If you are new to this site, start here. Everything else I write about rests on this: the Bible, doctrine, family life, the church. The word gospel means “good news.” But it is not good advice, a self-help programme or a vague message about God loving everyone. It is news about something God has done in history, and it calls for a response.

The apostle Paul summarised it like this: “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 Corinthians 15:3-4, NASB 1995).

A simple way to remember the shape of the gospel is four words: God, sin, Christ, response.

1. God: our Creator and Judge

The Bible begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, NASB 1995). Because God made us, we belong to Him and are accountable to Him. He is not a force or an idea but a person. He is holy, righteous, loving and just. He made us to know Him, to love Him and to reflect His glory.

That means the first question is not “What do I want from God?” It is “Who is God, and what does He require of me?”

2. Sin: our real problem

Our problem is not first our circumstances, our self-esteem or even other people. It is sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NASB 1995). Sin is any failure to love and obey God, in thought, word, deed or desire. It is not only the big crimes we read about; it is the pride, lust, greed, bitterness and indifference to God that are in every heart.

Sin brings a terrible result: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NASB 1995). The death in view is not only physical but eternal separation from God under His just judgment. No amount of church attendance, good deeds or religious ritual can pay that debt.

3. Christ: God’s solution

Here is the good news. God the Son became a man, Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, the life we have failed to live. Then He died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, bearing the judgment they deserved. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB 1995).

Read that verse slowly. Our sin was counted to Christ, and His righteousness is counted to everyone who trusts in Him. That is the great exchange at the heart of Christianity.

And He did not stay dead. Three days later He rose bodily from the grave, proving that the Father accepted His sacrifice and that He is Lord over death. Jesus is not one way among many. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6, NASB 1995).

4. Response: repent and believe

How do we receive this? Jesus’ own summary was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15, NASB 1995).

Repent means to turn from your sin and stop trusting yourself. It is a change of mind and heart that changes the direction of your life. Believe means to trust Christ alone to save you, resting on His death and resurrection and not on anything you bring. “That 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” (Romans 10:9, NASB 1995).

This is not earning salvation. Faith and repentance are not our payment; they are how we receive a free gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB 1995).

What the gospel is not

• It is not “pray this prayer and you are fine, however you live.” True faith bears fruit.
• It is not “God wants you healthy and wealthy.” The gospel promises Christ, not comfort.
• It is not “be a good person and God will accept you.” That is the very thing the gospel says we cannot do.
• It is not “all religions lead to God.” Salvation is in Christ alone.

Where to go from here

If you are still exploring, read the Gospel of John, and ask God to show you who Jesus is. If you have repented and believed, the next step is to be baptised and to join a faithful, Bible-teaching local church where you can grow.

For further reading, Greg Gilbert’s What Is the Gospel? (9Marks) is excellent. It is listed at Good Neighbours but was out of stock when I checked. R. C. Sproul’s booklet What Is the Gospel? is a short, inexpensive alternative, also at Good Neighbours (R25 at the time of writing).

God, sin, Christ, response. It is the most important news you will ever hear.