Gospel means Good News. And in a world of sin and suffering, we each desperately need God’s Good News. But before we can understand the Gospel, we must understand the bad news.

In the beginning God created everything very good.(1) The Lord placed man in a garden paradise.(2) However man was given a free will and a choice.(3) Though mankind lived in a perfect environment, he chose to rebel against His Creator.(4) As God warned Adam, sin resulted in suffering and death. The curse described in Genesis affected all creation, and today we see the horrible results.(5)

Scripture also explains that, like Adam, we have all "sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(6) To see if this applies to you, please review God’s Ten Commandments.(7) Have you ever told a lie? One lie makes us a liar in God’s eyes. Jesus explained that lust was equivalent to adultery.(8) Have you ever had lustful thoughts? Scripture explains, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.”(9) Have you ever despised another person? The Lord even warned: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”(10) Have you ever gossiped or spoken foolishly?

Whether our sin is envy, greed, pride (which was Lucifer’s sin),(11) or using God’s name lightly – we must admit that we are all guilty of sinning against our Creator. The Bible explains that the penalty for any sin is death – both physical death and spiritual death – which is eternal separation from God.(12) The final destiny for those who spurn their Creator is the lake of fire, which is the second death: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”(13)

However, there is Good News! Before time began God had a plan to rescue mankind.(14) Because the penalty for sin is death, the Creator came to earth as a man,(15) lived a sinless life,(16) and died to pay the penalty for our sins.(17) He then rose from the dead – defeating death – and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will trust Him.(18)

Scripture states that God is love.(19) And He demonstrated His own love toward us by stepping down from heaven to offer His life so that we might be reconciled to Him forever!(20) Jesus Christ is the Creator.(21) On the cross He bore our sins and then rose for our justification.(22) The Lord now offers everlasting life to all who will repent from their sins and trust in Him personally.(23)

By placing your faith in Jesus Christ you can enter into a relationship with the Creator of the universe that will last forever! This is His free gift and His desire for you.(24)

God our Savior “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”(25) But remember, because God is completely just and holy,(26) every sin will meet with a just punishment.(27) Therefore, only Jesus – who alone is perfect and righteous, who alone died for our sins, who alone rose from the dead – can save you.(28) If you neglect God’s great salvation, the consequences are eternal. Scripture warns “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”(29) God will pour out His “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.”(30)

Therefore, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”(31) Instead, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.”(32) If you do, you will live in Heaven with our awesome Creator forever!

1. Genesis 1
2. Genesis 2
3. Genesis 2:16-17
4. Genesis 3
5. Genesis 3:17; Romans 8:20-22. In fact only the Bible explains the origin of Creation, sin, death, suffering, conscience, and a host of other fundamental truths.
6. Romans 3:23
7. Exodus 20
8. Matthew 5:27-28
9. 1 John 3:15
10. Matthew 12:36
11. Isaiah 14:12-15; 1 Timothy 3:6
12. Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23
13. Revelation 21:8
14. 1 Peter 1:20
15. Matthew 1:23
16. 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 3:5
17. 1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 6:10; Hebrews 10:10
18. Matthew 28:6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Romans 10:9
19. 1 John 4:8
20. Romans 5:8
21. John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1
22. Isaiah 53; Romans 4:25
23. John 3:36
24. Romans 5:15-18
25. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
26. Leviticus 19:2; Psalm 37:28
27. Matthew 10:26; Revelation 20:12
28. John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21
29. Hebrews 10:31
30. Romans 2:8-9
31. Hebrews 3:15
32. Mark 1:15