As Christians we are to share the gospel with all the world, but exactly what is the gospel anyway? It’s a “Christianese” term that we use all of the time, but what does it mean?

First, the quick version.

What is the gospel?

Literally, the gospel is the good news. 

What good news? 

Well, first the bad news. 

God is our perfect Creator who loves us and wants a relationship with us, but we sin against Him and fall short of His standard of perfection. (Romans 3:23)

Because of our sin, we deserve death and hell. (Romans 6:23a)

And there is nothing we can do about it. We can never be good enough or obey God’s law well enough to earn His love and forgiveness. (Romans 3:20)

That’s bad news.

And that’s why we need good news—the Gospel.

The good news is that God loved us so much that He became man. Jesus, God in the flesh, lived a perfect life and died the death we deserved to pay the penalty for our sin. Then He rose from the grave in victory over death. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus, God cleanses us from all of our unrighteousness. He sees Jesus’s righteousness instead of our sin. Our debt is paid in full. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We can have a relationship with God. He adopts us into His family, and we live eternally with Him even after physical death. (Romans 8:15)

That’s Good News!

What will you do with the gospel?

John 3:16 is often called the “Gospel in a nutshell.” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. NKJV

Jesus makes us into a new creation. We are no longer the same. We live for the one who died for us.

What is the gospel? It’s so simple a child can grasp it, yet so profound theologians will never uncover all of its glory.

Now that you know the answer to what is the gospel, what will you do with it?

Accept it or reject it?

Share it or hide it?

I pray you remember the gospel, turn in faith to Jesus, and become a part of our family, the family of God.

Want to know more? See Know Jesus, Share Jesus.