If you asked 100 Christians, “What is the Gospel?” I guarantee you would hear several very different explanations. “Being a Christian means you’re a good person,” or “I think the living the gospel is just about loving people,” or “It means you go to church whenever you can” or “You just need to follow the 10 Commandments and then you’ll go to Heaven” or “Umm…you know, it’s the Bible…right?”
The problem is, few of us know the Gospel because we simply do not hear it, read it, or study it enough. There are a million competing messages out there that distract and pull us away from the truth. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the Gospel, and recognize that we can never know the truth too well.
Here is a pretty great (and short) video explanation of the Gospel from John Piper:
The simple truth of the gospel is this: all mankind is sinful and in need of a savior. We can do nothing to save ourselves, our only hope is the work of Jesus on the cross. His wounds and blood paid the price of our sins so that we do not have to pay it ourselves. If we believe and depend on Him, then we receive forgiveness and have eternal life.
There are billions of people alive today who think you earn salvation or eternal paradise through working hard and doing the right thing. They think that if they are basically a good person, then they will be seen as righteous in the site of God.
But the Bible is clear, anything short of perfection will result in God’s judgment. Since none of us can be perfect, none of us can save ourselves. But Jesus came and lived a perfect life, and then he suffered, died, and endured God’s judgment. He did not deserve this punishment, but chose to take it upon himself so that we would not have to. All we need to do, now, is believe and trust in Him to provide our salvation.
An accurate understanding of the Gospel is essential to changing the way people view the church.
If we truly lived the Gospel, then no one would see us as anti-gay, judgmental, and hypocritical. Why? Because we would not act that way! How could we look down on anyone when we recognize the depths of our own sin and despair? How could we not show mercy when God has already shown us so much mercy? How could we feel superior or self-righteous when we have done absolutely nothing to save ourselves?
In The Reason for God, Tim Keller discusses this idea. While some argue that we need to tone down our “narrow” beliefs so that we may love non-Christians better. But the truth is, when we hold the Bible closer, we only cling to grace more. As we recognize our need for more grace, our compassion and love for others, then, will only grow far beyond what we thought possible.
We take knowledge of the Gospel for granted in the church today, but the truth is most of us have forgotten what it really means. We need the Gospel now more than ever. If you want to enhance your understanding of the Gospel (hopefully you do), you can always start by reading the Gospels and the rest of the Bible (all of it points to Christ). Even if you’ve read them before, I guarantee you will learn more your next time around (and then even more the time after that). If you are into video, D.A. Carson goes into great depths to explain how the gospel works. There are plenty of great resources out there, just make sure they are actually based in the Gospel!
The Gospel has changed the world before, it changes the world still today, and it will continue to change the world through all eternity. Let’s depend on the Gospel more than ever before, and see how God moves through our culture.
How would you define the Gospel?
