We Need The Gospel

Firstly let’s clarify what we mean when we say Gospel. In contemporary society, the word Gospel can take on many forms and invoke many different meanings in one’s mind depending on who you are and your background. The word used in the original Greek text of the New Testament is Euangelion (yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on) which actually means Good News!

So why do we need “Good News” you ask? Let’s start with the Bad News:

Bad News : The Fall of man:

God created man in His Likeness (Gen 1:27) Created a utopic Paradise where there was no pain or death (Eden), and the man had dominion over every living thing on earth (Gen 1:28-30). Man had joyful and regular communion with God and was given access to and permission to eat everything around him except for the fruit of a single tree (Gen 2:16). God warned that the day they eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil they will surely die!

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 2:16 ESV

Unfortunately, they both ate the fruit of the forbidden tree and brought Sin forever into the world (Gen 3).

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:6 ESV

Now a once-perfect relationship with God was damaged. Man was cursed by and separated from God and will be subject to pain and toil while on this earth (Gen 3:16-19 & Gen 3:29). More tragically, after physical death, separation from God would be eternal unless God provided a means of reconciliation to himself.

Good News : A plan of Redemption

None of this caught God off guard or by surprise. God is Omniscient (All-Knowing) and as the Creator and Sustainer of Life itself, he knew in advance what was to happen with his creation. Because of this God had a plan of redemption in place long before the foundation of the world (rev 13:8). Lets now leap forward 45 books from Genesis to the book of Romans where the Apostle Paul clearly articulates for us the cause, need, plan and the manifestation of Gods redemptive plan:

Adam and Eve sinned against God. God warned that the penalty would be death. Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, we are all, by nature, sinners and therefore deserve death. :

The Problem and Penalty

The problem is that we were born into sin and the penalty for sin is death. This lies in direct juxtaposition to the majority opinion in our society today, which claims most people are good by nature. This is because we fail to understand the Holiness of God and therefore minimize our transgressions against him – or in many cases even downright deny the existence of God.  Ignoring this truth does not make it any less of a truth.

Romans 1:18-20 declares

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 3:23 says

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:10-18 says

as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 6:23a tells us:

For the wages or sin in death,

The Hope and Solution

Once we realize that we are sinners and that there is no way for us to pay our debt in full without eternal damnation, we should come to the realization that we need a substitutionary sacrifice in order that our penalty be paid in full. We need a Savior!

Romans 6:23b goes on to provide hope in that:

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

Romans 5:8 explains:

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

Our Response

After the realization that we need a savior and that God himself provided one in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we should respond in the way scripture instructs us to:

Romans 10:9-10

“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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Romans 10:13

“For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

The Result

After placing your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ you now have peace with God, Justification by faith, and eternal life in Heaven!

Romans 5:1-2

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

To think that the God of the Universe, Creator and sustainer of all things desires a relationship with us so much that He, while we were still sinners, sent his Son to die for us, should bring us to our knees in gratitude and humility and cause us to spring to our feet in praise!

Prayer

You may have heard people say that one should now pray the sinner’s prayer. While I certainly hope that you call out to the Lord in prayer (Rom 10:13) so that you are granted salvation and eternal life, I dare not force you to do so nor do I desire to put you in an awkward situation that falsely encourages you to do so.

Why? Because it’s not biblical and does not lead to true conversion. I see nowhere in scripture someone calling another to ‘a sinners prayer’. What I do see in scripture are sinners coming to the realization of their sin, God’s holiness, and the offer of salvation, compelling them to cry out to Him from a broken, sincere and contrite heart.

Just look at the example of David, When Nathan confronted him of his heinous sin. Nathan confronts David and then leaves him alone (2 Samuel 12:1-15). Shortly thereafter we have Psalm 51 (a prayer) from David confessing his sin, depravity, and transgressions against God and then crying out for mercy, cleansing, and restoration.

May God, through the work of His Word and the Holy Spirit, convict you to the same!