bible says trusting in Jesus includes repenting—turning away from our sins, our own ways, and committing to and following God’s ways for the remainder of our lives. (Read Romans 10:9-10, Romans 10:13, Romans 10:17)

The Gospel is simple. It doesn’t take great preachers with polished sermons to share it. But the Gospel is not easy. Jesus gave His all for us, and our response is to give our all to Him. This is not a story we share or one of many paths to know God. It is, as Jesus defined Himself, “the way, the truth and the life.” In fact, no one can know God in any other way apart from what is outlined in the Gospel. (Read John 14:6)

God, thank You for the Gospel, the way the truth, and the life in Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for making a path for me to know You, and to be with You in heaven. Help me to look at each day and each interaction I have as an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone I come into contact with. In Jesus’ name, amen.