What is the Gospel?
The Gospel means “Good News”….
and it is simply this: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” This verse comes from 1 Timothy 1:15-16 and reads, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” The apostle Paul was writing this in an epistle (letter) to Timothy. If you’re wondering who Timothy was, according to Wikipedia, “Timothy was from the Lycaonian city of Lystra in Asia Minor (the Asian portion of Turkey.), born of a Jewish mother who had become a Christian believer, and a Greek father. The Apostle Paul met him during his second missionary journey and he became Paul's companion and missionary partner along with Silas.”
So if there is good news, this also means there is bad news...
GOD
God is the Creator and owner of everything. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains.” (Psalm 24:1) He is also perfectly holy. “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
We have to understand and get this right or else everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God is also holy, He cannot ignore nor tolerate sin. Since he created everything, including us, He has the right to tell us how to live. But this isn't from a place of control or hubris. It’s because He loves, cares for, and knows what is best for us. If we want to truly understand the good news of the gospel, we have to understand how holy God is, what that means, and why sin is such a big deal.
MANKIND
We are made by God, for God, and to worship God.
Does it really matter what we believe about humanity and our origin of life? Was it the Big Bang that randomly birthed us from star dust? Did we evolve from pond scum and work our way through the animal kingdom via macroevolution? Perhaps the Intelligent Design of some impersonal and unknowable entity/“higher power” create us? Or was it something else? What are the consequences for which origin of life narrative we believe - or don’t?
Contrary to these theories, we are not the result of any of them. These beliefs have directly contributed to all kinds of heinous sins such as: racism; sexual harassment/assault/abuse/violence; abortion and other forms of murder assault, and violence; abuse (spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, verbal, etc.); chattel slavery; human trafficking; genocide; sexism and misogyny; forced sterilization; torture; hate crimes; pedophilia and child molestation; and any other wicked atrocity that has been committed against humanity by other humans.
These deeds are a direct result of holding the beliefs that:
1) There is no God.
2) We are not specially created by God apart from animals and all other creation
3) Morality is relative and subjective (no one can say what’s objectively and absolutely right or wrong)
If we were not created by a perfect and loving God - separately from animals and for a specific purpose - we can do whatever we want to others and ourselves as well.
From the moment you were conceived, you were being uniquely knit together in your mother’s womb by God. (Ps. 139:13) Despite what someone may have told you, you are NOT an accident or a mistake! You are meant to be here. Regardless of your background or where you are now, God’s purpose for you and His chosen people is to love, worship, and bring Him glory.
THE PROBLEM: BAD NEWS
Unfortunately, no one naturally wants to love and worship God! (Romans 1:19-20) We hate being told what to do even if it’s for our own good. We want to be our own gods and take no responsibility for our thoughts, words, and actions.
Because we are all born into sin (Psalm 51:5), want to follow our flesh, and go our own way (Isaiah 53:6), we are the problem with the world. We cause all of the aforementioned crimes/horrors against humanity because we delight to disobey God and do what we want to each other, ourselves, and the world.
As you have stopped to ponder why there is so much evil and suffering in the world, what explanations/conclusions have you come to? Is it solely our childhood/background and the mistreatment from others? An occasional lapse in judgment that influences us to succumb to the evil around us? Or is it that despite the sin we have experienced and seen, that we are all by nature wicked at heart? (Jeremiah 17:9)
The answer is SIN. Sin is anything that breaks God’s law, the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” (v. 2-3)
God is the only triune Creator of all things; the only true and living God; the One who rescued His people out of bondage. There is no one above, before, or after Him.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God...” (v. 4-6)
Because God is the only creator, He is the only one to be worshiped and has the right to tell us who and how to worship. Worshiping anything except God Himself is not ever acceptable and this is not just referring to physical things or actual idols like: buddhas, Hindu gods, altars to false gods, devotion to dark forces, crystals, children, relationships, money, physical beauty, etc. Idols can also be intangible: education/degrees, careers, ideologies, intellect, status, power, etc.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (v. 7)
Taking God’s name in vain by using it flippantly and without reverence does not please Him. This could be as a regular expression of disappointment, anger, surprise, frustration, or cursing, etc. Either way, God’s name is not to be used in any disrespectful and insignificant way.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (v. 8-11)
God rested on the 7th day after He spent 6 days making creation and humanity. Rest is a wonderful and much needed part of life and is also about setting aside a day to worship Him, rest in Him, fellowship with Him, and with others.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you.” (v. 12)
God is a Heavenly Father who also has motherly characteristics (Numbers 11:12; Isaiah 66:7-13; John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 2:2-3) and He takes dishonoring our parents seriously because they were given to us to love and care for us. Honoring our parents does not mean that we disobey God or submit to/justify any kind of abuse or mistreatment, but it does mean that we do our best to respect them and have as healthy of a relationship as we can if possible. This is still possible even if that means setting hard boundaries to maintain our spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental safety and well-being.
“You shall not murder.” (v. 13)
God is a God who loves and values human life. Even when God does take life, it is never considered murder. Because he is perfect, whatever He does is right and just even when we don’t understand His why. This is not ever comparable to humans intentionally and wrongfully taking the life of another human being. Murder is not just limited to killing a human being inside or outside of the womb. Jesus spoke about hatred towards someone being similar to murdering them in your heart. (1 John 3:15)
“You shall not commit adultery.” (v. 14)
God is a faithful God and this means that He is faithful to His people. Adultery is not just voluntary sexual contact between a married person and someone who is not his or her spouse, it can also be an inappropriate emotional connection that has been established with someone who is not one’s spouse. Though adultery is referring to married people, other commands against sexual immorality, whether married or not, still apply. This means lust in your heart (Matthew 5:27-30), masturbation, pornography, fornication (whether heterosexual or homosexual/LGB+ identifying), and any sexual activity outside of a marriage covenant between one man and one woman are all condemned by God. (1 Corinthians 10:8; 6:12-20; Hebrews 13:4; Acts 15:19-20; Ephesians 5:1-11)
“You shall not steal.” (v. 15)
Because God is the ultimate owner and giver of everything in the universe, He is incapable of ever unjustly taking anything from someone. This command against stealing also infers that there are individual proprty rights whether tangible, like someone’s physical body or otherwise, or intangible like intellectual property. Therefore God forbids anyone from unjustly taking, keeping, or destroying the goods and property of another human being.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (v. 16)
God is a truthful God and “He is not a man that He should lie.” (Numbers 23:19) He expects His people to tell the truth and not lie. Lies not only dishonor God, but they also bring trouble and ruin onto other people. Lies destroy trust, reputations, relationships, families, whole lives. A lise can listerally send someone to jail or to their death. James 3:1-12 speaks about the poswer of the tongue as does Proverbs 18:21. Keep in mind that Proverbs 18:21 is not referring to the misinterpretation and erroneous belief of speaking things into existence as only God can, but it reminds us of the intangible power of our words and if we use them to bring glory or dishonor to God as well as encouragement and truth to others.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (v. 17)
Desire and covetousness are also not the same thing. Though it is not wrong to desire certain things, we must search our hearts and ask *why* we desire them. We must also be mindful of our *response* when we do and especially when we do not receive them. Being consumed with the desire for what others have shows that we aren’t grateful and that we don’t believe that what God has given us is sufficient, good for us in that moment, and exactly what we need for life, godliness, and to trust Him. Covetousness can lead to roots of anger, bitterness, envy, and even stealing, which the 9th Commandment addresses.
Because we are all born into sin and want to go our own way (Isaiah 53:6), we are the problem with the world. Not only do we cause all of the aforementioned horrors, but apart from Christ, we enjoy indulging in these sins.Because we are all born into sin and want to go our own way (Isaiah 53:6), we are the problem with the world. Not only do we cause all of the aforementioned horrors I listed before the 10 Commandments, but apart from Christ, we actually enjoy indulging in all of these sins.
“But I’m a good person!”
BUT…
“No one is good,
No one is righteous
No one seeks after God
No, not one.”
(Romans 3:10-12)
The Gospel isn’t about being a good person and unfortunately, none of us actually are good people by nature or in our own strength.
Do we occasionally do good deeds? Yes! And that’s because we are all made in the image of God with His Law (the 10 Commandments) written on our hearts. (Romans 2:4-15) Even those who are not born again do good deeds because they reflect the Creator, but simply doing good is not enough and it never will be. No one is good but God (Mark 10:18) and He doesn’t demand occasional goodness, He demands PERFECTION at all times.
When it comes to believing that we are “good”, we can fall into one or both of these categories at different times:
self-righteousness: doing what we believe is good apart from what God says is good.
moralism: doing good in order to be accepted by God.
Self-righteousness is self-serving instead of God-serving. With this, we do good according to our own subjective standards and completely apart from God because it makes us look good, feel good, and we can sometimes get something from it. It sounds like, “I’m good because I’ve decided what is good and I abide by that.”
Moralism believes that God’s love and acceptance of us is based on our good deeds and performance for Him. It sounds like, “I’m doing good by obeying God so that He will love and accept me.”
Both are false and focused on SELF rather than on Christ. Neither acknowledges:
God’s perfect and holy standard;
Our inability to meet it;
The need for a perfect Savior to save us from and forgive our sins;
The need for a complete heart change from Holy Spirit;
What He requires, He also supplies through Christ.
They both attempt to be right because of “good deeds” instead of trusting in the finished work of Christ and His righteousness to satisfy the Father’s wrath against sin, forgive us of our sins, make us righteous in His eyes, and restore our relationship with the Father. According to Isaiah 64:6, “We all have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like polluted garments. We all fade like a leaf and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Think about this: how and when would we even know if we have done enough to earn God’s love and favor?
“But I can keep the Law!”
Since we just went through the 10 Commandments, do you really believe that you or anyone else can perfectly obey the law at all times? If you said yes, you just told a lie and broke the 9th commandment. God demands perfect obedience to the Law at all times because He is perfect, holy, and will not tolerate sin. Everyone has broken His commands, whether consciously or not, and if you’ve broken one, you’ve broken them all. (James 2:10)
Again, have you perfectly obeyed God?
What happens when you break a law?
In a society that actually seeks to uphold what is right and just, there are consistent consequences (result or affect of an action or condition) and penalties (punishment imposed for breaking a law, rule, or contract) for breaking laws. If you speed, you will normally get a ticket if you get caught and pulled over. Sometimes the officer will let you off with a warning depending on your driving history or you may get a ticket anyway. Depending on the severity of the infraction, you may have to go to court, pay a fine, take a driving course, get points deducted from your license, and/or spend time in jail. But because we live in a fallen world, we know that there are often gross miscarriages of justice. Some people still get away with their crimes and unfortunately ones that are much more serious than speeding.
But this is not so when it comes to God’s law. He sees EVERYTHING (Hebrews 4:13), shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), accepts no excuses for our disobedience (Romans 1:20; Romans 2:14-15), and therefore no one will get away with their rebellion or breaking His law.
And because God is holy, perfect, and loves what is good, He demands perfect obedience to His law at all times.
What is the consequence for breaking God’s Law? His righteous judgement and punishment of eternity in Hell. (Romans 6:23)
Someone has to pay for the sins you’ve committed against God and the question is: will you pay for them or will you believe the good news?
THE SOLUTION: GOOD NEWS
There is ONE who perfectly kept God’s law and paid the penalty for those who believe on Him…
The God man Jesus Christ!
“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”
Jesus...
Is fully God and fully man. He represented humanity on the cross and was able to go to the Father as the ultimate great high priest to intercede on behalf of sinful people. (Colossians 2:9-10; John 1:1; John 8:58)
Was conceived by Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:18)
Lived a perfectly sinless life by walking in perfect obedience to the Father and keeping the Law on our behalf. (1 Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15)
Called sinners to repent and follow Him. (Luke 5:32; Matthew 16:24-26)
Died on a cross in the place of sinners (Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-38; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:!6-37; Philippians 2:8)
Took the punishment for the sin that we deserve. (Isaiah 53:4-6; John 15:13; Hebrews 9:22)
Rose from the grave on the 3rd day and defeated death! (1 Corinthians 6:14; Luke 24)
Gives eternal life to those who trust and believe upon Him. (John 3:16, 10:27-30; 1 John 2:17, 5:11; )
The result? Anyone who repents (turns from their sins) and puts their faith and trust in Him alone to save them from their sins will have eternal life in Heaven. The alternative is spending eternity in Hell forever separated from God.
So, what will you do with this good news? Will you continue living for yourself and your own glory on a path of destruction? Or will you acknowledge your need for a Savior, give your life to God, and follow Jesus on the path to life everlasting?
REFLECT AND APPLY:
1. What were you told the Gospel was before you truly came to faith? What truths were present? What truths were missing?
2. How would you sum up the gospel if you had to share it with someone?
** If you would like a complete list of the Scriptures that were referenced in this post, please contact me. **
