Simply Explained

In the Bible, “Gospel” refers to the four books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that tell the story of Jesus. The word “Gospel” literally means “good news.” But fundamentally, “the Gospel” means the good news of what God has done to save us. It’s basically the core message of the Christian faith – a message of God’s love and salvation for the world.

The Gospel is the good news that God loves us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from sin and bring us into His family. Through Jesus’ life, death on the cross, and resurrection, we can be forgiven and have eternal life with God. In short, the Gospel is God’s big rescue plan for humanity.

Why do we need “good news” from God?

To understand why the Gospel is such good news, we first have to understand the bad news. The bad news is that sin separates us from God. God created us out of love to be with Him, but when humans choose to disobey God (that’s what sin is), it breaks our friendship with Him. It’s like unplugging a lamp – its light goes out when disconnected from its power source. In a similar way, when people turned away from God (starting with Adam and Eve), darkness and death entered the world. We all experience the effects of sin – things like injustice, selfishness, suffering, and death. And we just can’t fix this broken friendship with God by ourselves.

Imagine there’s a huge gap or canyon between us and God – that’s what sin created. No matter how hard we try on our own, we can’t cross that gap. We needed God to make a way to bridge that divide. That’s where the good news of the Gospel comes in: God promised to send a Savior to bring us back to Him, and He kept that promise by sending Jesus Christ.

What is the good news of Jesus?

The good news is that God didn’t leave us stuck in sin and separation – he loves us too much for that. He sent His only Son to save us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a man about 2,000 years ago. He lived a life of perfect love and truth, teaching people about God’s Kingdom. He healed the sick, forgave sins, and showed compassion to those who were hurting. But the most important part of the Gospel is what Jesus did to rescue us: He willingly died on the cross for our sins, and then He rose from the dead on the third day.

How do Jesus’ death and resurrection save us?

Think of it this way: on the cross, Jesus took on all our sins and the punishment we deserved, and He offered Himself for us. It’s like a friend taking the punishment in your place – but Jesus did it for everyone in the world. By dying, Jesus paid the price for our wrongdoing, and by rising from the dead, He conquered death and opened the way to eternal life. The resurrection proves that Jesus really is the Son of God and that His sacrifice worked – sin and death were defeated. That’s why we call Jesus our Savior. Because of what Jesus did, we can be forgiven and reconnected to God. As the Bible puts it, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

How do we receive and live this good news?

Like any gift, the good news of the Gospel needs to be accepted. God offers salvation to us, but He doesn’t force it on us. So how do we receive the Gospel? The first step is faith – believing in Jesus Christ. That means trusting that Jesus is the Son of God who died for you and rose again. Along with faith comes repentance, which means being sorry for our sins and turning our heart toward God. In the Bible, those who believed the Gospel showed their faith by being baptized. Baptism is the special sacrament (sacred ritual) that Jesus established to wash away sin and bring a person into God’s family. (Jesus taught that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved – Mark 16:16.) Through faith and baptism, we become children of God and members of His Church – essentially, we’re welcomed back home into God’s household.

Receiving the Gospel isn’t just a one-time event; it’s the beginning of a new life. After we accept the good news, we are called to live it out each day. That means loving God and loving others as Jesus taught us. It means praying, going to church, treating people with kindness and forgiveness, and trying to do what is right even when it’s hard. We don’t do these things to “earn” God’s love (He already gave us His love for free!), but we do them because we have God’s love in our hearts now. Living the Gospel might not always be easy – sometimes we have to go against selfish trends in society – but it fills us with deep joy and purpose. And we’re not alone: God gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes, so we have God’s help and strength to live as followers of Jesus. In that way, our lives themselves can spread the good news to others through our words and actions.

Summary

The word “Gospel” means “good news,” and it truly is the greatest news ever. The Gospel tells us that God loves us and sent Jesus to save us from sin and death. Jesus died for us and rose again, opening the door to eternal life. If we believe in Him, turn away from sin, and embrace this gift through faith and baptism, we become part of God’s family. And as God’s children, we then live out the Gospel by loving God and others. The Gospel is “the good news of God’s mercy and love revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ” – a message so powerful it can transform our lives and lead us to everlasting happiness with God.