What Is
"the Gospel?"

The message of Christianity, the Gospel, is good news. The good news of Christianity is that we can be reconciled to God. You may be thinking, “Reconciled to God? I didn’t know that we were estranged?” Well, in order to understand just how good this news is, we must first understand that there is bad news. God, the holy and loving creator of the world, made us to reflect His beautiful character (Genesis 1:26-28). We were created to love him and bring glory to him by joyfully obeying his commands. 

Tragically, like Adam and Eve, we have all decided that we don’t want to live under God’s rule or obey his commands (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23). We would rather love ourselves, bring glory to ourselves, and obey the desires of our own hearts. This rebellion against God’s rule is what the Bible calls sin. There is a deep cost of sin (Romans 6:23). Because God is eternal and holy he must punish sin, and we are in danger of eternally falling under his just judgment. This is the bad news that we must come to understand in order to see and savor the good news about Jesus. The matchless good news about Jesus is that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:6). God sent his one and only Son, Jesus (John 3:16). 

Jesus, being fully God and fully man, lived the life of perfect love for God by bringing glory to him and joyfully obeying his commands (1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5). Jesus died on the cross bearing God’s just punishment for the sin of all of those who would ever turn from their sin and trust in him. Three days after his death, God raised Jesus from the dead, proving to us all that his death on our behalf was an acceptable substitute (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 21). Now Jesus calls us all to turn from our sins and trust in him (Mark 1:14-15). The good news is that if we truly repent, leaving our sins behind, and trust, placing our faith wholly in Jesus, we will be reconciled to God for all eternity (1 John 1:9). For those who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus, nothing can or will ever separate them from God’s love (Romans 8:28-29). 

Having been reconciled to God, Jesus calls us to live under his Lordship and in the fellowship of his church. Dear reader, along with Jesus we want to encourage you to turn from your sins, believe in him, and make him Lord of your life. Please contact us as we would love to speak and pray with you about what it means to be a Christian and follow Jesus.