Introduction to the Gospel

Introduction to the Gospel

The definition of the word “gospel” is “good news.” But what exactly is the gospel? What is the good news about? Why is it good? Does the good news apply to everyone, or just those who believe it and live by it? The concept of the gospel is foreign to people who are unfamiliar with the Bible in general and Christianity in particular. In addition, many nominally Christian churches have neglected basic Bible teaching for generations; as a result, many people who consider themselves to be Christians do not have a comprehensive understanding of the gospel; its meaning, its context, and its effects. Without comprehension, belief is impossible. The better one’s comprehension, the stronger one’s belief. We hope that as you consider the subjects we will cover, that you will comprehend the context, meaning and effects of the gospel, and come to believe the truth of the gospel. Many truths of the Bible are interrelated. For this reason, we recommend that you first read each section of this website, and then review the material to consider all subjects together.

The gospel in summary: The gospel relates to a historical fact. The person, Jesus Christ, came into the world according to prophesies that had been made hundreds of years earlier. It was documented that He died by crucifixion at the hands of the Romans in Israel. The entire developed world measures time from the year of the birth of Jesus Christ; that can give you an idea of how long ago this happened, and how important this was to the entire human race. The remarkable fact concerning Jesus Christ is that after His death, he rose (was resurrected) from the grave, walked among people for a period of 40 days, and then ascended bodily into the heavens. There were over 500 witnesses to these things. Jesus claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah, or savior of the people. He claimed to be the Son of God. He performed miracles and healings while He walked the earth, in accordance with prophecy. He predicted His own death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and fulfilled those predictions.

The gospel, as proclaimed by Jesus Christ and all His followers over the centuries, is this: All people have sinned, or fallen short of God’s perfect standard. All are in a natural condition of rebellion against God, no matter how good we think we are. This is the condition of the world. The penalty for this is that we will die physically and remain spiritually alienated from God for eternity. Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from that fate. God, in His mercy, has provided in His creation that a perfect substitute could die in our place. Jesus lived a perfect life, and died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins and reconcile us to God. All who would recognize their sinfulness, turn away from it, and place their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, can be reconciled to God and have eternal life in the presence of God.

For most people, the gospel contains ideas that are totally foreign to them. Although based on provable fact, there are several concepts that people find hard to accept. It is for this reason that we must consider the context of the gospel. This includes the condition of the world, the source of truth, the creation and fall of the world, the concepts of justice and mercy, God’s provision of mercy contained in the Bible, and how we can receive God’s mercy.