Gospel means “Good News.”
When God created the world there was no sin, no suffering, no separation.
God placed the first human beings into that world with everything they needed and the world was for a moment good. But Adam and Eve sinned. They believed the words of a dark angel who suggested that God was holding out on them and that they would be better off without God. They chose to rebel, and sin flooded into our world.
But God pursued. He gave us a temporary covering for sin—the shedding of an animal’s blood in sacrifice—and a promise that one day someone would rescue us. One final sacrifice would crush evil, dealing it the fatal blow (Genesis 3:15).
The Bibles teaches us that we are born in sin, separated from God, and that the gap created by sin is unbridgeable by our efforts and deeds. God is holy, and like any good judge, He cannot let sin go unpunished. The debt that we accumulate has to be paid. It is for this reason that “God made Jesus, who had never sinned or experienced its consequences, to be sin for us on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved, so that in Him we might be made righteous” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “God demonstrated his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
And there is the good news! God came to us in the person of Jesus. He volunteered to pay the debt that we owed, becoming our sin on the cross, and drinking the cup of God’s judgment. In a great exchange unlike anything the world has ever seen, God paid for our sin and gave us His righteousness in its place. He did this not just for a few but for any who would put their faith in Him. His blood still speaks its verdict today.
After two days in the ground, Jesus rose from the dead proving that His sacrifice was enough and that He was who He said! He appeared to hundreds of His followers. And He ascended back into heaven to wait for the hour in which He will return and judge the world. The Bible says “God is patient, not wishing any to perish, but that all will find repentance” on that day (2 Peter 3:9).
The Lord calls us now to repent (turn from our own way) and believe in Christ, so that we can fulfill the purpose we were ultimately created for—to live with God, perfectly redeemed, and to know Him fully in all of His glory and goodness. In the meantime, we are to live lives that reflect His love and to share this good news with all who are willing to listen.
You can read more about the Gospel and how it transforms us to be like Jesus in the book of the Bible called “Romans.”
If you would like to know more about the new life Jesus is offering you, please contact us here or call (269) 664-4377.
