What is the gospel? 

 

In Romans 1:16 it says, “The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe it.” And then in verse 17, Paul says, “for in it (in the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith” 

 

The Gospel is the Good News that God wants to save us from our sins and to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

 

But man has a serious problem.

 

Romans 3:10 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE’”

 

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.” Spiritual death, to be exact.

 

Psalm 49:7-9: “Yet they cannot redeem* themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption* does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave.”

*redeem/redemption: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.

We have to recognize that God is holy and he demands perfection for entrance into heaven. 

 

Leviticus 11:44 ‘For I am Yahweh your God. Therefore, set yourselves apart as holy and be holy, for I am holy.”

 

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. And so, every sinner is on death row. And the only hope a sinner on death row has is to find a substitute to die in their place. 

 

And God didn’t leave us in that condition. He sent a saviour. The eternal son of God took on human flesh through a virgin birth. 

 

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

Romans 6:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

John 14: 6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.’”

 

Jesus lived a sinless life. He obeyed the law perfectly so that he could give, as a gift, His perfect righteousness to all those who would repent and believe his gospel. 

 

And so Jesus Christ, when he went to the cross, canceled the eternal sin debt when he died as a substitute for all those who trust in him. And not only did he cancel the eternal sin debt, but he offers his eternal righteousness as a gift. 

 

2 Corinthians 5:21, where we read, “Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God.” 

 

That is the greatest exchange any human being could ever experience. My sin for his righteousness. 

 

Two things that keep anyone out of heaven:

1. They have an eternal sin debt that finite man could never pay. 
2. And God requires perfect righteousness for entrance into heaven. 

 

The Good News (the gospel) is that Christ accomplished both. 

 

All he asks is that you repent of any false way and put your trust in Christ alone. Believe the true gospel that speaks only of Christ and his perfect, finished, all sufficient work of redemption. 

 

That’s the gospel of grace. 

 

Steps to begin your journey to salvation:

 

In Matthew 5, verses 3 to 6, outline God’s standards for salvation, and the pathway of repentance, as follows:

 

1. You must repent of your current lifestyle. To repent is to “change your mind” about salvation. Salvation is a gift from God, so we can’t earn it in any way.   

• Reach out to God, through prayer, as a beggar who needs a gift. Admit that you have no power to earn salvation on your own.

Luke 18:13 “Jesus said, ‘but the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

 

• Next, acknowledge and confess your sin to the point that you mourn over how you have violated God’s law and deserve death.
• That should lead you to a deep sense of humility before God, bowing low before Him.
• Finally, you need to hunger and thirst for a righteousness which you can’t get by any work or activity on your own, but which you absolutely need. This can only be attained through the Grace of God, through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, for your sins. 
• Pray to God and go deep into your sinful life, being totally honest with God and continue until you sense His peace. Then ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit who will then dwell within you. Being a Christian is “Christ in you, the hope of Glory” and the promise of heaven.

 

This is only the beginning of our journey to become a Christian. Saying a prayer doesn’t make anyone a Christian. The process of repentance above is meant to lead you to the place of giving up on any hope that your good behaviour has any merit with God. God’s way is to give you His Holy Spirit as a promise of Heaven (our inheritance), as stated in the next verse:

 

Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

 

This is the mystery of God:

 

Colossians 1:27 “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

Becoming a Christian is:

1. Confessing to God that you are a helpless sinner (as above)
2. Repenting of your sin (change your mind from “I can be good and God will accept me” – which is not true) to “I abandon all attempts to be good for God, and trust entirely in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins.”
3. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, the only hope of entering Heaven. It’s like this: you need to have the Holy Spirit living in you in order to get into Heaven.
4. God will then begin the process of Sanctification in you. This is how God makes you more and more like Jesus, His Son.
   
   1. Evidence of salvation is a love for God, a love for God’s word, recognizing your sin and a hatred of sin.
   2. Now you will serve God out of love, and not try to do things to please Him. In Christ, you are already pleasing to Him and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you for every sin from now on. 

 

 

So, back to Romans 1:16, “The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe it.” You see, God doesn’t expect us to overcome sin on our own. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect (Holy) on our own either. When Jesus was on the cross Satan tried everything in his power to defeat Him, but by the power of God (the Holy Spirit) Jesus prevailed and defeated Satan, once and for all! 

• Jesus died once for all, and it’s a sin to put Him on the cross again. 
• Hebrews 7:27 “Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.”
• Romans 6:10 “When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.”
• 1 Peter 3:18 “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”