THE GOSPEL

Many people have an idea of what the Gospel is, but they don’t fully understand it. It wasn’t until years after becoming a believer that I heard the Gospel in a simple, profound way. Finally, everything clicked. 

The Gospel, or the Good News, helps us understand how we can restore our relationship with God. In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them. He also created the first two people, Adam and Eve, who lived in perfect fellowship with Him in a beautiful garden.

One day, the devil—God’s enemy—deceived Adam and Eve and led them to disobey God. This act of disobedience is called sin. Because Adam and Eve sinned against God, they were separated from Him. The Bible teaches that no one is good except God alone and that even our best works are like filthy rags before Him. As a result, there is nothing we can do on our own to bridge the gap or restore our relationship with a holy and perfect God.

Seeing that His beloved creation had been separated from Him, God came up with a way to restore them. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, yet He willingly chose to endure an excruciating death on a cross, taking upon Himself the punishment for our sins. He died in our place to remove the barrier of sin that had separated us from God.

Three days after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead! In doing so, He defeated sin, death, and the devil.

Because of Jesus’ victory, anyone who places their faith in Him and believes that He died and rose again on their behalf can have their relationship with God restored. Not only that, but they are also given the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Our belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection is important because it is through His blood that our sins are covered and we are made righteous before God. Through Christ’s sacrifice, God the Father no longer sees our sin, but instead sees the righteousness of His Son on our behalf.

"Our faith in Jesus transfers God's righteousness to us and he now declares us flawless in his eyes. This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us. Our faith guarantees us permanent access into this marvelous kindness that has given us a perfect relationship with God. What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our hope of experiencing God's glory!" -Romans 5:1-2