The Gospel

The gospel is good news because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings. That problem is simply this: God is infinitely holy, righteous, and just, and we are not. And each of us will stand before this just and holy God, and be judged. You and I will be judged either on the basis of our own righteousness–or lack of it–or on the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness—perfect obedience to God, not for His own well-being but for His people, those whom He saves. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice in death to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own honor and integrity. He’s likened to a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody like a grandfather winks at his grandchildren. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it so by raising Him from the dead. Christ died for his people, He was raised for their justification.

The gospel is something objective. It is the message of God’s promised Savior, Jesus Christ, who He is and what He did. God’s only given name by which He saves.
The Gospel is also subjective, how does one get its benefits? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith–and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him and in Him alone. You do that, God declares you justified and you are adopted into His family, you are forgiven of all of your sins and begin your pilgrimage for eternity.