Tuesday Night Message 2026-01-20

A Gospel Overview

Introduction:

There was once a man who was driving to his small apartment from his minimum wage job. Due to construction, he had to take an alternate route through some winding backroads. As the man attempted to navigate the tight turns and steep slopes, his car suddenly hit a big bump. Being tired and desperately trying to stay on the road, the man simply went on without looking back.

The following day, the man was going through his mail, only for one of the letters to leave him in total shock. It contained a grave message stating he was being fined $125,000 for a crime he committed the previous day. Having no idea what crime he committed and being far too impoverished to pay the fine, the man furiously insisted to himself he was innocent while panicking from his dire situation.

Defining the Gospel:

What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ, who loved us so much that He died to pay the penalty for our sins and earn our salvation.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9, “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: 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.”

The Gospel is the cornerstone of Christianity and is what separates it from every religion. The religions of this world all focus on what man can do to reach some supposed deity, reward, or higher state, while the Gospel found in the Bible reveals what the One True God did to bring us to Himself.

Why we Need the Gospel:

Who needs the Gospel?

Why do they need the Gospel?

All people need the Gospel because we all are sinners before God, our Creator, whose righteousness, holiness, and justice require Him to be set apart from sin, hate it, and judge those guilty of it.

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, “In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
Revelation 21:8, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

What is sin?

Sin is any behavior, thought, and desire that rebels against God and His perfect ways. God has revealed our sinfulness through His perfect Law, among which are the Ten Commandments. Furthermore, Jesus reveals that even if we abstain from committing sinful behaviors, entertaining sinful desires in our hearts equally defiles us before God.

Romans 3:20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
James 2:10-11, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”
Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Going back to our example of the man and the unpayable fine, God’s Law fulfills the purpose of a police officer coming to the man and explaining that he is guilty because he ran over and killed an endangered animal. Likewise, God’s Law exposes our sins (e.g., lying, stealing, lusting, taking God’s name in vain), which make us guilty before God and deserved of His judgment.

Why are people sinful? Where did sin come from?

Every person to ever live has been born a sinner because we inherited the sin nature and spiritual death Adam and Eve received when they rebelled against God by choosing to eat of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Just as parents pass on their genes to their children, so did our first ancestors pass their sinful nature and its consequences to all humanity.

Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Romans 5:19, “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”

How Christ Made the Gospel Possible:

What did God do to rescue us from our sin?

No person can save himself from the curse of sin. Because the unbeliever lacks spiritual life and his entire being (including his heart, mind, and will) is corrupted by sin, he is completely incapable of restoring himself back to God, knowing Him, or understanding His Word.

Isaiah 64:6, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
1 Corinthians 2:11, 14, “For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Thankfully, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as a human being, being fully God and fully man. He was born without a sin nature through the virgin birth, lived the perfect life we could not, then died on the Cross to take our place in bearing God’s wrath for our sins. He died, bearing the penalty for our sin and paying for it with His blood, then rose again to defeat death.

Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Going back to our example, what Jesus did for us can be compared to the man’s fine being paid in full by someone else. Although the man was guilty and deserved to be punished, another took his place in that punishment, freeing the man from his condemnation and the government’s judgment.

How we Respond to the Gospel:

What should the unbeliever do with the Gospel?

Simply hearing the Gospel and knowing these truths mentally does not save a person. Furthermore, it is not enough to simply agree that these truths are good or right, then continue choosing to live and believe however we want. Unbelievers cannot and will not be saved unless they allow the Holy Spirit to change their hearts towards God and their sin. This change of heart that results in receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord to be saved has two mandatory components: repentance and faith.

What is repentance?

Repentance refers to you changing your mind about your sin and who Jesus is. Specifically, it means you see your sin as being wrong, then turn from it. It also means you stop rejecting Jesus, choosing to allow Him to enter your life as both your Savior (i.e., you agree He alone can save you) and Lord (i.e., you surrender your life to His leading and desires, not yours).

Acts 3:19, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."

What is faith?

Faith refers to you placing your trust entirely upon Christ for your salvation. This requires a genuine belief in your heart that He died for your sins and rose again. True saving faith wholeheartedly trusts in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, not a combination of Him and baptism, good works, being nice, etc.

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Once the matters of repentance and faith have been settled in your heart as explained here, you must proclaim your decision to receive Him as Savior and Lord. You should pray to the Lord, acknowledging your sin before Him, your need for Jesus to save you, and your decision to repent and place your faith in Christ alone for your salvation (note that the prayer itself does not save you; your heart must genuinely repent and trust in Jesus for salvation).

Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What should the believer do with the Gospel?

Having been freed from God’s judgment and receiving His life in us through His Holy Spirit, we as believers are now called to deliver this life-saving message to the entire world.

Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

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