What Is the Gospel?

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All the Bible verses quoted in this article are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is also called the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Based on the Bible itself, we know that “Gospel” means good news that brings great joy to all people:

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

This good news is about a Savior, Christ, the Lord, who has been born. Why is He called the Savior, Christ, and Lord?

To answer this question, we first need to accept the Bible as the truth and embrace everything it reveals about God, humanity, and the human condition, whether we fully understand it or not. Only by doing so can we truly grasp the Gospel. After accepting these truths, the Holy Spirit, the Person of God who works in human hearts, will help us comprehend all things clearly.

In everyday life, we believe in many things we don’t fully understand. For example, we trust that medicines created by pharmacists can heal our illnesses, and we believe that a heavy airplane can fly through the air and carry us from one place to another. Yet, when it comes to the Bible, many people say they will only believe what they can understand and what aligns with their reasoning. Therefore, some say, “How can I believe that the Bible is the truth, that it is the Word of God, and that God truly exists?”

From its very first pages, the Bible proclaims that God is the Creator of all things and that He made humans in His image and likeness to rule over the earth and all creatures on it. A person with a sound mind would be more inclined to accept the Bible’s proclamation than to believe in the theory of evolution. This is because the theory of evolution denies a Creator but also fails to explain the origin of life. It claims that humans evolved from the most basic cells, equating humans with animals and suggesting that apes are humanity’s closest ancestors.

Science is the study of empirical evidence. It only recognizes what can be tested and yields clear results. Anything that cannot be verified is considered a hypothesis, which may or may not be correct. As the saying goes, “A small error at the start leads to a great divergence at the end.” Literally, if one deviates by just a millimeter at the start, the destination could be thousands of meters off course. Figuratively, even the smallest error can lead to significant mistakes.

Science can only work with data after the Flood as the basis for its experiments and measurements. However, constants, such as the rate of radioactive decay, could have been entirely different before the Flood. Even the speed of light at the formation of the universe might have been far from what it is now. Therefore, science holds only relative value, meaning it is reliable only for certain experiments within a limited scope of history.

Science cannot help us understand the spiritual world, the realm of the spirit and soul, and it certainly cannot conduct experiments to prove the existence of a divine being: one who is all-loving, all-holy, all-righteous, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, perfectly good, completely true, and supremely beautiful, the Creator who made all things with a specific purpose.

• All-loving: God is love. He loves all creation and is the source of love. Because He is love, God grants humans and angels, His higher creatures, the freedom to choose, along with the responsibility that comes with their choices.

• All-holy: God is holy. He is set apart, independent, and distinct from all created things. He exists by Himself and forever. Because He is holy, God does not tolerate anything that goes against His will. Anything that opposes His revealed will in the Bible is sin.

• All-righteous: God is righteous. He shows no partiality, and all His judgments are just. Because He is righteous, God must punish sin.

• All-powerful: God can do all things. Although He has the power to create moral evil, He chooses not to. Because He is all-powerful, God does every good thing for His people, and no one can oppose Him without being brought down.

• All-knowing: God knows everything. Nothing can be hidden from Him, not even the secret thoughts in people’s hearts or events that have yet to happen.

• Ever-present: God is everywhere, but He does not reside in everything. He dwells only within the bodies of those who belong to Him. Because He is ever-present, no one can escape from God.

• All-good: God does not create moral evil and does not tolerate it. Moral evil consists of things that go against God’s nature and will. Because He is all-good, those who trust in Him live in peace and joy within His kingdom.

• All-true: God is entirely truthful; He never lies and does not accept falsehood. Because He is all-true, God exists eternally and never changes. All His promises will be fulfilled at the time He has appointed.

• All-beautiful: God is majestic, good, and the source of all beauty. Because He is all-beautiful, everything in the Kingdom of God is wonderfully beautiful.

Because God is real, He has revealed Himself to humanity. The name “God” means the One who reigns from heaven and governs all creation. The Bible declares itself to be the Word of God and the message of God to mankind.

If someone cannot accept the first page of the Bible as truth, proclaiming a God who created all things, including humanity, made in His image and likeness to rule over the earth and its creatures, there is no need for that person to read the rest of the Bible or explore the Gospel.

The Bible tells us that God created a beautiful world and then created humanity to enjoy and govern His creation on earth. God made humans in His image and likeness, meaning:

• Human beings have a physical body, referred to as the flesh, just as God has a physical body when He chooses to appear in the material world as a man named Jesus.

• Human beings also have a spiritual body, known as the spirit, just as God exists in the spiritual realm. It is through the spiritual body that humans can know God and interact with Him, as well as with the spiritual world.

• Human beings are souls, meaning they are living entities within both the spiritual body and the physical body, capable of observation, feeling, reasoning, and possessing complete free will to make decisions.

God grants humanity the enjoyment of His creation, and He gives them the authority to rule over the earth and all that is on it. However, He also grants humanity the freedom to obey Him or to rebel against Him. God does not wish to use His sovereign authority to force people to obey, love, or worship Him. He desires for humanity to willingly obey, love, and worship Him. That is the essence of true love. Regrettably, humanity has chosen not to obey God. This disobedience is referred to as sin in the Bible.

Even a single act of disobedience to God demonstrates that humanity does not truly love, trust, or obey Him. Since humanity chose not to obey God, this rebellion became part of human nature and is passed down to every person born into the world. The Bible calls this sinful nature.

The sinful nature causes humanity to constantly think of and engage in actions that oppose God, even though they know that the consequence of sin is death. God has instilled within the conscience of humanity His standards of love, holiness, and righteousness, serving as principles for living. The Bible, in the book of Romans, chapter 1, verses 18 to 32, states:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of *God is manifest in them; for *God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew *God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible *God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore *God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of *God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause *God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain *God in their knowledge, *God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of *God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Many people indulge in their unrighteous desires, living for sinful pleasures without regard for tomorrow. Some wish to escape a sinful lifestyle, but no one can save themselves. Countless philosophical ideas and religions urge humanity to do good, avoid evil, and practice righteousness, yet no philosophy or religion can help people stop sinning. Humanity has become enslaved to sin. Even if any philosophy or religion could cause humanity to cease sinning, nothing could free them from the punishment for sins they have already committed.

According to the Bible, the punishment for sin is death. The death referred to here includes both the physical death of the flesh and the spiritual death of the soul and spirit, divided into two stages known as the first death and the second death.

Physical death occurs when the soul and spirit are separated from the physical body; the physical body decays and returns to dust, the material from which God created humanity’s flesh, awaiting resurrection. The spirit returns to *God, who gave it; the soul goes to hell (Hades), awaiting the resurrection of the physical body to be judged by God for all the deeds done in the flesh [1].

Spiritual death is the separation of the soul and spirit from fellowship with God, resulting in the loss of blessings from God and the inability to know and enjoy Him.

The first stage of death is a temporary stage: the soul and spirit are separated from fellowship with God because of sin. However, by *God’s grace, which is His mercy, He grants humanity the opportunity to repent of their sins and accept His gift of salvation to escape spiritual death and receive the glorious resurrection of the physical body, entering into the Eternal Kingdom of *God. This opportunity is only valid while the physical body is still alive, meaning it has not yet been separated from the spirit and soul. The death of the physical body ends the first stage of death.

The second stage of death will last forever: the physical body will be resurrected, reunited with the soul, and brought before *God’s final judgment seat to be judged for every deed done, then endure eternal suffering in hell for the sins committed. Hell is the eternal place of confinement and punishment for the angels who rebelled against God and for those who do not accept God’s salvation. The punishment will correspond to the sins of each angel and each person, but all will be eternally separated from the love and saving power of God.

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Revelation 20:11-15

11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before *God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

It is precisely because of the current fallen state of humanity that people need salvation. The salvation mentioned in the Bible is liberation from the power of sin and the consequences of sin. The power of sin is the nature that prefers sin, thinks about sin, and commits sin within each person. The consequence of sin is eternal punishment in hell. Salvation can only come from *God.

• *God is good; therefore, anything that opposes God is inherently moral evil. The Bible refers to all such evil as sin.

• *God is holy; therefore, He does not accept any sin, even a single lie or a lustful thought.

• *God is just; therefore, He must punish those who are guilty.

However, *God is also love and the source of love, so He desires “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, He has given humanity the opportunity to be saved from the power and consequences of sin.

The Bible tells us that there is only one God consisting of three persons, which the Bible refers to as: the Father, also known as *God; the Son, also known as the Word and the Lord Jesus; and the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit.

The Father is the person of God that represents the will of God. He expresses God’s desires over all creation. The Son is the person of God that represents the Word of God. He manifests all of God’s desires through His words and actions. The Holy Spirit is the person of God that represents the life and power of God. He demonstrates God’s life and power by granting life to all creatures and preserving them.

To save humanity, the Son followed the holy will of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and became human, bearing the name Jesus, to take on the punishment for the sins of all humanity.

Philippians 2:5-8:

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

The sins of all humanity were punished on the body of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus suffered, endured humiliation, was crucified, and died on the cross for the sins of all humanity. Therefore, anyone who believes that the Lord Jesus died to atone for their sins is no longer responsible for their sins. That person is forgiven by *God because they have faith that the Lord Jesus bore the punishment for their sins in their place.

However, simply believing that the Lord Jesus bore the punishment for their sins is not enough; one must also believe that the Lord Jesus is God incarnate. For if the Lord Jesus were only a man, He could only die for one person. The Lord Jesus had to be both fully human in the flesh and God in the spirit to bear the punishment for all people in the world. Only an infinite God could die in place of all people. Only by becoming human could God die. And only by suffering, being humiliated, and dying in the weak human flesh could the punishment be carried out justly.

*God’s salvation does not stop at forgiveness, which means making the sinner no longer responsible for the consequences of their sinful actions; it also cleanses that person of sin, meaning the cleansing of their sinful nature, their tendency to desire sin, think of sin, and commit sin. At the same time, it grants the saved person the power of God Himself, called the holy spirit, so that they can live a holy life according to *God’s will.

*God’s salvation:

• enables the believer to escape the punishment of sin, meaning they are forgiven by *God.

• cleanses the believer of their sinful nature, meaning they are washed clean of their sinful nature by the blood of the Lord Jesus.

• immerses the believer in the power of God to live a new holy life, meaning they are filled with the holy spirit.

Therefore, God’s incarnation as a human is a GOOD NEWS. Through it, humanity is given the opportunity to receive *God’s grace of salvation.

Although God became incarnate as a human, born among the people of Israel, the salvation He brings is for all of humanity. Therefore, the message of the angel on the night of His birth emphasized the event: “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

God, incarnate as a man, is called the Savior, meaning that humanity cannot find salvation from the power and consequences of sin from anyone else. No religious leader, no method of practice, and no other deity besides the God who became man, named Jesus, can bring salvation to humanity. The Bible clearly states:

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:2)

JESUS means: “the Self-Existent and Eternal One is the Savior.” Indeed, only the Self-Existent and Eternal God has the authority and power to save those who have sinned against Him. Why do we sin against God yet seek salvation from someone other than God?

CHRIST is a title that means: “The Anointed One.” Literally, it refers to the one chosen and anointed by *God to be a king, prophet, or priest. When used for the Lord Jesus, it translates to “The Anointed One.”

In ancient times, the act of anointing symbolized that the anointed person was chosen by God and given one of the offices: priest, prophet, or king. The oil used was pure olive oil, representing the holy spirit, the power from God, which was poured on the head of the anointed, flowing down over their entire body. During the time when God became incarnate, there was no longer a literal act of anointing; instead, the holy spirit of God would be poured out upon the chosen one.

The Lord Jesus, in the position of the Anointed One, that is, the Christ, simultaneously received three offices from *God. In the office of prophet, He preached about *God and the Kingdom of *God. In the office of priest, He offered His own life to atone for humanity’s sins. In the office of king, He reigns in the hearts of those who accept *God’s salvation, and He will be King of kings and Lord of lords, ruling in the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom.

LORD is a title that means: the one has supreme authority over all things. This sovereignty belongs solely to God. All three persons of God, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, are Lord.

“A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”: means that the Savior has come to proclaim salvation, to carry out salvation, to harvest the results of salvation, and He alone has authority over all of this.

A person who believes in the Gospel is someone who:

• Recognizes himself or herself as a sinner, with the first sin being the sin of not worshiping God.

• Desires to be free from the power and consequences of sin, meaning they do not want to continue living in sin and do not want to be lost, suffering eternally in hell.

• Believes in the redemptive death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That person does not need to do anything but sincerely repent, meaning desire to turn away from sin, and fully trust in the redemptive death of the Lord Jesus Christ. They only need to say to the Lord:

“Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I am a sinner; I sincerely repent of my sins and believe in Your redemptive death. Amen!”

“Amen” means “So be it.”

Immediately, that person is forgiven by God in the person of God the Father, cleansed by God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and filled with holy spirit by God in the person of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in their body and grants them the spirit to understand the Bible as the Word of God and to have the power to live a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The next step for that person is to obey the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, to begin reading and meditating on the Word of God day and night, and to carefully follow it; then to eagerly participate in gatherings with the Church of God (which is not the religious organizations with the name “Church of God”), alongside brothers and sisters who also believe in the Gospel and live according to the Word of God, for fellowship and to worship God together.

Baptism is a ritual of fully immersing the body in water, symbolizing the death of the old sinful self under *God’s judgment. Coming out of the water signifies being raised as a new person in the love and power of God. Baptism also means dying and being raised together with the Lord Jesus.

The Gospel is not “protestantism.” “Protestantism” refers to religious organizations with meeting places called “churches,” whose teachings are misaligned with the Bible.

The Gospel is the good news of the salvation that *God grants to humanity through God becoming human to bear the punishment for the sins of all mankind. Those who believe in the Gospel are individuals who trust in and live according to the Bible without joining any religious organization. Such individuals naturally belong to the Church of God.

Those who truly believe in the Gospel will not participate in the activities of organizations that claim to be Protestant Churches. Knowing that these organizations teach contrary to the Word of God, do not keep the commandments of the Lord, and are filled with hypocrisy, why waste time, effort, and money on them?

For those who are active in organizations that claim to be Protestant Church, we, as true believers in the Gospel, can only present to them the genuine meaning of the Gospel by sharing this article for them to read, allowing them to decide for themselves. If they truly accept the Gospel, they will leave those “churches.” If they cling to those “churches,” it is clear that they have not accepted the pure Gospel of the Bible. They are believing in what the Bible calls “another gospel,” which is not Gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7). There is only one Gospel. It is either the Gospel or not the Gospel at all. For those who choose to remain in those “churches,” we cannot have fellowship with them, as they have known the truth but have not accepted it and continue to believe human traditions. We should say goodbye to them and spend time bringing the truth to others.

Jude 20-23:

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the holy ghost,

21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:

23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Questions for those who have never accepted the Gospel: Do you want to escape the power and consequences of sin to return to the position of being a child of God? Do you want to receive resurrection and eternal happy life in the Kingdom of *God? If you do, then believe in the Gospel. If you do not want to, then we have nothing more to say to you.

Questions for those who are part of Protestantism: You have heard the true meaning of the Gospel and what it means to accept the Gospel. Do you want to abandon Protestantism to accept the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you want to, then do so today. If you do not want to, then we also have nothing more to say to you. Perhaps this is the final call from the Lord to you before He hardens your heart or takes your life away.

A blessing for those who have accepted the Gospel and are living in it: Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, we wish for you to increasingly understand the Word of God more and to experience the love and power of the Lord more and more. We pray that you may be steadfast in faith, blameless until the day our beloved Lord Jesus Christ appears and makes us perfect as He is perfect. Amen!

You should make many copies of this article and the audio of it and give them to as many people as you can so that they also have an opportunity to learn about the Gospel and accept the Gospel, just like you. This is what the Lord has entrusted to those who believe in Him. You should start reading the Bible as the Word of God. You can read it online at: https://thewordtoyou.net/bible/.

Please visit: https://preachingfromthebible.net for more biblical teachings.

May the love and grace of God always surround you, who accept His salvation.

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
11/01/2014

Notes:

[1] https://preachingfromthebible.net/ten-reflections-on-the-final-judgment/

About Using “*God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible uses a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.