What is the Gospel?

What is the gospel? There is a variety of ways we can answer that question.

Literally. The word “gospel” (euaggelion) means “good news.” In a world of bad— often, terrible—news, how refreshing to have good news. But quite apart from world events, any honest assessment of ourselves will lead us to see that not all of the bad news is in the newspaper. Much of it is in our own hearts, and we are forced to wonder how we could ever face a holy God. So, when the Lord of heaven and earth declares that He has good news, we can be sure it’s good, indeed.

Its character.

What about the nature of the gospel? The gospel is from God, not man (Gal. 1:11f). As such, it stands in stark contrast to all the eerily similar religions of men (“Do fill-inthe- blank and God will owe you heaven”). Since it is from God, it is the channel of His power in crushing sin (Rom. 1:16). It is absolutely true (Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5); it is glorious (1 Tim. 1:11); it is timeless (Rev. 14:6); and it is as big as the heart of God: it is for all people (Lk. 2:10).

Its content.

In fulfilling his desire to preach the gospel to those in Rome (Rom. 1:15), Paul wrote the book of Romans, which is enough to challenge the greatest of intellects. We will spend eternity plumbing the depths of the gospel. But when it comes to what a person needs to know in order to be saved, there is no need to complicate God’s simple message of salvation. God wasn’t interested in saving only scholars who, with enough training, could grasp some elaborate system of doctrine. He loves all—the simple and the wise, the old and the young—and so His salvation is understandable by all. Paul, although a deep thinker, describes the simplicity of the gospel message as follows, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you … For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

If you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus, I invite you to perform a test. We speak of living in such a way that people will ask us how they can have what we have. Here’s the test: should that occur, what would you tell them? Can you explain, in simple terms, what a person must do to be saved? What does it mean to “believe in Christ”? How does one do that? Take the test yourself. Try it with your family or your saved friends or in your church. You’ll likely discover that there are many Christians who have been saved for years yet are unable to give a coherent answer to that question—especially to someone unfamiliar with Christian-ese.

Its essence.

The heart of the gospel is a Person. More than any other title, it is called “the gospel of Christ.” Philip “preached Jesus” to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35). Men of Cyprus and Cyrene preached “the Lord Jesus” to the Greeks (Acts 11:20). Paul preached “Jesus and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18) in Athens and He preached “Him” among the Gentiles (Gal. 1:16). The apostles “preached … Christ Jesus the Lord” (2 Cor. 4:5). The early believers understood they weren’t preaching rules, but one glorious Person. The gospel is eternity’s love story. In believing the gospel, we are forever united with the One who loved us and gave Himself up for us. In return, the more we are occupied with Him, the more we will want to tell others about the One we love.