What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is the "good news" of salvation for God's people. The bible is absolutely clear:

• God is infinitely holy and unwaveringly just (Deuteronomy 32:4)

• No one can be in a right relationship with God and spend eternity with Him in heaven unless perfectly righteous (Psalm 24:3-5)

• Every human who has ever lived, aside from Jesus Christ, has sinned (Romans 3:23; Psalm 53:2-3)

• God's holiness demands that every sin recieve a just punishment, and that punishment is hell (Nahum 1:2-3; Romans 6:23)

The human race is universally condemned. The bible is clear that there will be a final judgement where the holy God will hold each person accountable for their sins. On their own, every person will be found guilty and will be sent to hell where they will be punished by God for eternity.

There is only one hope for sinners. This hope lies in the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus, God's son, lived a sinless life, obeying God perfectly. When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of those who trust in Him were imputed¹ to Him. God then poured out his just wrath for those sins on Jesus, punishing Him for all the sins of those who trust in Him. In addition, Jesus's perfect life, the life that fulfills God's demand for comprehensive righteousness, was imputed¹ to the believer.

The result: the believer's debt to God was effectually paid in full by Christ, and God sees the believer as perfectly righteous. There is no more punishment left for the believer, because every last ounce of God's wrath toward the beliver was poured out on Jesus. Christ's death was a propitiation², satisfying the offended holiness and wrath of God against those for whom He died.

Those who acknowledge their utter sinfulness, repent, and unconditionally trust in Christ alone and His finished work on the cross will spend eternity in heaven. Those who do not will spend eternity in hell, receiving the just punishment for their sins.

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Definitions

¹Impute: to transfer or lay the responsibility for; to credit to
²Propitiation: to appease or satisfy a legal demand