The Gospel

The word “gospel” literally means “good news” and that’s exactly what it is! It appears 93 times in the Bible, exclusively in the New Testament. In Greek, the word is euaggelion, which is where we get the words evangelist, evangel, and evangelical. In a broad sense, the gospel refers to all of Scripture, but more specifically, it’s the good news about Jesus and the way to salvation.

But to truly understand why the gospel is such good news, we need to start with the bad news.

Long ago, God gave Israel the Law through Moses (Deuteronomy 5:1). Think of the Law as a measuring stick, anything less than perfect falls short. And the truth is, none of us can measure up. No matter how “good” or “bad” we seem compared to each other, we all miss the mark. The Bible says “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), and the consequence of sin is separation from God, the source of life. If we want to be with Him in heaven, our sin has to be dealt with.

Throughout the Old Testament, God made it clear that sin could only be cleansed through the sacrifice of an innocent life (Hebrews 9:22). This pointed forward to something greater, the ultimate solution to our biggest problem.

The key elements of the gospel are beautifully summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:3–6:

“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, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

This passage highlights four key truths:

1) The gospel is a divine message and Paul received it and passed it on; it wasn’t made up by people.
2) It’s the most important message, the foundation of Christian faith.
3) It’s backed by evidence—Jesus’ death was proven by His burial, and His resurrection was confirmed by eyewitnesses.
4)It was all part of God’s plan—foretold in Scripture from the very beginning.

Paul boldly declared, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). This message isn’t just good news, this is life-changing news:

1) It’s powerful — it transforms hearts.
2) It’s for everyone — no matter who you are.
3) It’s a free gift — salvation comes through faith, not by earning it (Ephesians 2:8–9).

The gospel is God’s declaration of love: “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). It guarantees our salvation, eternal life, and a home in heaven (John 14:1–4).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:3–4).

Here’s the amazing reality: We don’t have to earn salvation, it’s already finished (John 19:30). Jesus took our place, and because of His sacrifice, we’re no longer separated from God. Instead, we’re welcomed into His family as His beloved children (Romans 5:10; John 1:12).

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1 John 3:1).

Rejecting the gospel means rejecting the only way to be saved. The Bible makes it clear: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:17–18).

But here’s the good news, God wants us to be saved! He’s not here to condemn us; He sent Jesus to rescue us. All we have to do is believe.

This is the greatest news of all: God has given a lost world a lifeline, the Gospel of Jesus Christ!