You have probably heard people refer to the Gospel before, but do you know what it means and how important it is for us? The word Gospel simply means 'GOOD NEWS,' and that is exactly what it is!
The Gospel is a message of Good News for every man, woman, and child! What is that Good News? It is the Good News of Jesus Christ- it is a message of love, salvation, and redemption! This is what Paul says about the Gospel:
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures"
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Let's look into the basics of the Gospel a bit deeper.
Before we get the good news, we have the bad news. The bad news is that there is sin in the world and it must be paid for. We are all sinners, and we ALL need His forgiveness.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Romans 3:23
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Now, let's move on to the good! The good news is that God would allow a substitute to take our place. Jesus Christ God's only son, who is both God and man, died on the cross for us as our Savior!
Only Jesus' blood could pay for our sins. He lived His life completely sin-free, something that no one else could do! He then gave up that life and became sin so that we would not have to be separated from the love of God.
"For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,"
Colossians 2:9
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Corinthians 5:21
It's not only essential that Christ died for ALL sin, but also that He rose from the grave. When Christ rose again, He defeated death once and for all! While there is still death for us here on the Earth, there is now no sting in death for people who are in Christ. We know that death is not the end because the Lord has overcome the grave!
"For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Romans 14:9
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
The short answer is that the Gospel is the good news message of Christ's love, our salvation, and our redemption! This is a message for everyone and needs to be shared with the world! Are you ready to say "Yes!" to God's free gift of eternal life? Click here!