The Simple Gospel Message

   The word “gospel” means “good news.”  It is a generic word but has come to be used, almost exclusively, to refer to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16).  Jesus brought that message from Heaven to earth.  The message is universal in that it is meant for all mankind.  Yet it is very personal in that every human being must learn and accept it on an individual basis, one person at a time.

   The Gospel message is a simple message.  Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.  He purposefully went to the cross to die, to offer His life as a sacrificial payment for the guilt of our sins (Heb. 9:28).  He literally gave His life for ours.  On the third day in the tomb, He arose from the grave, demonstrating God’s power over death by presenting Himself alive to hundreds of people (Acts 10:39-41).  Forty days after His resurrection, in full view of eleven witnesses, He ascended back to Heaven, to be with Father (Acts 1:9-11).
   The Gospel message is communicated quite succinctly in 1 Cor. 15:1-7: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…  After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.”
   Jesus died on the cross for our sins (Rom. 5:8).  He was buried in the tomb after His death.  He arose from the grave, triumphant over death.  He ascended back to Heaven to wait with the Father until the final day of judgment, when He will come again to judge all mankind (Acts 17:30-31).
   We need to prepare for His next coming by acting upon our faith in Him by repenting of our sins (Lk. 13:3), openly confessing our faith in Him (Matt. 10:32) and being baptized into Him (Rom. 6:3) for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16).  As we do so, we come to salvation in Christ (Mk. 16:15-16).  Then we begin a new life in Him, living by His teachings.  That’s called faithfulness.  In living a life of faithfulness, we await His final coming (Rev. 2:10).
   That’s the simple Gospel message.  Do you believe it?  Have you obeyed it?  It is imperative to your eternal salvation that you do (2 Thess. 1:7-9).  Please talk to us, we’d like to help…