What is the Gospel?

What is the Gospel?

All mankind has fallen into sin (Rom. 1:18; 3:10, 23; 1 John 3:8) There are no exceptions to this, everyone has sinned against our creator, willingly or in ignorance. Because God is just (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8), He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. This means that sin has to be paid for and because all are guilty in the sight of God, no one can escape the fact that their sins must be punished.

The only way that our sin cannot condemn us to eternal punishment is through Jesus Christ, there is no other way (John 14:6). He is God (Colossians 1:15-20), the Second Member of the Trinity, who entered this sinful world, truly God and truly man. Because of God’s great love for us, Christ chose to die in our place, taking on the punishment that we were due (John 3:16; Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 4:10).

This forgiveness of sin and a right standing before God, being justified in His sight can only come by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 1:3-14). We can become partakers in this grace by repenting of our sins (1 John 1:9) and living in a confident faith in who Jesus is; that He accomplished our atonement for sin, and that He bodily rose from the grave, securing our new life in this world and the next. Making a proclamation of your faith in Jesus is followed by water baptism (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Peter 3:21) this is your proclamation to the world that you have been made alive in Christ, forsaking former selfish ways, and becoming part of a body of believers.

Now that I believe …

The Christian life does not end with our justification in Christ. This is just the beginning. Christ now calls us to walk in the new life we now have. We take off our former way of living and put on Christ – His will, His law, and His love. This is called sanctification. The process by which we grow in Christ-likeness as we draw closer to God in holiness through the spiritual formation of the Holy Spirit within our hearts and the outward working of this change in our study of the Bible, active prayer life, and an outworking of the love of Jesus in the way we think, speak, and act (Ephesians 4:22-24).

The best place to start is with reading your Bible. I would highly suggest that you start your Bible journey with a translation that is easy to read, like the NIV, NET, or NLT and by reading the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Luke, Romans, 1 John, Hebrews and then James, in that order, to gain a well-rounded understanding of the new life that Christ has called you into. Don’t stop there though! The Bible is the authoritative Word of God, instructing us in the right way to live in order to glorify God and know Him more. I would highly suggest finding a Bible reading plan to read through the Bible in a year after reading these first few books.

The sanctified life is not lived alone either. We should seek out Godly fellowship as a member of a church, as we mentioned earlier, that preaches and practices the gospel of Jesus Christ. Walking alongside fellow believers under the authority of a church that preaches and teaches the truth of the Scriptures is an important part of growing in holiness and faithfulness with the family of God.

Having been justified by Christ, and actively being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we live a new life here and now, but death in this life is not the end. Those who are saved by grace will be resurrected from the dead and live life eternally with our loving Father.

Resources for New Believers

This short list of resources should help you as you begin your journey as a new disciple of Christ. Never stop learning about or pursuing your glorious Savior!

Books

Websites & Apps