Answering the question of what IS "The Gospel"?

My last few posts have talked about finding your ministerial and missional calling to share "The Gospel" with others. Why? Because Christianity is NOT a spectator sport so even though everyone may not be called to be an overseas missionary, as a Christian, we are ALL STILL called to be on missions for God and to share "The Gospel."

I recently half-jokingly asked a person who has been going to church for years, "What is 'The Gospel?'" The response, however, was no laughing matter. It was filled with convoluted, confusing, hard-to-pronounce--let alone follow or understand--high-level, theological concepts that left me, a Believer, stumped and essentially birthed this post. We may encounter people who might not know the "Christian-ese" verbiage we use, especially if the person has never heard about Jesus before. It made me wonder how do other Christians share "The Gospel?"

Key tips in sharing "The Gospel":

- KNOW IT YOURSELF!

- KISS: Keep It Simple, Saints!

Once WE know it, we need to CLEARLY explain it so others can

- HEAR IT,

- UNDERSTAND IT,

- RECEIVE IT,

- BELIEVE IT, and ultimately

- LIVE IT,

- GROW IN IT, and

- SHARE IT!

So...what is "The Gospel"?

"The Gospel", a shortened form of the phrase "The Gospel of Jesus Christ", is also referred to as "The Good News."

It is the DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ. DBR for short.

Biblical Scripture summarizes it in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (all Scriptural references are from NASB1995 unless otherwise noted):

(bold CAPITOL added for emphasis) [3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ DIED for our sins according to the Scriptures, [4] and that He was BURIED, and that He was RAISED on the third day according to the Scriptures,

This begs the question, "WHY did Jesus have to DIE, BE BURIED, AND BE RAISED ON THE 3RD DAY?"

My former pastor who recently went Home to be with the Lord,  Reverend Mark A. Cain originally shared a mnemonic device he called "The 3 P's of The Gospel". I have taken and modified it to expand on some points, and added the last set of 3 P's for spiritual progression to help further explain what we can now call:

The 6 P's of The Gospel:

1. PROBLEM.

There is a problem of sin. 

What is "sin"? Anything we say, think, or do--OR conversely--anything we DON'T say, we DON'T think, we DON'T do that misses the perfect mark of God. God is love, holy, perfect, righteous, just and so much more, and as God, His holiness cannot welcome immorality, impurity, or sin because it goes against His very nature. If you respond that this problem does not apply to you, ask yourself if you have ever before told a lie, cheated, stolen something, or even possibly broken any of the other remaining 7 of the 10 commandments...and when you answer, "YES", realize that doing so makes you a sinner. As a sinner, you have missed the mark of God's perfect standard. However, you are not alone because Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

So, we all have a problem with sin. 

2. PENALTY.

There is a penalty of sin. 

We expect to get the proportionate wages/payment for the time/energy we put into the work we do. The same thing applies with sin in that it demands a payment--or penalty--for it. We learn what that penalty is in the first half of Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death [...]." It says that we, as sinners, deserve and earned the price/payment/penalty of death. Romans 5:12 NLT says, "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned." Meaning that when the first man, Adam, sinned through his disobedience to God, he developed a sin nature that was passed on to all of his offspring (us!). The penalty of Adam's sin resulted in death: spiritual death (spirit separated from fellowship with God), physical death (soul separated from the body), and eternal death (soul eternally separated from God). Even today, because our sinful nature makes us want to sin and sometimes even actually execute that act of sin whether in our minds or in deed--death is the resulting penalty for that sinful work.

So, our sin’s penalty is death.

3. PROVISION.

There is God's Provision for sin. 

In man's fallible state, we cannot save or cleanse ourselves. So because God loves us, He made a provision for man to be reconciled back to Him from sin through Jesus Christ. The first half of the infamous John 3:16 verse says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son [...]." Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit (so as not to inherit Adam's sinful nature), lived a perfect life, and never committed any sin. "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). Even though Jesus never sinned, He took on the punishment of our sins when they were transferred onto Him when He was on the cross. Being both 100% God and 100% human, the death, burial, and resurrection (remember DBR above?) of the sinless Jesus was the only acceptable sacrifice that could bridge/mediate/advocate/reconcile us back to God. Romans 5:8 tells us, "[b]ut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Understand that Jesus Christ did not die for good or evil; He died for all of mankind's sin. He died for the sins of the Adolf Hitler types and the Mother Theresa types; He died for the sins of those who will believe in Him and those who will NOT believe in Him; He died for the original sin Adam passed down to us AND ALL past, present, and future sins, including Him dying for the sins of you and me. Remember, sin's penalty is death. Jesus's death on the cross cleansed us from Adam's initial sin and--as we confess--our continual sin. Jesus's death on the cross also saves us from God's wrath because He was able to accept the sacrificial death of Jesus as the only viable substitute for the death/penalty/punishment/judgement that we rightly deserve for our sin. And thankfully, Jesus did not stay dead! After His burial, and by God raising Him from the dead in 3 days, Jesus showed that He conquered death, Hell, and Satan forever. First Thessalonians 1:10 says, "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." Jesus Christ became our mediator between God the Father and moved us from being enemy creations to relational children.

So, the DBR of Jesus is God's Provision for sin. 

3 minutes can change a life -- Sharing the Gospel with 3 Circles!

4. PROMISE.

There is a promise of salvation.

Imagine you own a business that makes widgets. As the owner, you want to make a 100% profit. However, you know that reaching that goal is unlikely due to various reasons: workers may get sick/need training/take time off, supplies might be on backorder, machines may need maintenance/repairs/updates, etc… So even though you desire 100% profit, we know that obtaining that will not occur in real life. Similarly, the Bible tells us that God’s desire is for “[...] all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), however, not everyone will believe or accept that God’s promises are true. Not only that, but God is patient, as 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." Salvation is offered freely in "[...] that whoever believes in Him {Jesus} shall not perish, but have eternal life," as noted in the second half of John 3:16. Salvation is something we receive, not something we earn. Ephesians 2:8 NLT says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” This means we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by good works, words, or efforts. Jesus saves us, completely apart from what we can do on our own. Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” If good works could save us, Jesus would not have needed to die. But good works cannot remove sin, so Jesus—who lived a sinless life—had to die to allow everyone an opportunity of salvation. Even though Jesus died for the sins of everyone, not everyone will choose to accept His sacrifice. Salvation becomes personal when someone puts their faith in Jesus and begins a relationship with God through Him. We must trust fully in Jesus alone—not Jesus plus good works or anything else. Otherwise, we are saying that Jesus is not enough to save us. The Bible says in Romans 10:9–10,  “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Faith begins in the heart and is expressed openly, leading to salvation. 

So belief in the Father’s plans, the Son’s saving acts on the cross, and the Spirit’s guidance allow us to receive the promises of salvation. 

5. PRAYER.

There is a prayer of Salvation.

Once you place your belief in the promises of the saving acts of Jesus Christ, pray a similar prayer below, but ONLY if you mean it (note that this is a unique time that praying to Jesus is normal instead of praying to God the Father and ending it "in the name of Jesus..."): 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner repeatedly missing the mark of God's holiness. I know I need a Savior because I can't save myself. I believe You are the holy and sinless Son of God and were my substitute on the cross saving me from receiving the death and wrath I deserve for my sin. I believe You were buried, died, and were raised from the dead in 3 days. Thank You for saving me. I ask for Your forgiveness of my sin and for me to receive eternal life. I want to live for and place my confidence in You as I invite You to come into my heart and life. Please, fill me with Your Holy Spirit to help me live for You. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen. 

So the Prayer of Salvation seals you as God's child for eternity.

Jesus CHOSE to stay on the cross for you. See a medical GRAPHIC explanation of what He endured out of love for YOU!

6. PRODUCTION.

There is production of faith.

As a member of the family, it is time to "[...] grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [...] (2 Peter 3:18)" by getting and reading a Bible that you can understand and connecting yourself with a church or disciple of Jesus to help you grow in your journey. If you joined an organization or a sports team, there is an expectation for you to learn the bylaws or rules and start working with the group. There is some type of production from you associating with that group that should yield some type of benefit. In the same way, James 2:26 says, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." You can very well accept Christ, do absolutely nothing to extend the Kingdom of God while here on Earth, and still be saved for all eternity in Heaven. But why would you do that? Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." God has called you for more...for Him! Matthew 3:8 says, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Note: this is NOT our work SAVES us, but rather, once we are saved, we typically WANT TO do works to expand the Kingdom of God.

Please, understand that as a believer, your life will not be happy all of the time or without any bad experiences--in fact, Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that you will have tribulations, but He also encourages us in that same verse to have peace because He has overcome the world. At times, life will be hard for you or possibly someone you know, but as a believer in Christ, we can have comfort in knowing we will face these things with a loving Father Who will never leave us nor forsake us, a co-Heir in Jesus Christ, Who is closer than any brother, and the Holy Spirit Who lives inside of us as He convicts us, helps us, and guides us along the way. 

So, our faith produces works.

Brother! Sister! Welcome to The Family!

This is NOT the only way to share "The Gospel", but I pray it helps someone to be more confident and understand the love & urgency with which we are to share the GREATEST NEWS we could ever receive and present to others.

Concluding words of wisdom:

• Whatever way you decide to share "The Gospel of Jesus Christ," please, approach it with a mindset using 1 Peter 3:15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." Regardless of the outcome, the person walking away from a crucial conversation like this should feel the love from you, from the church, and certainly from God. If that is not the reality, please pray to God and seek godly counsel on how to try to correct that. We are trying to win our brothers and sisters to Christ, not push them away.

• Lastly, I cannot stress enough how important it is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE. PRACTICE. This may be the LAST opportunity someone may get to hear the life-changing and soul-saving Good News that can turn them from death to eternal life. Heaven is real, and so is Hell. No matter how badly someone treated you, you do not want your worst enemy to go there. Understand this: God, in eternity-past, scheduled a present-day now for YOU to cross paths with individuals that need to hear about Him. Dr. Tony Evans poignantly summarizes this important message similarly saying that if you shrink His calling of sharing your portion of "The Gospel" with a person, then you are essentially telling that person to go to Hell.

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How do YOU share "The Gospel?" What Scriptures or methods do you use?