What is the gospel? In Mark 1:15, Jesus spoke the very first words at the beginning of His ministry. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the gospel!” So clearly, an understanding of just what the gospel is, is quite important, essential even, to the Christian so he or she can properly deliver it to unbelievers (Matthew 28:18-19).
We get the word “gospel” from the Greek word “euaggelion” (yoo-ang-GHEL-ee-on), and it means “good news,” specifically in the biblical context, the good news of the Messiah. In the context of what we mean by the gospel, it means the good news of what the Messiah has done for man. We can see this good news laid out for us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, which says:
“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, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
These few verses are known as the “Corinthian Creed,” which is the earliest Christian creed on record. It contains a summary of the core beliefs held by all true Christians. While the book of 1 Corinthians itself dates to within 20 years of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; it is believed the creed itself dates to within only months of Christ’s resurrection.
In the creed we see five essential elements of the gospel. They are:
1. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I received, that Christ died for our sins…” The statement that Christ died for our sins is of primary importance. There is nothing more important than that single fact of the gospel.
2. “according to the Scriptures,” This primary fact, the most important fact, that Christ died for our sins was prophesied in the Scriptures of the Old Testament (Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 53:4-6,10-12; Psalm 22)
3. “and that He was buried,” The fact that Jesus was buried proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus really died on the cross.
4. “and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” On the third day after His burial, Jesus was raised bodily and alive from the dead, and this too was prophesied in the Old Testament (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10-11; Jonah 1:17-2:10; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 12:2-3; Hosea 6:1-2).
5. “And that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve.” Eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. This final element of the Corinthian Creed actually extends out to verse 8, where it includes other eyewitnesses, including more than 500 people!
There really is no actual reason-based doubt that Jesus rose bodily and alive from the dead. Not a reanimated corpse, not a ghost, but actually, physically alive. The majority of scholars agree that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are one of the best attested to facts of the ancient world.
This is the good news, but it is the second part of the gospel. In order to have good news you must first have bad news, this would be the first part of the gospel, and it is just as important as the second part.
The bad news is that we are all sinners, and we have all been sentenced to spend the remainder of eternity suffering in hell where, Scripture says, “the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies” (Mark 9:48). Definitely not an inviting place. Eternal torment is our default setting.
Some will argue that original sin is a myth that doesn’t actually apply to people. Is that so? Scripture begs to differ. We know from Genesis 3 that original sin is real, and that it applies to all people from Adam on down to everyone descended from him, which, as we know, is everyone. Part of the original sin curse is that women will experience pain in childbirth, and that everyone will die. It’s pretty obvious that women still experience pain in childbirth and that people still die. Both are clear examples that original sin and its resulting curse are still in effect today.
Others will argue, “That’s not God! God is love and He would never do that!” It may not describe the false god that they serve, but it certainly describes the one true and living God of the Bible! Or, they may go so far as to exclaim they could not worship a God that condemns people to hell. Well, that’s their choice, isn’t it? But the fact remains that we are all sinners and hell is our default destination at death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Unless (and here is where the good news comes in), unless we are saved from that default destination by Jesus.
At the beginning of this article I mentioned Mark 1:15 where we’re told to “Repent and believe the gospel!” Is that all we have to do? In a word, no. Romans 10:9 tells us, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. These two verses tell us four things we must do to receive salvation:
1. Repent. Turn away from sin. Do a complete 180 degree turn and head in the opposite direction toward God and away from sin. Notice Jesus doesn’t say we should repent, He simply commands His followers to repent (see also Acts 17:30. It’s a command not a request or suggestion).
2. Believe the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5. The Corinthian Creed. These beliefs are mandatory requirements not only for becoming a Christian, but also for being a Christian. They must be believed with a heartfelt, sincere, true belief.
3. Confess verbally Jesus as Lord. The word “confess” in the Greek means to agree. So we must verbally agree – through our forgiveness-seeking prayer to God, that Jesus is our Lord. The title Lord is, to many people, just that, a title. They have no idea what it means, and it is an essential part of becoming and being a Christian. In the original Greek the word “Lord” refers to someone who is in charge of slaves. The Lord is their Master. Their owner. And His slaves are bound through their love for Him to obey Him. To obey His commands. Not the civil or ceremonial law, but certainly the moral law since God’s morals don’t change. And there’s also the Ten Commandments, as well as the two greatest commandments: 1. To love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and 2. To love your neighbor (as in everyone on the planet) as yourself. The essentialness of these elements should be obvious.
4. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Again, believe the gospel, that Jesus died for the sins of all though who are believing in Him, that He was buried in the tomb, and that God rose Him bodily and fully alive three days later where He was seen by more than 500 people.
Conclusion
So that is the full gospel. We are sinners, spiritually dead in our sins, and destined for hell unless we repent of our sins, believe the gospel, and verbally agree that Jesus is our Lord.
Side Note:
Some have said that we don’t need to repent to be saved, arguing that repentance is a work and we are not saved by our works. While it’s true that we are not saved by any works we might do, repentance is not a work. When Scripture says we are not saved by our works it is referring to things that we physically do. Repentance is a mental activity just as believing is a mental activity. Repentance means you change your mind about sin and turn away from it; and you change your mind about God and mentally and spiritually move toward God. It’s all a mental activity. Granted it will reflect in how you think and behave and act physically, but the act of repenting is itself a mental activity and not a physical one.
Now go out and obey what Jesus said, and share the gospel with everyone you can.
We get the word “gospel” from the Greek word “euaggelion” (yoo-ang-GHEL-ee-on), and it means “good news,” specifically in the biblical context, the good news of the Messiah. In the context of what we mean by the gospel, it means the good news of what the Messiah has done for man. We can see this good news laid out for us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, which says:
“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, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
These few verses are known as the “Corinthian Creed,” which is the earliest Christian creed on record. It contains a summary of the core beliefs held by all true Christians. While the book of 1 Corinthians itself dates to within 20 years of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; it is believed the creed itself dates to within only months of Christ’s resurrection.
In the creed we see five essential elements of the gospel. They are:
1. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I received, that Christ died for our sins…” The statement that Christ died for our sins is of primary importance. There is nothing more important than that single fact of the gospel.
2. “according to the Scriptures,” This primary fact, the most important fact, that Christ died for our sins was prophesied in the Scriptures of the Old Testament (Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 53:4-6,10-12; Psalm 22)
3. “and that He was buried,” The fact that Jesus was buried proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus really died on the cross.
4. “and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” On the third day after His burial, Jesus was raised bodily and alive from the dead, and this too was prophesied in the Old Testament (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10-11; Jonah 1:17-2:10; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Daniel 12:2-3; Hosea 6:1-2).
5. “And that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve.” Eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. This final element of the Corinthian Creed actually extends out to verse 8, where it includes other eyewitnesses, including more than 500 people!
There really is no actual reason-based doubt that Jesus rose bodily and alive from the dead. Not a reanimated corpse, not a ghost, but actually, physically alive. The majority of scholars agree that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are one of the best attested to facts of the ancient world.
This is the good news, but it is the second part of the gospel. In order to have good news you must first have bad news, this would be the first part of the gospel, and it is just as important as the second part.
The bad news is that we are all sinners, and we have all been sentenced to spend the remainder of eternity suffering in hell where, Scripture says, “the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies” (Mark 9:48). Definitely not an inviting place. Eternal torment is our default setting.
Some will argue that original sin is a myth that doesn’t actually apply to people. Is that so? Scripture begs to differ. We know from Genesis 3 that original sin is real, and that it applies to all people from Adam on down to everyone descended from him, which, as we know, is everyone. Part of the original sin curse is that women will experience pain in childbirth, and that everyone will die. It’s pretty obvious that women still experience pain in childbirth and that people still die. Both are clear examples that original sin and its resulting curse are still in effect today.
Others will argue, “That’s not God! God is love and He would never do that!” It may not describe the false god that they serve, but it certainly describes the one true and living God of the Bible! Or, they may go so far as to exclaim they could not worship a God that condemns people to hell. Well, that’s their choice, isn’t it? But the fact remains that we are all sinners and hell is our default destination at death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Unless (and here is where the good news comes in), unless we are saved from that default destination by Jesus.
At the beginning of this article I mentioned Mark 1:15 where we’re told to “Repent and believe the gospel!” Is that all we have to do? In a word, no. Romans 10:9 tells us, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. These two verses tell us four things we must do to receive salvation:
1. Repent. Turn away from sin. Do a complete 180 degree turn and head in the opposite direction toward God and away from sin. Notice Jesus doesn’t say we should repent, He simply commands His followers to repent (see also Acts 17:30. It’s a command not a request or suggestion).
2. Believe the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5. The Corinthian Creed. These beliefs are mandatory requirements not only for becoming a Christian, but also for being a Christian. They must be believed with a heartfelt, sincere, true belief.
3. Confess verbally Jesus as Lord. The word “confess” in the Greek means to agree. So we must verbally agree – through our forgiveness-seeking prayer to God, that Jesus is our Lord. The title Lord is, to many people, just that, a title. They have no idea what it means, and it is an essential part of becoming and being a Christian. In the original Greek the word “Lord” refers to someone who is in charge of slaves. The Lord is their Master. Their owner. And His slaves are bound through their love for Him to obey Him. To obey His commands. Not the civil or ceremonial law, but certainly the moral law since God’s morals don’t change. And there’s also the Ten Commandments, as well as the two greatest commandments: 1. To love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and 2. To love your neighbor (as in everyone on the planet) as yourself. The essentialness of these elements should be obvious.
4. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Again, believe the gospel, that Jesus died for the sins of all though who are believing in Him, that He was buried in the tomb, and that God rose Him bodily and fully alive three days later where He was seen by more than 500 people.
Conclusion
So that is the full gospel. We are sinners, spiritually dead in our sins, and destined for hell unless we repent of our sins, believe the gospel, and verbally agree that Jesus is our Lord.
Side Note:
Some have said that we don’t need to repent to be saved, arguing that repentance is a work and we are not saved by our works. While it’s true that we are not saved by any works we might do, repentance is not a work. When Scripture says we are not saved by our works it is referring to things that we physically do. Repentance is a mental activity just as believing is a mental activity. Repentance means you change your mind about sin and turn away from it; and you change your mind about God and mentally and spiritually move toward God. It’s all a mental activity. Granted it will reflect in how you think and behave and act physically, but the act of repenting is itself a mental activity and not a physical one.
Now go out and obey what Jesus said, and share the gospel with everyone you can.
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