Introduction: What Is the Gospel?

The word gospel is used constantly in Christianity.

Gospel music.

Gospel preaching.

Sharing the gospel.

The Gospel of Matthew.

But what does gospel actually mean?

At its simplest, the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ.

It’s the good news that although humanity has been separated from God by sin, God loves us and has acted to rescue us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, lived without sin, died for our sins, and rose from the dead so that anyone who turns to Him and believes can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and receive eternal life.

Paul summarizes the heart of the gospel this way:

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4

The gospel isn’t primarily advice about how to become a better person.

It isn’t a religious system for earning God’s approval.

It isn’t simply the message that God loves you.

The gospel is the good news about what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.

To understand why that’s such good news, we first need to understand the story behind it.

What Does the Word “Gospel” Mean?

The word translated gospel in the New Testament comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning good news or good message.

That’s why Christians often refer to the gospel simply as the good news.

Jesus proclaimed good news.

“Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”

— Mark 1:14

The apostles preached good news about Jesus.

And the first four books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are called the Gospels because they tell us about the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

But to understand why the gospel is good news, we need to understand the problem it addresses.

1. God Created Us for Relationship With Him

The gospel begins with God.

Genesis 1:1 says:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

God created everything.

And humanity was uniquely created in His image.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them.”

— Genesis 1:27

You aren’t an accident.

You were created by God and for God.

Human beings were designed to know Him, worship Him, walk with Him, represent Him, and live according to His purposes.

The opening chapters of Genesis describe humanity living in relationship with God.

There was no shame.

No death.

No separation.

No sin.

God’s creation was good.

But humanity chose to rebel against Him.

And everything changed.

2. Sin Separated Humanity From God

Genesis 3 records humanity’s rebellion against God.

Rather than trusting God’s wisdom and authority, Adam and Eve chose their own way.

The Bible calls this sin.

Sin isn’t merely making mistakes.

At its core, sin is rebellion against God—choosing our way instead of His.

And the problem isn’t limited to Adam and Eve.

It’s all of us.

Romans 3:23 says:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

All means all.

Every one of us has sinned.

We’ve lied.

We’ve been selfish.

We’ve lusted.

We’ve hated.

We’ve been prideful.

We’ve hurt others.

We’ve ignored God.

We’ve placed other things above Him.

We’ve failed to love God and people as we should.

The gospel doesn’t begin by telling us we’re basically good people who need a little improvement.

It tells us something much more serious:

We have sinned against a holy God, and we cannot rescue ourselves.

What Is the Consequence of Sin?

Romans 6:23 says:

“For the wages of sin is death.”

Sin produces death.

Physical death.

Spiritual death.

Separation from God.

And ultimately judgment.

God is loving.

But God is also holy and just.

A good God cannot simply pretend evil doesn’t matter.

If a human judge ignored injustice, we wouldn’t call that judge loving.

We would call that judge unjust.

In the same way, God’s goodness means He takes sin seriously.

This creates humanity’s greatest problem:

How can sinful people be reconciled to a holy God?

We can’t erase our past.

We can’t undo our sin.

We can’t become good enough to earn our way back to God.

Religion can’t save us.

Good works can’t save us.

Church attendance can’t save us.

Giving money can’t save us.

Trying harder can’t save us.

We needed God to rescue us.

And that’s exactly what He did.

3. God Loved Us and Sent Jesus

One of the most famous verses in the Bible says:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16

Notice what happened.

We didn’t climb our way up to God.

God came to us.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

He entered human history.

He became fully human while remaining fully God.

John 1:14 says:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Jesus experienced hunger.

Fatigue.

Temptation.

Pain.

Rejection.

Suffering.

But unlike us, Jesus never sinned.

Hebrews 4:15 says He:

“Has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live.

And then He willingly gave His life for us.

4. Jesus Died for Our Sins

The cross is at the center of the gospel.

Jesus wasn’t merely the victim of an unfortunate execution.

He willingly gave His life.

Jesus said:

“I lay down my life… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”

— John 10:17–18

Why did He die?

For us.

First Peter 2:24 says:

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.”

Second Corinthians 5:21 says:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the judgment our sin deserved.

The innocent died for the guilty.

The righteous One died for sinners.

Jesus took our place.

This is sometimes called substitutionary atonement.

In simple terms:

Jesus died the death we deserved so that we could receive the life we could never earn.

That’s the gospel.

5. Jesus Rose From the Dead

The gospel doesn’t end at the cross.

Jesus died.

He was buried.

And on the third day:

He rose again.

The resurrection isn’t a side detail of Christianity.

It’s essential to the gospel.

Paul writes:

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:17

Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection of Jesus.

The empty tomb declares that:

Jesus is who He said He is.

Sin has been defeated.

Death has been defeated.

Jesus is alive.

And eternal life is available through Him.

Peter writes:

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

— 1 Peter 1:3

Our hope isn’t ultimately in a set of teachings from someone who died 2,000 years ago.

Our hope is in a living King.

6. Salvation Is a Gift of Grace

So how do we receive what Jesus has done for us?

Not by earning it.

Ephesians 2:8–9 says:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Christianity isn’t fundamentally about what we do for God.

The gospel is about what God has done for us.

That’s grace.

Grace means receiving what we could never earn.

We don’t become Christians because we’ve finally become good enough.

We come to Jesus because we realize we never could.

Romans 6:23 begins:

“For the wages of sin is death…”

But it doesn’t end there:

“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death is what sin earns.

Life is what God gives.

Salvation isn’t a paycheck. It’s a gift.

7. We Respond With Repentance and Faith

Jesus began His public ministry saying:

“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

— Mark 1:15

Two important words appear together:

Repent.

Believe.

What Does It Mean to Repent?

Repentance means turning.

It involves a change of mind and direction.

We turn from sin and turn toward God.

Repentance isn’t simply feeling bad about what we’ve done.

It’s surrender.

It’s saying:

“I don’t want to be the lord of my own life anymore. Jesus, I want You to be Lord.”

Repentance doesn’t mean you’ll instantly become perfect.

It means the direction of your life changes.

What Does It Mean to Believe?

Biblical belief is more than agreeing that Jesus existed.

James 2:19 says even demons believe that God exists.

Saving faith means trusting Jesus.

Trusting who He is.

Trusting what He accomplished.

Trusting His death and resurrection rather than your own goodness as the basis for your relationship with God.

Romans 10:9 says:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The gospel calls for a response.

Repent and believe.

What Does It Mean That Jesus Is Lord?

Romans 10 doesn’t merely tell us to believe Jesus rose from the dead.

It says:

“Jesus is Lord.”

That matters.

Jesus isn’t simply a Savior we add to our lives.

He is Lord.

Following Jesus means surrendering our lives to Him.

Our relationships.

Our sexuality.

Our finances.

Our ambitions.

Our decisions.

Our future.

Our identity.

Everything belongs to Him.

Jesus said:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

— Matthew 16:24

Grace is free.

But following Jesus changes everything.

Jesus didn’t come merely to improve your life. He came to become Lord of it.

Can Good People Go to Heaven?

This is a common question.

The problem is that Scripture doesn’t divide humanity into “good people” and “bad people.”

Romans 3:10 says:

“There is no one righteous, not even one.”

Compared with other people, we may consider ourselves good.

But the standard isn’t another person.

The standard is a holy God.

Imagine two people attempting to swim from California to Hawaii.

One might make it 100 yards.

Another might make it several miles.

One is clearly a stronger swimmer.

But neither is remotely capable of reaching the destination.

That’s our problem with trying to earn salvation through goodness.

Some people may appear morally better than others.

But none of us can make ourselves righteous before God.

That’s why we need Jesus.

Isn’t Christianity Just About Being a Good Person?

No.

Christians should absolutely pursue lives of goodness, generosity, justice, holiness, love, and obedience.

But those things are the result of salvation—not the cause of it.

We don’t do good things so God will save us.

God saves us, and then He begins transforming the way we live.

Ephesians 2:8–9 tells us salvation isn’t by works.

Then the very next verse says:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

— Ephesians 2:10

Notice the order.

Saved by grace.

Then:

Created for good works.

Good works don’t produce salvation.

Salvation produces a transformed life.

Is the Gospel Just About Going to Heaven?

Eternal life with God is absolutely part of the good news.

But the gospel is bigger than simply receiving a ticket to heaven after we die.

Jesus proclaimed:

“The kingdom of God has come near.”

— Mark 1:15

Through Jesus, we are:

• Forgiven

• Reconciled to God

• Adopted into God’s family

• Given the Holy Spirit

• Made new

• Given a new identity

• Brought into God’s Kingdom

• Given eternal life

• Invited into God’s mission

Second Corinthians 5:17 says:

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

The gospel changes our eternity.

But it also begins changing our lives right now.

What Happens When You Become a Christian?

When you put your faith in Jesus, something much greater happens than joining a religion.

Your Sins Are Forgiven

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

— Ephesians 1:7

You Are Made New

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:17

You Become a Child of God

John 1:12 says:

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

You Receive the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13 says:

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”

God doesn’t simply forgive you and leave you alone.

God comes to live in you by His Spirit.

You Receive Eternal Life

Jesus said:

“Whoever believes has eternal life.”

— John 6:47

You Become Part of God’s Family

Following Jesus isn’t meant to happen alone.

You become part of the body of Christ—the Church.

The gospel gives us a new relationship with God and a new family of people to walk with.

Do I Need to Fix My Life Before Coming to Jesus?

No.

That’s one of the most beautiful parts of the gospel.

You don’t clean yourself up so Jesus will accept you.

You come to Jesus so He can make you new.

Romans 5:8 says:

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Not after we fixed ourselves.

Not after we became religious.

Not after we conquered every addiction.

Not after we understood the whole Bible.

While we were still sinners.

Come as you are.

But understand this:

Jesus loves you too much to leave you as you are.

Grace receives us where we are and then begins transforming us into who God created us to be.

Is Christianity the Only Way to God?

Jesus made an exclusive claim:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

— John 14:6

Peter later said:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

— Acts 4:12

Christianity doesn’t teach that all spiritual paths eventually lead to the same destination.

It teaches that God Himself made a way for humanity to be reconciled to Him through Jesus.

That claim can sound narrow in a pluralistic culture.

But the gospel isn’t:

“We’re better than everyone else.”

It’s:

“None of us could save ourselves, so God came to save us.”

Christians don’t have grounds for arrogance.

We have grounds for gratitude.

What Is the Gospel in One Sentence?

If you want the simplest possible explanation:

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead so that anyone who repents and believes in Him can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and receive eternal life.

Or even shorter:

Jesus died for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead, and salvation is available through Him.

That’s good news.

What Is the Gospel in Four Words?

A helpful way to remember the story of the gospel is:

GOD

God created us for relationship with Him.

SIN

Our sin separated us from God, and we couldn’t save ourselves.

JESUS

God sent Jesus, who lived without sin, died in our place, and rose from the dead.

RESPONSE

God invites us to repent, believe in Jesus, and follow Him.

God. Sin. Jesus. Response.

That’s the story of the gospel.

How Do I Become a Christian?

You don’t become a Christian simply because:

• Your parents were Christians

• You grew up going to church

• You believe God exists

• You’re a good person

• You were baptized as a baby

• You live in a Christian country

You become a follower of Jesus by personally responding to the gospel.

Admit That You Need a Savior

Recognize that you’ve sinned and cannot save yourself.

Believe in Jesus

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose from the dead.

Repent

Turn away from sin and toward God.

Surrender to Jesus as Lord

Give Him your life.

Follow Him

Christianity isn’t simply a momentary decision.

It’s the beginning of a new life following Jesus.

Jesus’ invitation remains:

“Follow me.”

— Matthew 4:19

Is There a Prayer to Become a Christian?

The Bible doesn’t give us a specific formula called “the sinner’s prayer.”

Saying particular words doesn’t save us.

Jesus saves us.

But prayer can be a meaningful way to express genuine repentance and faith.

If you’re ready to put your faith in Jesus, you could pray something like this:

Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God.

I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead.

I know that I have sinned and I cannot save myself.

Forgive me.

I turn from my sin and give my life to You.

Jesus, be my Savior and my Lord.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me follow You from this day forward.

Amen.

The power isn’t in perfectly repeating those words.

The question is whether they represent the genuine response of your heart.

Romans 10:13 says:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What Should I Do After Deciding to Follow Jesus?

If you’ve decided to follow Jesus, that’s not the end.

It’s the beginning.

Here are some important next steps.

Get Baptized

Jesus commanded His followers to be baptized.

Baptism is a public declaration that you belong to Jesus.

Start Reading the Bible

Scripture helps you know God, understand His character, and learn how to follow Jesus.

If you’re new to the Bible, start with the Gospel of John.

Pray

Talk with God every day.

You don’t need impressive words.

Be honest.

Thank Him.

Ask for help.

Listen.

Build relationship with Him.

Be Filled With the Holy Spirit

You weren’t created to follow Jesus in your own strength.

The Holy Spirit lives in believers, transforms us, leads us, empowers us, and helps us become like Jesus.

Find a Healthy Local Church

Christianity isn’t meant to be lived alone.

Find a church that faithfully teaches Scripture, centers everything on Jesus, values genuine community, and helps you grow as a disciple.

Find Christian Community

Build relationships with people who will encourage you, challenge you, pray with you, and help you follow Jesus.

Start Obeying Jesus

You don’t need to know everything before you begin.

Start doing what you already know Jesus has asked you to do.

Following Jesus happens one obedient step at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Gospel

What Is the Gospel?

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead so that anyone who repents and believes in Him can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and receive eternal life.

What Does Gospel Mean?

The word gospel means good news.

What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

It is the good news about who Jesus is and what He accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection.

What Are the Four Gospels?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament.

They tell the story of Jesus’ life, teaching, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Human sin separates us from God and deserves judgment.

Jesus willingly died in our place, bearing our sin so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to God.

Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?

The New Testament presents Jesus’ bodily resurrection as a historical event and the foundation of Christian faith.

Paul says that if Christ wasn’t raised, Christian faith is futile.

How Are We Saved?

We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation isn’t something we earn through good works.

Do Good Works Save You?

No.

Good works are the result of genuine faith, not the basis of our salvation.

Do I Have to Be Baptized to Be Saved?

We believe salvation is received by grace through faith in Jesus.

Baptism is an important step of obedience that publicly declares our faith in Christ, but the water itself doesn’t save us.

Can God Forgive Anything I’ve Done?

The gospel offers forgiveness to sinners who turn to Jesus.

No amount of shame or past failure places someone beyond the saving power of Christ.

Can I Become a Christian Today?

Yes.

You don’t need to wait until you understand everything or have fixed your life.

You can repent, put your faith in Jesus, surrender your life to Him, and begin following Him today.

The Gospel Is Good News for You

The gospel isn’t only good news for religious people.

It’s good news for sinners.

For broken people.

For ashamed people.

For successful people who still feel empty.

For people with questions.

For people who have wandered.

For people who have failed.

For people who think they’re too far gone.

For people who have spent their lives trying to prove they’re good enough.

The gospel says:

You can’t save yourself.

But you don’t have to.

Jesus has already done what you could never do.

He lived the life you couldn’t live.

He died the death you deserved.

He rose from the dead.

And now He invites you to receive what you could never earn.

Forgiveness.

New life.

Relationship with God.

The Holy Spirit.

Eternal life.

And a completely new future.

That’s why it’s called good news.

Ready to Follow Jesus?

If you’re ready to follow Jesus, you don’t need to wait.

Turn to Him.

Believe the gospel.

Give Him your life.

And then tell someone.

Get baptized.

Join a local church.

Start reading Scripture.

Start praying.

And begin following Jesus one day at a time.

The gospel isn’t good advice about what you should do for God. It’s good news about what God has already done for you.

And that good news changes everything.

Looking for a Church Near Naperville, Illinois?

If you live in Naperville, Aurora, or the greater Chicago area and want to learn more about Jesus or grow in your relationship with God, we’d love to invite you to Elan Church.

Elan Church is a Holy Spirit-led, Bible-immersed, non-denominational church in the Naperville area.

You don’t need to have Christianity figured out before you come.

You don’t need to know the Bible.

And you don’t need to pretend you have everything together.

Whether you’ve followed Jesus for years, are returning to church, or are simply exploring what Christianity is all about, you are welcome here.

We’d love to have you join us this Sunday.