“When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God.”
— R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
What is the Gospel?
The gospel is an announcement of the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ to save us from our sin and into his church family and eternal life.
God. God is the creator of all things. He is perfectly holy, worthy of all worship, and will punish sin.
(Gen. 1:1, Rom. 2:5-8, 1 John 1:5, Rev. 4:11)
Man. All people, though created good, have become sinful by nature. From birth, all people are alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to the wrath of God.
(Gen. 1:26-28, Ps. 51:5, Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:1-3)
Christ. Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to bear God’s wrath in the place of all who would believe in him, and rose from the grave in order to give his people eternal life.
(John 1:1, 1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 7:26, Rom. 3:21-26, 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Cor. 15:20-22)
Response. God calls everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and trust in Christ in order to be saved.
(Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21, Rom. 10:9-10)
(Some of this material has been adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever, p. 43)