What exactly is the Gospel?

John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Hi everyone, how are you doing today? I hope you are doing fine. If you’re like me, you hear John 3:16 all the time. But not many of us know the extent of how meaningful this bible verse is. At least, I know I didn’t. Growing up I only understood bits and pieces of what the gospel was really about as I was not one to pay attention in church not to talk of reading my bible. I never really understood what it was exactly even though I knew Jesus died for our sins, that was it.

So, what is the Gospel? The word ‘Gospel’ comes from the Greek word “euangelion” which means GOOD NEWS, so the Gospel of Jesus Christ means the good news of Jesus Christ, who is his, what he came to do and the effect of that for all of us.

In Genesis 1, we hear the story of God creating the heavens and the earth, God made all things good and the earth was full of peace, Man was in perfect relationship with God. Then in Genesis 3, we hear about the fall of man. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they sinned, God commanded them that they could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. Then, the serpent came and deceived them, he made them distrust God, but Adam and Eve choose to distrust and rebel against God and they fell. This brought about separation between Man and God. We as human have walked in their footsteps.

In order to understand the Gospel, there are three things we must recognize

1. The problem of sin: We are all sinners, every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, of the standard he has set for us. Because of this, our sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

2. The wages of sin: We have all sinned and our payment for sin is death, not just physical death but also Spiritual death, eternal separation from God, eternal life in Hell. This is what we earn for ourselves with our sin.

Romans 6:23- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

3. God’s love for us: God loves us so much that he didn’t wait for us to be perfect before he made a way, Jesus, his only son. To be honest, that is a love I haven’t seen before, a love that you send your only child to die for people who literally hates you and wants nothing to do with you.

Romans 5:8- “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While Man had always tried to bridge the separation by his own effort, trying to live right morally and trying to be ‘good enough’ for God, there is only one way and His name is JESUS.

Who is Jesus?

JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, HE IS GOD THE SON (The Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit will be discussed in another blog post). The bible says “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).

2000 years ago, the bible says that Jesus was born of a virgin in fulfillment to old testament prophecies, he came and lived a perfect life without any form of sin. He taught, he preached, he healed, he cast out demons and he did miracles. Jesus said he was the only way to God the Father (John 14:6) but the religious leaders then did not like him and his teachings so they falsely accused him, he was trialed and sentenced to death by Crucifixion.

Even in his last moments on the cross, he thought about the people who hated him. He carried all sin of mankind, the bible says “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). God placed all of the sins of all of mankind on Jesus. After his death, he was placed in the tomb and on the Third day, Jesus arose. Jesus defeated sin, death, hell and the grave. His sacrifice reconciles us to God only if we believe in Jesus and accept him. God calls us all to believe in Christ, repent of our sins, and trust Christ to live a new life. He offers salvation to us all.

How can I be saved?

You can be saved, God offers salvation freely to you, you do not have to earn it because it is a gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8). God is gracious and merciful and loving. He loves you so much. You can be saved, you can join God’s family, he wants you.

Romans 10:9-10,13 says “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and justified (made right), and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is your answer, you can be saved.

Repent, God loves you and wants you to repent. He doesn’t want any of us to perish, He doesn’t want any of us to be separated from him, he doesn’t want any of us to go to Hell because he didn’t create hell for us. Get it that you don’t just need Jesus for eternity, you need him for this life, He is the one who completes us, He is the one we yearn for deep within our soul. He is our Creator; our God and He alone is worthy of all our Praise. All the Glory belongs to God.

Even if Jesus could get off that cross he didn’t because He is the only way, because He loves us all. There is no other way to God except Jesus. Others say God is wicked but I say God is Love. For Him to do that for us, He is Love himself.

Let’s review, what is exactly is the Gospel? The creation, fall, restoration and redemption.

The Gospel is the account of God writing himself into human history. It all begins with God who created the world and all that is in it, Man sinned and got separated from God both physical, emotional and spiritual death, total separation from God. Out of God’s Love for us, He sent his only son Jesus to die as a sacrifice for all of our sins, the whole of mankind and He was risen on the third day. Christ is risen and seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is the only way to God the Father, Christ is the only Way, Truth and Life. And without him, we have none of these.

Accept Christ into your heart, He loves you more than you could ever imagine. He wants to have a relationship with you. I’m not going to write you a prayer but I encourage you to go talk to God now, pour out your heart to him. He will hear you if you call on him.

GOD WANTS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. ACCEPT HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, AS YOUR FATHER, YOUR BROTHER AND YOU FRIEND. HE WANTS TO BE EVERYTHING TO YOU. HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH.

LOVE YOU ALL,

GOD LOVES YOU MORE

See you soon. Have a blessed week.