The Gospel
“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 15:3-4).
The Problem
To understand the Gospel we must first understand the need we have for a savior. The Bible states, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23a). The verse has both the past and present tense because we fell and continue to fall. In the same chapter, it states, “[n]one is righteous, no, not one; no understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). The following and next couple of verses describe how wicked humanity is without God, and as we read this, the Holy Spirit confirms its truth in us because God wrote His law on our hearts (Romans 2:15). The Spirit also guides us into all truth (John 16:13). It is also said that “the wages of sin is death,” and we take that to mean physical death as well as spiritual death or the second death (Romans 6:23a). This second death is eternally experiencing the wrath of God in torment (Revelation 21:8). God is righteous to do so because He demands justice and will not let any sin go unpunished (Proverbs 11:21a). He would be unjust if He did (see second section). This is truly the worst news ever.
The Solution
The previous points showed us the need for the punishment of sins as well as God’s justice and wrath. However, the story isn’t over, and there is very good news left. God has chosen before time to save sinners who have faith in Him, but He cannot just save by forgiving alone. If He were to do so, He would be going against His just nature. “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His grace... as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him” (Ephesians 1:7,10). “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly... God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:6, 8-9). He was punished for our sins in our place, dying the death we deserved on the cross. It should have been us on the cross experiencing the full wrath of God, but He chose to do it for us. “[We] are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26). After His death, He was buried. Three days later, He rose from the dead, as scripture says, “[He] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The one who defeated death could not be bound by it. Because our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, defeated sin, the devil, and death, we also possess His victory and eternal life with Him as a free gift by God’s grace (Romans 6:23b). That is good news indeed. That is the Gospel. Jesus paid it all. Through Him, we have true life.
The Response
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). “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 is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Our response to the gospel and how one is saved is by having faith in Christ. But how does one have faith? “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). One is brought to faith by hearing the word preached, spoken, or read. That is why I decided to include as much Scripture as I could in this message. Jesus also commands us to repent, which means we turn away from our sin and towards Him (Mark 1:15). It is important to know that repentance is no more of a work than faith is, for we are not saved by works, but by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). There are various theories on whether faith or repentance occurs first chronologically, but most Christians agree they are an inseparable work of God. Therefore, “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” and “[You] will be saved” (Mark 1:15, Romans 10:13).
