What Is the Gospel?

Contemporary society views the universe as a godless entity. It believes that all things came into existence through a series of random acts, and that they are upheld by impersonal laws.

But this is not so. The sacred Scriptures say that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5), and He created and owns everything: “The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” (Psalm 24:1–2).

The world, then, is not the result of a cosmic accident but was wonderfully designed by an excellent Being. He also sustains it in such a minute way that not even a hair falls from any man’s head without His permission (Matthew 10:29–31; cf. Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).

This Creator is supremely characterized by holiness (Isaiah 6:3). He is Light, “and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God cannot approve of any evil, nor look upon it with favor (Habakkuk 1:13). Therefore, He demands perfect obedience to His holy law (Matthew 5:48). And those who resist this rule are the subjects of His boundless hatred (Psalm 5:5; 11:5; 34:16).

Man, on the other hand, is not the product of evolution. He was originally created as a perfect being. He is God’s image, and as such, he was appointed to exercise dominion over creation as God’s viceregent (Genesis 1:26). Instead of executing this divine mandate, however, the first man, father, and representative of us all—Adam—fell into sin (Genesis 3:11–12). In doing so, he made all his descendants sinners likewise, both by birth and by the imputation of his guilt to them (Genesis 3:19; Psalm 14:1–3; 143:2; Isaiah 24:5; Hosea 6:7; Romans 3:23; 5:12–21).

And having offended an infinite God, we must pay an eternal penalty for sin; namely, death (Romans 6:23). We cannot save ourselves by our own good works, for the debt that we have incurred is greater than what we are able to pay (Psalm 49:7–9; Isaiah 64:4; Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:3–5).

Nevertheless, in His indescribable mercy, God took heed of our miserable condition. He sent His own eternal Son into the world, who assumed humanity with all of its weaknesses, except for sin (John 1:1, 14; 3:16; Hebrews 2:17; 4:15). Jesus Christ, therefore, is both true God and sinless man (Colossians 2:9). And He was made to pay the penalty of all who would ever believe in Him by death on a cross (2 Corinthians 5:21; Gal 3:13), thereby demonstrating the love of God toward His own enemies (Romans 5:8).

But death did not have the ultimate victory over Christ. He rose on the third day and lives today as the exalted Prince and Savior who delivers from death all who come to Him by faith (Acts 5:31; 1 Corinthians 15:4).

To receive this salvation, then, you must repent of all that dishonors God—both your thoughts and behavior (Isaiah 55:7). Moreover, you must believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9). This means that you must embrace Him as preeminent in your life: All things (such as possessions, relationships, pleasures, reputation, etc.) must be as nothing to you in comparison with Jesus (Matthew 13:44–46; Luke 14:26, 33). Those who come to Him in this manner are justified in heaven’s court (Romans 5:1). They have peace with God, and God becomes their God forever (Revelation 21:3).

This means that the reward of the Gospel is God Himself. Eternal life is to know Him and enjoy Him forever (John 17:3, 24); it is to see Him “as He is” (1 John 3:2). The world would have men today believe that what we need most is found in what our eyes can see; but God is our highest good. So, as Jesus said, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (John 6:27).