What is the gospel message?

.....and what does it mean to you?

The message

The gospel is known as the good news because it addresses the most serious issue confronting you and me as humans, which is essentially this: God is holy and righteous while I am not.

And at the end of my life, I will stand before a just and holy God and be judged. And I'll be judged one of two ways: based on my failed efforts to establish my own righteousness of which the bible says I, along with everyone else, have none (Romans 3:10). Or I will be judged based on the righteousness of another, on the righteousness of a substitute. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The gospel, therefore, is the solution to the bad news – the bad news being that all people are unrighteous and under God's judgment.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness and obedience to God, not for His own benefit but for the benefit of His people. He has done for me what I am unable to do for myself. Not only did He live that life of perfect obedience, but He also sacrificed Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy God's justice and righteousness. 

What is so amazing about the gospel, what is so gloriously magnificent about the gospel, is the God from whose judgement we need to be saved is the very God who saves us. 

Do you need this good news?

There is now a massive chasm between us and God, and the bible says we have all gone astray and are going our own way. (Isaiah 53:6)

We've decided to disregard God's instructions and prioritise ourselves over God in our lives. Now let's be honest about this: as unpleasant as people may find the term, the bible calls this sin, and because of this sin against God, His justice and holiness demand that we be appropriately punished. We can't make this situation right because we can't fix it, no matter how good we think we are, how generous we are, or how many good deeds we do.

Thankfully, here is where the gospel is the good news. In sending Jesus, His Son, as a substitute for everyone who would believe and trust in Him (1 Peter 2:24), He not only took on our guilt, but he also took on our punishment; he suffered the wrath that we should receive but now don't have to receive if we believe in who Jesus is and have faith and trust in him as our Saviour. Then he rose again from the dead, the proof that God accepted his sacrifice and, therefore, completed his saving work on the cross.      

So now everyone who believes and trusts in Jesus, in who he is and what he has done, is viewed by God as united to Jesus so that the death of Jesus counts as our punishment. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection, our eternal life. This is how the chasm between us and God is overcome, and we are no longer separated from God. 

So, God has done everything for us to reconnect to Him, which is what the bible calls Grace. 

However, becoming a Christian means more than just believing a particular doctrine or following a set of rules and behaving in a certain way. Becoming a Christian means your heart is changed by God; he takes your old heart that was dead to Jesus Christ and gives you a new one that loves and trusts Jesus and recognises him as your Saviour. (Ezekiel 11:19 & 36:26).

A Christian is someone who now recognises Jesus as the Son of the living God, the Son who loves us and who died and was raised from the dead so that all our sins are forgiven and we are no longer under judgement and condemnation from God; but a Christian is also someone who is so overwhelmed by the love that God has for them that they are willing to be obedient to Jesus and to want to live a life that exhibits God's Glory, in other words, they want to live their lives in a way that God looks good on them. 

And you? 

And you, are you one who believes who Jesus is and has faith and trust in him as your Saviour?

Or are you still on the other side of the chasm, still separated from God, hoping the number of good things in your life will outweigh the bad? However, that's a wrong idea of God because God isn't like us. He is so Holy and Pure that he cannot tolerate sin, and the bible teaches us He will one day destroy sin.  

But perhaps you now see who Jesus is, what he has done for you and your need for a saviour; if so, now is the time to tell him.  

Tell him that you have spent your life not believing him, that you realise now that God sent Jesus, his Son, to take on all your sin, that Jesus died in your place, that he took on all your guilt and took your punishment and was raised from the dead so that you too would be raised to eternal life. Welcome Jesus into your life as the authority over your life, not just as your Saviour, but also as your Lord. 

If you want to say a prayer, here is a simple one for you to pray or use as a framework for your own prayer. However, just repeating a prayer on its own will not save you; believing what you say and praying with a contrite heart will. Coming to Jesus is a life-changing experience, and your life will reflect that experience. If you genuinely believe what you have confessed, your life will reflect that belief; you just won't be able to stop it, and Jesus promises to be with you every step of the way. "…. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

"God, I know I have sinned against you and deserve punishment. But I believe Jesus Christ took the punishment I deserve so that through faith in Him, I could be forgiven. I receive Your offer of forgiveness and place my trust in you for salvation. I believe and welcome Jesus as my Saviour! Thank You for Your wonderful Grace, forgiveness and the gift of eternal life! Amen!"