What is the Gospel?

I recently posted this on Twitter and Facebook:

“I need the Gospel more every day.”

That statement prompted an insightful response from a friend of mine. She’s the kind of person that challenges me to say exactly what I intend to say, to think outside the box a little, and to appreciate the value of a dissenting opinion. I would have responded on Facebook, but I didn’t want to be that guy that responds to an honest question with a dissertation that analyzes the argument but never actually gets around to answering the question. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was a great topic to blog about. This is what Margie said:

“What do you mean when you say Gospel? No, I’m not being a jerk. I’ve had a few conversations in the last few days of what the word means to people. Gospel as in Jesus is savior/lord…crucified…resurrected? Or do you mean the gospel as in the Good News that the savior came into the world? Or gospel as in the teachings of Jesus to the world or Gospel as in All of it…everything?? Why can a simple little word be so complicated in Christianity?”

It’s a very good question – or series of questions – and it’s well worth an honest answer.

The best standard by which I could answer is with the words of Jesus himself. I love what Mark records, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” [Mark 10:45]. Another great answer comes from Paul, who is typically quite wordy but is piercingly concise when he says, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” [1 Corinthians 2:2].

So, to answer the question, the Gospel is God’s solution to man’s problem. The problem is this: God is holy and I am not. I am sinful and my sinfulness is an affront to God’s holiness. And at the end of my life, God will judge me based on His standard for a holy life – perfect, sinless righteousness. Hence, the problem: I’ve failed before I’ve even begun.

But, God provided the solution: Jesus came and fulfilled God’s standard. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He lived in perfect righteousness and obedience before God. And He didn’t do it for Himself – He did for you and me what we could never have done on our own. Even more, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for all of my sins, for all of your sins. He satisfied God’s righteous anger against sin by laying down His life for the sins of man.

This was not an easy thing to do. It cost God immeasurably to sacrifice His Son on the cross. So, God raised Jesus from the dead and in doing so God declared that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. We are justified before God because of Christ’s death and resurrection. But we must respond. The Bible is very clear that this is an act of faith in Christ’s work on our behalf. There is no work that we can do to earn this, it is "the gift of God...so that no one may boast." Paul says further, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” [Romans 10:9].

As a result, we are adopted into the family of God, forgiven of all our sins, and have the blessed hope of growing in relationship with God here on earth while anticipating an eternity spent worshiping at the throne of God.

That is what I mean when I say "Gospel." Thank you, Margie, for pushing me to explicitly declare the salvation that I cherish and the hope that I have. May we all be so bold.

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That you might know Christ,