Essential message of the Gospel

1. Essential message of the Gospel –21st
May 2016
“By thisgospel you are saved,if youholdfirmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise,you have
believed invain” (1 Corinthians15:2).
The word gospelmeans“goodnews,”whichisthe message of forgivenessforsinthroughthe atoning
workof JesusChrist.ItisessentiallyGod’srescue planof redemption forthose who have trustinJesus
Christinorder to be reconciledtoa justand holyGod.The essentialcontentof thissavingmessage is
clearlylaidoutforus in the Bible. InApostle Paul’sfirstlettertothe Corinthians, we canreadthat he
laysout the contentof the gospel message, “Now,brothersandsisters,I want to remind you ofthe
gospel I preached to you, whichyou received and on whichyou have taken your stand. 2
By this gospel
you are saved, ifyou holdfirmlyto the wordI preached to you.Otherwise, you have believedin vain.
3
For what I received I passed on to youas of first importance[a]
:that Christdied for our sins according
to the Scriptures, 4
that he was buried,that he was raised on the third dayaccordingto the Scriptures”
(1 Corinthians15:1–4).
In thispassage,we see three essentialelementsof the gospel message.First, essentialunderstanding
that we receive isthat “Christdiedforour sins”whichisveryimportant. The bible tellsusthat ,“For all
have sinnedand fall shortof the glory of God”(Romans3:23).AsChristianswe mustknow that the
realityof sinneedstobe acknowledgedbyall whoapproachthe throne of God forsalvation.A sinner
mustacknowledge andrepentforthe hopelessnessof his orherguiltof sinbefore Godinorder for
forgivenesstotake place,andhe must understandthatthe “wagesof sinis death” AsChristianswe
needtounderstandandacknowledge oursinandsinfulnessbecause withoutthisfoundational truth,no
gospel presentationiscomplete.
Second,the personandworkof Christare indispensable componentsof the gospel. We canlearnthat
JesusisbothGod as statedin Colossians2:9“For inChrist all the fullnessofthe Deity lives inbodilyfor”
and alsoreceive adeeperunderstandingthrough John1:14, “The Wordbecame fleshand made his
dwellingamongus.We have seen his glory,the glory of the one andonly Son,who came from the
Father, full ofgrace andtruth”. Inthe gospel we canlearnthat Jesuslivedthe sinlesslifethatwe could
neverlive:“Hecommittedno sin, andno deceit was foundin hismouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Because of
that, He is the onlyone whocould be an atoningsacrifice asthe substitutionarydeathforoursins.We
mustknowthat Sinagainstan infinite Godrequiresaninfinitesacrifice.Therefore,eitherman,whois
finite,mustpaythe penaltyforaninfinite lengthof time inhell,orthe infiniteChristmustpayforit as
the substitutionforoursin.Jesuswenttothe cross to paythe debtwe owe to God forour sin.We are
alsotoldthat those whoare coveredbyHissacrifice will inheritthe kingdomof Godassons of the king:
“Yet to all who didreceive him,to those who believedin hisname, he gave the rightto become
childrenof God” (John1:12).
Third,the resurrectionof Christ isan essential elementof the gospel.The resurrectionisthe proof of
the powerof God. OnlyHe whocreatedlife canresurrectitafter death,onlyHe can reverse the
hideousnessthatisdeathitself,andonlyHe canremove the stingthatis deathandthe victorythat is
the grave’s We can learnthisthrough 1 Corinthians15:54–55, “Whenthe perishablehasbeen clothed
with the imperishable,andthe mortal with immortality,thenthe sayingthat iswritten will come true:
“Death hasbeen swallowedupin victory.”55
“Where,Odeath, isyour victory? Where, O death,is your
sting?Furthermore,unlike all otherreligions,ChristianityalonepossessesaFounderwhotranscends
deathand whopromisesthatHisfollowerswill dothe same.All otherreligionswere foundedbymen

2. and prophetswhose endwasthe grave.
Finally,ChristoffersHissalvationasafree gift.We can learnfrom Romans5:15, “But the gift is notlike
the trespass. For ifthe manydied by the trespass ofthe one man,how much more didGod’sgrace and
the gift that came by the grace of the one man, JesusChrist, overflowto the many! In Romans6:23,
“Forthe wagesof sin isdeath, but the gift ofGodis eternal life inChristJesus our Lord”. Throughthis
passage we learnthat the giftof God is eternal life.AsChristianswe needtoclearlyknow that thisgiftof
life canonlybe receivedbyfaith, andthatit is apart from anyworks or meritonour part. We can learn
thisinEphesians2:8–9, “Forit is by grace you have been saved, throughfaith—andthisisnot from
yourselves,it is the gift ofGod— 9
notby works, so that no one can boast”.
Furtherto above we learnwhen the apostle Paul tellsus thatthe gospel is whatcan teachus and
enablesustounderstandthe powerof God that can enable usoursalvationthroughthatknowledge:
“ForI amnot ashamedof the gospel,because it is the power of Godthat bringssalvationto everyone
who believes:first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans1:16). The same inspiredauthortellsus, “If
you declare withyour mouth,“Jesus isLord,” andbelieve in yourheart that Godraisedhim fromthe
dead, youwill be saved” (Romans10:9). These,then,are the essentialelementsof the gospel:the sin
of all men,the deathof Christon the cross to pay forthose sins,the resurrectionof Christtoprovide life
everlastingforthose whofollowHim,andthe offerof the free giftof salvationtoall.
“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2).