What Is the Gospel? | How God Saves Us
The Gospel is the good news of how God the Father has reconciled a sinful and fallen people to Himself through His son, Jesus. It is through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection that we may find eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
God is the creator of the Heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1), He is holy (Isaiah 6:3), just (Deuteronomy 32:4) and loving (1 John 4:8). God has many more characteristics (all of which are perfect and unchanging), but the Gospel reveals His character in full: justice satisfied and mercy extended at the cross (Romans 3:25-26).
Who Is Man? In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-27). They were created in His image and lived in paradise and in fellowship with God. However, due to Adam’s disobedience (sin), all mankind fell (as we all come from Adam). Because of that sin, the Earth is now filled with wickedness, none being righteous and all with the same problem: our inherent sinful nature is bent away from God and we cannot make ourselves righteous before Him (Romans 3:10-12, Ephesians 2:1-3). God’s Law is summed up in the 10 Commandments (Romans 7:12) and it reveals His perfect standard.
What Is The Problem? Because all people come from Adam, that means you too have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. Have you ever used God’s name in vain? Have you ever disobeyed your father/mother? Have you ever stolen or told a lie, no matter how small? If you have broken even one of these commandments, you have broken them all and stand condemned in the sight of God who is perfect. And because God is holy, righteous and just, the payment for your sin is death and punishment in a place called hell (Romans 6:23). There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves, because we are dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1).
Jesus Christ is God in Flesh; He is fully God and fully man (John 1:1, 14). Because He is fully God, He is perfect, holy and worthy of our worship. As fully man, He was born of a virgin, taking on humanity, so that He could do what we could not: keep God’s perfect law, perfectly (sinlessly), through word and action (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 4:15). He did this, so that He may take on the punishment that was ours. He died on the cross on our behalf and bore the punishment that we deserved (Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). However, He rose again on the third day and by rising again, declared once and for all: payment paid in full. He conquered sin and death (Romans 4:25)! Jesus lived the life that we could not, died the death that we rightly deserved and rose again, so that we may rise with Him and be reconciled to God!
Because of Christ’s once and for all payment for sin, the Holy Spirit applies Christ’s finished work to believers (in other words, Jesus’ death is credited to our account). God calls believers to Himself, regenerates (makes new) our hearts (John 3:5-8), grants repentance and faith (Acts 11:18, Ephesians 2:8-9) and justifies us by Jesus’ righteousness alone. Because of all this, once you are saved, you will spend eternity with God in heaven.
You must be born again…which is to agree with God that you are a sinner, repent (turn away) from your sins and believe the Gospel: Jesus’s work on your behalf (Mark 1:15, Acts 16:31).
If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are freely and fully forgiven (1 John 1:9). He has give you His Spirit to walk in the newness of life (Romans 8:15-16).
Now that you have been saved, your next steps are to find a bible believing church** and be baptized. Baptism is the sign of belonging to Christ and His church (Acts 2:38); it is an outward sign of the inward grace He has given you. In your local church you will also grow in grace, learn to obey His Word, partake in the Lord’s Supper and grow with the body of believers. Go an spend time in prayer and the reading of His Word and proclaim to those around you what the Lord has done for you and how they too can have everlasting life!
**If you need help finding a solid church in your area, please don’t hesitate to go to the contact page here! I can send you resources or help you narrow down some options!