Gospel

Essential Principles of the Gospel

The Gospel (good news) centers on the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven as King of kings (Romans 1:1, 2 Timothy 3:16). Throughout the Bible we see that God is holy, perfect, and morally set apart (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 6:3). His standard for mankind is perfection and sinless holiness, as He cannot look upon evil or allow any sin into His presence (Habakkuk 1:13, 1 Peter 1:16).

Mankind’s Sinful Condition

All of humanity is sinful and everyone is incapable of meeting God's standard of holiness (Romans 3:23). The Bible defines sin as the transgression of God’s holy law and failing to reach His perfect mark. For instance, even lying is enough to sentence you to hell (Revelation 21:8). According to James 2:10, stumbling in just one point of the law makes a person guilty of all sin, and the legal wages for sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Jesus Christ: The Only Savior

Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, part of the Trinity alongside the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 1:1, John 1:14). Having lived a perfectly sinless life, Jesus fulfilled God's standard of holiness (Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 3:15). His death on the cross serves as the only accepted perfect payment for sin (Hebrews 9:12, John 3:16). He rose bodily on the third day, defeating death and Satan (1 Corinthians 15:4). Salvation is found only through faith in Him, (John 14:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Repentance and the Holy Spirit

Salvation is a free gift of grace received through faith alone, not by human effort or deeds (Ephesians 2:8-9). God commands everyone to repent, which involves turning from sin to follow Him (Acts 17:30, Luke 9:23). This process of being born-again includes receiving the Holy Spirit, without whom no one can be saved or understand the Word of God (John 3:3-5, 1 Corinthians 2:14). (John 14:15, Hebrews 10:24-25).

The Urgency of Faith

Those who reject the Gospel and die in sin face eternal punishment in Hell (John 3:36, 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Salvation requires confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). The future is uncertain, the Bible emphasizes that today is the day of salvation and urges immediate surrender to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:2, Proverbs 27:1, Mark 1:15).