The gospel is the announcement of God's promised rescue and new life for everyone who places their trust in Jesus and follows him. This message is unfolded over the pages of the Bible and it begins with a loving creator God.
God created the world good. It was free from all the brokenness we experience daily. Everything worked as it should. God made humans, both Adam and Eve, unique to all of the other animals and placed them in a garden. He made them in His image, and gave them the task to share in God’s rule over His creation. They were to care for and spread God’s good creation. But, instead of ruling with God, they listened to God’s adversary, Satan, and chose to rule instead of God.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
They rebelled against God and usurped His authority. They disobeyed God because they wanted to be equals with God. When they disobeyed sin and death entered the world, just as God warned. When Adam sinned God’s good creation fractured. Adam and Eve were alienated from God, from one another, and from creation. And like a disease sin has infected the entire human race. It infects every human heart since and the result is the same, death. From birth our Adam-given instinct is to look to ourselves, set our own rules, and disobey God, rather than live for God with hearts full of gratitude for all of His good gifts. We live for all manner of things rather than God. And because of our willful disobedience, we are under God’s just wrath, eternal punishment, and separation from God.
The Bible is about God’s rescue plan in Jesus. At the very beginning God announced that He was going to destroy His adversary, Satan, through a man, an offspring of Eve. The entire Old Testament looks forward in anticipation of God’s promised rescuer, who will destroy the work of Satan. As the story progresses, everyone who looks like they may be the one to bring about God’s promised rescue fails to obey God because of their own sin.
And then God gave Jesus.
Who was born in the first century to a virgin in Bethlehem, in the line of the promised one to come. Jesus is fully God, and fully man. He lived a life free from sin, and perfectly obeyed God, the Father. He died, on a cross, bearing God’s wrath upon Himself as a substitute for all who would have faith in Him. And He rose from the dead, conquering death, so that all who believe in Him as their King and Rescuer, are reconciled to God, joined to His people, share in His life, and have the hope of resurrection. By His resurrection Jesus was declared to be the King. He is the one who rightfully rules God’s creation. And Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of a new creation, where all things will be made new through the work of Jesus when He returns to judge the world.
The good news has one requirement, to grasp Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, by faith. Believe that Jesus has accomplished all these things on your behalf and you will be saved.
Scripture References: Genesis 1-3; John 3:16; Matthew 1; John 1; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Romans 3:25; Matthew 28:1-10; Romans 1:4; Revelation 21