The Gospel in a Nutshell
The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth said this:
Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Indeed the apostle continues to further explain how that following Christ’s resurrection from the dead He was seen by many hundreds of people, including the other apostles. By telling us this, the scriptures do draw out for us the basic ingredients of what the Gospel message is, namely this that it outlines the death, burial, resurrection and post-resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel Message is Good News:
Why is the gospel that the apostle preached, and which we at Crich Baptist Church believe, good news? A simple way of answering this is to say that it addresses the most serious problem we all have. We most sincerely hold to the view that ‘Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins. By Christ’s death on the cross He became our substitute, taking upon Himself that punishment that should rightfully have been ours. If we then truly repent of our sins, trusting in what Christ has accomplished on our behalf, then we are able to know the forgiveness that God has promised to all who believe upon Him.
We cannot achieve God’s forgiveness through any amount of our so-called good works, so by the grace and mercy of God we are able to know salvation, and be assured of our place in heaven through faith alone, in Christ alone. Is not this good news?
Conclusion
In summary, what is the gospel? It is a message containing the good news of salvation, a message from a merciful God, a message offered to mankind by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is a message about forgiveness for sins, and a message that reveals the way to eternal life.
Much more could indeed be said, and through the articles we plan to provide, we trust that we will be able to more clearly illustrate the difference believing the Gospel can make to the lives of any who truly believe it, and seek to live by its truth.