The word gospel literally means “good news,” but the word “gospel” is used in three different contexts on the pages of the New Testament. This often confuses people when we ask them anything about the Gospel (referring to Christ’s work on the cross).
First, the New Testament begins with four books titled The Gospel of Matthew, The Gospel of Mark, The Gospel of Luke, and The Gospel of John. These books are divided into chapters, and you will normally see the word “Gospel” on the title page of each book.
Second, New Testament authors sometimes use the term gospel to refer to good news in a general sense, rather than the specific news of Christ’s death. Consider Luke 1:19: “And the angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.’” The news the angel brings is not bad news—instead, he brings “good news” that Elizabeth is going to have a son.
Third, after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection—as recorded at the end of those first four Gospels—the apostles begin to refer to what Christ did for humanity on the cross as the good news—the Gospel.
Seen that way, it makes perfect sense. Is there any greater “good news” than that Christ died for your sins? Consider the alternative—you die for your sins. Now, by die, we don’t mean merely taking your last breath and losing a pulse. Instead, we mean experiencing eternal separation from God in a place called hell. We mean dying, and you do not go to heaven. You are not with grandma. You are not walking on golden streets with St. Peter at the pearly gates.
Brothers and sisters, we are the people with the good news (the gospel). We know how people can be saved from hell and inherit eternal life. We are the ones who ask questions like: “If you were to die today, do you know where you would spend eternity?”
I asked that question this week, and it was clear the person I was talking to didn’t know and didn’t have assurance. They hoped. But there wasn’t a confident assurance. That led me to ask if we could get together and talk. Are you ready to ask someone a tough question because you love them?
If we want to see exactly what this gospel is—and what it isn’t—we can look at how the Apostle Paul lays it out in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.
The person I spent time with struggled to understand the relationship between good works and faith in Christ. Over and over, they wanted to link good works to faith in Christ. But faith and belief are not works of righteousness on our part. Believers in the gospel of Jesus trust in Christ; they lean entirely on His work on the cross. They believe that Christ died for their sins, so they don’t have to endure God’s wrath for their own sins.
They believe Christ was buried and rose again on the third day. Paul calls this the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4. He writes, “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Faith and belief in this truth (the gospel) result in salvation.
But salvation from what? Hell—the eternal wrath of God. So, who do you need to ask about salvation this week?
