The Gospel

The gospel (the "good news") is the message of how the holy and sovereign God of the universe has provided a way of salvation, redemption, and reconciliation for fallen sinners who are in rebellion against Him. This salvation is found only in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world to die in the place of sinners and to suffer the punishment which we deserve. Some of the truths of the gospel are these:

• Man was created sinless in the image of God.
• Our first parents disobeyed God and fell into sin, causing sin to enter the world, and death through sin.
• Man became spiritually dead to God; his original nature was corrupted by sin; and he continues in rebellion against God. 
• The guilt of Adam’s sin and his sinful human nature are passed on to all of his sons and daughters, that is, to the entire human race that he fathered.
• God’s purpose and plan from before the foundation of the world was to send a Savior to redeem a people for Himself out of that fallen humanity. 
• The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, came into the world 2,000 years ago, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, born as a man, yet without sin.
• He was, and continues to be, fully God and fully Man in one person forever. 
• Christ obeyed the will of God perfectly on behalf of His people. 
• Christ was crucified. He offered Himself as a sacrifice, shedding His own blood on the cross as the substitute for sinners.
• He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. The One who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 
• While on the cross, He endured the full wrath of God against those sins. By His death, he completely appeased the wrath of God and satisfied God's justice.
• He was dead and buried.
• He was raised bodily from the dead on the third day, never to die again.
• He appeared to many witnesses after His resurrection from the dead.
• He ascended bodily into heaven in the sight of many witnesses.
• He is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, with all authority in heaven and on earth given to Him, and He upholds all things by the word of His power. 
• God has promised that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; that we will be saved from all our sins, will be reconciled to God, and will never come into condemnation. This is not because of any righteousness in ourselves, but because of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, counted to us.
• This salvation is all of God's grace and mercy through faith in Christ alone, not of our works. Yet those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit, made new creations in Christ, and walk soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. 
• Christ will visibly and bodily return to the earth as the Judge of the living and the dead -- the Judge of all people who have ever lived.
• He will take His redeemed people to be with Himself for eternity in the new heavens and the new earth, and He will punish the unbelieving by condemning them to an eternity in hell. 

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.
John 3:16

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11

...Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
John 3:3-8

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
John 3:36

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
John 6:37

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
John 8:24

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
John 14:6

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Acts 16:31

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Romans 1:16-17

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:21-28

...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:9-10

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...
1 Corinthians 15:1-4

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

...who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:24-25

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Titus 2:11-14

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:7-8

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18

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The links below are to some sermons, tracts, or articles from bygone days that set forth the biblical gospel.

How Men Come to Christ

All Comers to Christ Welcomed

Useless Kinds of Religion

I Can't Let Go!

Are You Born Again?

Christ Died for the Ungodly

The Gospel, What Is It?

Almost a Christian


(Scripture references are from the New King James Version.)