The Gospel

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim The Gospel to the whole creation." - Mark 16:15

Okay. First off, the word 'gospel' means 'good news,' so keep that in mind as we go through today's story.

And who was Jesus talking to? He was talking to the Eleven when He appeared to them after rising from the dead. 

So, "The Gospel." Let's start with some basics. God knows everything. He always was, and always will be. God is perfect and demands perfection. That's where we all should go, "Uh-oh." Because WE, none of us, are perfect.

We WERE perfect once but then there was the serpent and Adam and Eve eating forbidden fruit. You know the story. From that point on we were separated from God. That's not good news.

The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That means that if we sin we're going to hell. Forever. So, where's 'the good news?' Wait. It gets even worse.

The Bible also says, "there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3). People then asked "who then can be saved?" (Luke 18:26). Good question. But then Jesus said this:

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” - Luke 18:27

And that's where "the good news" begins.

We read about all God's rules and laws, like The Ten Commandments and the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, and we realize that no one can possibly keep all those. And that's right. I think that was the point.

God made the people sacrifice various things to atone for their sin. Goats, cattle, lambs, doves, first fruits of the land, etc. But the sacrifices weren't lasting. Neither was their repentance for sin.

So, we ask the question again, who then can be saved? "With God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

God is a just judge. And the wages of sin is death, right? Someone has sinned, so someone has to die. God demands a sacrifice.

We have heard words like grace, mercy and forgiveness before. But we cannot understand the true meaning of 'sacrifice' and 'first fruits' until we contemplate someone actually dying for something that WE did.

And this is the good news . . . 

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Jesus is our once-for-all sacrifice. Jesus died so that we might live. All we have to do is believe in Jesus, follow His commands, turn from our life of sin, and follow Him.

It's pretty simple once we understand the basics.

How was it that YOU came to be saved? Did someone share the good news about Jesus with YOU?

Why Preach The Gospel? - Voddie Baucham