Believing the gospel is necessary to salvation. Most Americans and Western Europeans have been warned this is true. But what is this “gospel”? There are so many denominations within Christianity. There is an allure of the “truths” of other religions. It can be hard to sift through all the messages these two factors create in order to get down to the facts of what the gospel is and why it matters. What is required for one to be saved? And what are you being saved from or to? As you read this blog, I hope to present a case from the Bible that will give the reader a basic understanding of what the gospel is and what the gospel is not. Please note the depths of the gospel and its implications are worth a literal eternity of study. I just hope to share with you the general message and give some helpful boundaries.
For the nonbeliever, the ones seeking truth, I wrote this so you can hear and consider the message, have the opportunity to respond, and have clear direction on how to sort through the various anti-gospels. For the believer, I have written this as an example or guide for sharing the gospel with others. I have tried to include Scripture references to memorize and carry with you as you share the hope you have within you whenever you are blessed with the opportunity to do so.
THE GOSPEL IS THE GOOD NEWS
The gospel comes from a greek word which basically means "Good News." By implication that means there is something that would not be good news. We can also logically conclude that both the good and not good news would come from a simple presentation of the news. Let’s quickly define all three.
The News
"The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." John the Baptist proclaimed this statement prior to Christ’s ministry officially beginning. Christ, Himself, also proclaimed this truth. What they were heralding is that the promise found throughout all of Scripture at the time (also known as the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible) had come to pass. It was being fulfilled as God had promised. See, since Adam’s sin (or fall as it is called) in Genesis 3, mankind had been waiting on the promised restoration of the cohabitation of God and man. Man had been sent out of the special home of God, the Garden of Eden, to live in the wilderness because of the danger of eternal life in a sinful and fallen state. The kingdom of God was going to return to rest on earth. God and man would again be face-to-face and within arms reach of each other. Because of sin, God and man could not live together. That relationship had been severed. Man was cut off from the close communion he had with God before he sinned. Man's rebellion against God not only brought sin into the world, but it brought spiritual death and separation. It brought physical death. It brought marital conflict and conflict between humans. It brought chaos and disorder of all types including in the created order. It brought struggle in our work and hardship in life in general. It brought all kinds of evil and problems we now suffer with and the corruption we long to see ended. Man had to go so God sent him packing.
The Bad News
The kingdom of Heaven, the home of visible presence of God, has returned to earth and man is now in arm's reach of God and face-to-face with Him. This is a promised time of dealing with all that has transpired since God was last with man. That is a scary truth when you realize the same sin and disobedience that led to the punishment, the separation, to begin with is clearly present in every man, woman, and child. Couple that with the fact that we are talking about a perfect and holy God who is also a perfect and holy King and a perfect and holy judge, and you have a terrible predicament. As a just judge, sin must be rightly assessed. Once it is assessed and found to be what it is, there must be a proper judgment rendered in accordance with sin's corruption. That judgment will require God administer the punishment it deserves. Sin cannot remain unpunished. Sin is a plague on all it touches. It brings forth death, chaos, disorder, dysfunction, and suffering to all it meets. It also replicates and spreads wherever it goes just like a virus or mold. We want sin to be wiped out. To wipe out sin would require God to wipe each of us out through eternal punishment for the crimes we have committed against each other and thus against our perfect King.
As King, God has the power and authority to enact the necessary decrees to protect and preserve the rule and law for man’s and all created order’s good, to protect and preserve the Kingdom. This is a good thing unless you must be dealt with because you are the rebel who has brought chaos and destruction against men, the created order, and ultimately against the King who rules the kingdom. We are traitors and deserve the exile and corporal punishment we have been warned would come. Our hearts told us this when we sinned. We experienced it in our conscience. We felt the shame, fear, guilt, regret, and brokenness. But something changed. First, we were okay with our sins. We overlooked them or justified them. As a society we normalized them. Here in America, we celebrate evil and call it good while calling what is good evil! We began to love sin. And this is a huge problem for us personally because we are going to stand before Him personally. The Kingdom of Heaven is here now. He knows all things. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. And He is assessing it and judging it for what it is. He is working to protect and preserve the Kingdom.
He also does not accept an offering of “good deeds” to make up for our sin. We can’t tip the scales. We are unrighteous (not right, not trustworthy). Our word is useless. Our actions prove we cannot be trusted on our own. To beg and plead and boast of the weight of the good we have done is not an acceptable exchange for the evil we have committed. Just as a murderer must be punished for the murder they committed and not acquitted simply because they have lived an otherwise seemingly kind, generous, loving, good life, so we must be punished for the sins we have committed independent of whatever “good” we may think we have done as a counterbalance. God is perfect. His creation will be perfect. He cannot and will not settle for less. This is a good thing really, but that means we won’t be a part of it short of a miracle. We have to receive the promised punishment or God cannot be trusted. And He is perfect and righteous, so He can be trusted. He keeps His Word. He came back, right? The Kingdom of Heaven is here. God’s trustworthiness is a good thing. We want to be ruled by a pure and sinless, trustworthy all-powerful and unbiased God….that is unless we must be addressed. But we can't bribe him with deeds. He doesn't need or want them. We can't give him sacrifices or money. He creates all that exists. He doesn't need anything we have to offer. We can't sing praises to Him and make beautiful worship services to make up for it. He sees our corrupt hearts and won't accept corrupted worship. There is no way around it. We have no hope in ourselves. We know it and He knows it.
The Good News
God has kept His Word. He has made a way for God and man to cohabitate or live together again. Perfection is coming and the world will be purified and restored to its “good” state! But what about us, right? How will be saved from the wrath that comes with the presence of God? How do we escape the hands of an all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing God who keeps His Word and judges all wickedness and evil acts of rebellion? One Word: Love. You may have heard the following verse at some point:
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”[1]
Let’s look at the next few as well:
“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”[2]
These two verses contain the gospel as well as a bit more. Let’s look into the Word to see what the gospel really is.
THE GOSPEL IS A MESSAGE, NOT THE RESPONSE
The gospel is a message. God has kept His Word. He has brought the Kingdom of Heaven back to earth to live in peace with us. The result is conditional: It depends on believing something. Let’s carefully separate the message from the response.
The Gospel Message
“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”[3]
This is one of the shortest and clearest gospel presentations in the Bible. Paul has already informed his audience that he is going to remind them of the gospel he told them. This is that gospel message. After this verse he pleads with them to believe based on the reliability of the testimony of those who have witnessed this. So a quick summary of the contents gives us …categories to review and understand.
1. The Scriptures foretold of a Christ who would come
2. This Christ would die for our sins as was foretold
3. This Christ would be buried and raised from the dead as foretold.
To say it another way, God has revealed to man that He (GOD) was going to send one called the Christ to live a perfect life in our place, die for our sins (and not His, the Christ, own) in our place, go down into the earth in our place as has been promised, and be resurrected or raised from the dead. This resurrection means He has also received his place on the eternal throne of David as the reigning Lord or King/authority over all men. This can be good or bad news as well because He is just like the Father in every way including His hate of sin and His means and way of judgment.
The Gospel Response
So what does that information do? What thoughts, fears, hope does it produce in you? It is simply a message that is proclaimed. Like any message it can be accepted or rejected. Some will laugh it off or think it foolish. Others will respond by believing and may ask, “Brothers, what should we do?”[4]
The response I give to those of you who believe: “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”[5]
The appropriate response to the gospel message is to believe it. That belief will manifest in a change of mind that wants to correct its actions. Let me give you an example. If I told you fire will hurt you badly if you touch it, but you never felt a fire before, you could choose to believe me or laugh at me for telling you that information. Say I told you that while we were sitting around a campfire. If you believe you will be hurt by fire if you put your hand on the campfire and if at the same time you don’t want to be hurt, you will not put your hand on the fire . the Bible says, "Fear of the LORD is the beginning of understanding."[6] Better yet, the Bible makes it clear what active "fear" looks like: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding."[7] Fear of the Lord is clearly expressed by “departing from evil.” Departing from evil could be what we call “repentance”. The first step of repentance is to obey the command of God to step into what you might call the “judgment waters” and be baptized.[8] Baptism is an act of being buried with Christ and raised with Christ into new life by being immersed into the water and raised from the water as part of becoming a member of His body, His people, the church. It's an act of being reconnected to God after having been separated from God because of sin. It's the first step of what we call reconciliation. It's the first step of discipleship. It's the first step of the journey of a new life of fellowship with God and His people, your new forever family as you walk toward eternity together.
The Root versus the Fruit
Often you will hear of benefits that come with belief in the gospel. Such is the case in our example above from Acts. Look at what follows:“Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”[9]
Here is an even bigger promise: “For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”[10]
Let’s simplify that verse: All of God’s promises are ours (those who believe the gospel message) in Christ. He has secured their fulfillment, or coming to pass in their fullness. We have access to them. We own them. We will enjoy and experience them in their proper time. That is good news too, right? Of course! But it isn’t the gospel message. It is the gift given to all who believe the gospel message.
The root of belief is in the message itself, not in the gifts. The gifts are good. God does not withhold any good thing from His children.[11] But receiving the gift depends on something: being a child of God. It is a natural overflow of God’s goodness in relation to His children. He simply pours out in goodness and gifts, but this is not the gospel message. It is not "believe God and He will give you access to all the good things you want". No. That is the fruit of a relationship with God. If you are in the garden, you get the fruit that grows on the trees. If you aren’t in the garden, you don’t get the fruit. Unbelievers aren’t in the garden and He won’t let those who are simply after the fruit get in to ravage the garden. He is preserving and protecting the garden for His family. Those who do not love Him for Him and see their need for freedom from sin are outside of the garden. You cannot cling to sin and cling to your Savior from sin. You have to let go of one to follow the other. They are leading you two entirely different directions. The Kingdom is at hand, but we don’t see God face-to-face yet. You won't get all those physical blessings yet. We have plenty of spiritual blessings available in this life if we believe. But God doesn't promise us more than His presence and love. Hebrews 11 speaks of those who died before they received the promise they were waiting on and they loved God. They understood. Do you love God or what He can give you? Do you see you need a Savior or do you want something shiny? Or a fixed marriage, business salvaged, prodigal child returned, or any number of things that isn't God? None of those are the gospel and they can't be confused as part of the message.
How Do You Become a Child of God?
We become children of God when we believe the gospel.[12] Point blank. Period. The natural thing to ask here is why even go into this then? Why not leave the blog on simply the gospel message? Good question! I’m glad you asked. Check your heart. What are you after? Would you come to God for access to the treasure chest and not for access to Him? Would you rather be sitting in the tree eating the fruit and hiding from this God who says He will punish the sin you cling to? Or do you genuinely fear the Lord and sit broken before His presence, before His voice calling you to step out of the bushes you are hiding in and come before Him to give account? Do you believe His goodness and power is worthy of obedience? Do you believe your brokenness is real? Your sin is evil and must be dealt with? Do you believe this is a good thing and this judgment will take place? Now, do you believe God keeps His word not only in judgment, but in restoration and having sent His Son to die for your sins? Do you believe Jesus was sent to be punished on your behalf? Do you believe He died in your place? That He rose again and is in power having suffered under every drop of the wrath of God that was meant for you? Do you believe the cup of wrath is empty and every last drop is gone so that no anger is left to be poured out on you now? All that awaits you is the forgiveness, acceptance, adoption, and all the other aspects of the love of God?
Then repent and believe the gospel. Step forward before your God in the judgment waters (baptism). Die to your sin and old life as you go beneath them. Be raised to a new life and union with Christ as you come out of them. This is all in preparation for the physical death you will one day face as well as the welcome you will simultaneously receive as you cross from death to life just as God has promised.
To offer any other gospel is to deceive and manipulate men to chase idols into judgment. False prophets and preachers dangle the fruit before the eyes and don’t warn the listener of the God that guards the garden and destroys all the snakes that yearn to sneak in. They promise people things God does not promise for this life and that will fail people time and time again. Their word is not trustworthy. Their knowledge is twisted and perverse because it is not in line with Scripture. They speak for God, but not in the words of the GodMan, Jesus Christ, but of their father, the devil!
This comes in two forms in most American conversations:
1) Jesus plus….
2) Promise of something other than Jesus EX: best known version-Prosperity gospel
The Jesus plus something else option requires the likes of “good deeds or obedience to a religious system."[13] The promise of something other than Jesus option like the Prosperity Gospel promises wealth, health, and happiness all the time in order to lure fish into the nets. Where one can never be satisfied by Christ's work alone, the other entices using the idols men already worship. Both fail to see the infinite value of the finished work of Christ. They undervalue the very thing God has made most valuable--Jesus. That is why "gospels" that require more than belief in Christ's finished work or promise more than a right relationship with God now, in this lifetime, are false gospels. They are Satan’s gospels and he is known for dangling shiny things before the eyes of men to mislead them as he whispers lies that will kill them in their ears. Beware of any gospel message that requires Jesus….and anything else. Also beware any gospel that the good news is gifts rather than God, His Kingdom, and the trustworthiness of His word to judge sin and restore men to Himself through Christ.
[1] John 3:16 NLT
[2] John 3:17-21
[3] 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
[4] Acts 2:37
[5] This is a portion of the verse found in Acts 2:38
[6] Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Psalm 111:10
[7] From Job 28:28
[8] Baptism is a robust and wonderful subject I don’t have time to expound here, but will address in around 4-6 months Lord willing. Today, just know that obedience to the word is more important than all knowledge. Knowledge takes time. Commitment to obey God’s commands because you believe Him is where you start.
[9] Acts 2:38b-39
[10] 2 Corinthians 1:19b-20
[11] Matthew 6:33; 7:11 among others
[12] Ephesians 1:5,13; Romans 8:14-15 (all who believe are Christ’s and are given the gift of His Holy Spirit as noted in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.
[13] Colossians 2:16-23 gives a great picture of how this has worked in the past. Verses 16-17 point to Jesus plus religious participation (festivals and accordance with formal religious institution), verses18-19 are Jesus plus spiritual experiences, verses 20-21 are cleanliness and holiness laws, and 22-23 is Jesus plus asceticism. Only Christ saves. Nothing else—just Jesus finished work. I plan on writing on “Justification by Faith Alone” soon. Working through this touchy subject can be helpful. Here is a link to help in the meantime: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/justification_by_faith_alone/
OTHER RESOURCES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:
BLOG: THE PURSUIT
BLOG: TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
BLOG: A HOPE WORTH MORE THAN ALL THE TREASURE IN THE WORLD
SERMONS