What is the gospel of Jesus? What is salvation? Exactly what is Jesus supposed to save us from? And why do we need this salvation? These questions are basic to the faith, yet the gospel is often misunderstood.
Following is a brief overview of the gospel of Jesus: What the gospel is, how it works, and what decision each of us must make. The gospel is presented in three abbreviated formats with the intent to give readers a basic understanding of the message. Our hope is for readers to understand the gospel message well enough to make an informed decision to accept or reject it.
Whatever you choose, make your decision from a point of understanding rather than from a point of ignorance or bias. And if you have questions or want further information, then feel free to contact us.
The Gospel in Parable Form
The gospel of Jesus is like a plea bargain offered by the court.
A criminal awaiting trial is guilty as charged. The facts, evidence, and witnesses are stacked against him. If he enters the courtroom, he will certainly be convicted and condemned.
The judge is merciful and wants to show leniency toward the criminal. Before the trial, the judge meets with the criminal and offers a deal. If the criminal will plead guilty and throw himself on the mercy of the court, then the judge will pardon his past offenses. The criminal will be acquitted and given a new chance to live a lawful life according to the judge’s instructions.
But, if the criminal refuses the plea bargain then justice will run its course. The law will be enforced to its fullest extent, and there will be no more opportunity to ask for clemency.
As the trial approaches, the criminal must choose to accept the deal or not.
The Gospel in Bullet Point Form
- God is in command, and He makes the law
- You break the law, and your lawlessness carries a penalty
- Because God is merciful, He has offered you a pardon
- Because God is just, if you reject His pardon then He will enforce His law
- Now you must choose: Take the pardon or leave it.
The Gospel in Biblical Outline Form
Our Origin and Circumstance
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
God was. God is. God always will be.
The opening premise of the entire Bible is the existence and supremacy of God. God exists, He created us, and He is the highest authority of the universe He created.
And YHWH God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Being the supreme authority of the universe, God is the lawmaker. And, God created us with the intent we will obey His laws. To disobey God’s laws is sin, and the penalty for sin is death.
As we read through Genesis 3, we see that mankind did sin (or, break God’s laws) and become subject to death. All of creation was corrupted by sin and subject to condemnation.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
In response to mankind’s sin, God promised He would send a redeemer who would save us from both the enemy who misled us and the condemnation we incurred through our own lawlessness.
God’s Law and Judgement
And YHWH commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear YHWH our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before YHWH our God, as he has commanded us. (Deuteronomy 6:24-25)
As we read Exodus through Deuteronomy, we see God’s laws formally recorded. God’s teachings instructions, and commandments were given for our benefit. God’s commandments teach us to know His will, to distinguish between right and wrong, and to make right decisions and actions in life.
For behold, YHWH will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will YHWH enter into judgement, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by YHWH shall be many. (Isaiah 66:15-16)
The penalty for violating God’s law will be carried out in a future day of judgement, when many will be slain in God’s wrath. There will only be two possible outcomes for us in God’s judgement: Either we have God’s pardon or we will be destroyed in His wrath. There is no third option. Nobody who incurs God’s wrath will survive His judgement.
God’s Redemption
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Jesus is the son of God, come to earth in the flesh, to pay the penalty of sin on our behalf. Having assumed the guilt of our lawlessness, Jesus sacrificed himself in our place to pay the death-penalty we deserve for having violated God’s law. Jesus willingly died as the blood-payment for our guilt, and God accepts Jesus’ sacrifice as our payment in full.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:1-6)