Gospel-centered Resources
The Gospel Explained:
The Gospel can be summarized in four simple words: God, man, Christ, and response.*
God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge. He created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever (Gen. 2:7, 16-17; 18:25; Matt. 25:31-33). Man was created in the image of God in order to worship and reflect Him.
Mankind rebelled against God by sinning against His holy character and law (Gen. 3:1-7). We’ve all participated in this sinful rebellion, both in Adam as our representative head and in our own actions (1 Kings8:46; Rom. 3:23; 5:12, 19; Eph. 2:1-3). As a result, we have alienated ourselves from God and have exposed ourselves to His righteous wrath, which will banish us eternally to hell if we are not forgiven (Eph. 2:12; John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; Matt. 13:50). But God sent Jesus Christ to rescue lost and helpless sinners, while they were yet His enemies.
Christ, being fully God and fully man, was sent by God to die the death that we deserved for our sins–the righteous for the unrighteous–so that God might both punish our sin in Christ and forgive it in us (John 1:14; Rom. 3:21-26; 5:6-8; Eph. 2:4-6). Christ bore the wrath that man deserved, and was raised to new life in order that those who put their faith in Him would be saved.
Response: The only saving response to this Good News (a.k.a. “the gospel”) is repentance and belief (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 3:7-9; John 20:31). We must repent of our sins (turn from them and to God) and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation to God. Through repentance from our sin and faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are welcomed into the family of God as those declared righteous in the sight of God. As we grow in grace and truth, God transforms us into the image of Christ and we begin to bear the fruit of righteousness.
Click on “Two Ways To Live” in order to see how Matthias Media presents a basic story of Christianity in just a few pages… from creation to the culmination in the person and work of Jesus Christ. [Other Resources by Matthias Media]
Click on the picture above for a simple, visual explanation of the Bible that is potrayed in book, powerpoint, and study-guide format… An excellent resource for a beginner’s understanding of Scripture.
The Story of Hope: An explanation of the gospel in an “eight truth” format called the “chronological bridge to life.” Click on the icon for an abridged version!!
World Harvest Mission has some great introductory resources for understanding and growing in the gospel.
*This helpful, four-word summary is slightly adapted by the one provided by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander in their excellent book entitled, The Deliberate Church.
Based on the testimonies in the books of Moses, the writings of the prophets, the Psalms, and the teaching of Jesus, no good purpose whatsoever is served from redefining the one-word “Good News of divine origin”, namely: CHRIST –in his typical, visionally verifiable, and final self-revelation of God the Father, i.e., “I Am Who I Am”, at his death on the cross– into a “four-word summary of GOD, man, Christ and response”!
The full extent of the gospel is beyond the scope of our understanding. However, we are called to articulate the message of Christ, the message of the Cross. There is so much more than these four words. However, unless we start with God, we can neither understand ourselves nor our need of Christ, nor the only saving response available and the great promises therein provided to us. This four-word summary is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather informative and by the Spirit’s power transformational. The Spirit of God grows our knowledge of the good news of God’s redemption of mankind as we grow in faith and love. We may never fully understand the complexity of the gospel, yet we can strive to communicate its simplicity as a starting point.
Thanks for your thoughts. Blessings in Christ… Gabe
If viewed in the perspective of what was “finished” at the death of Jesus Christ on the cross –the climax of a long development in the books of Moses, the Psalms and the writings of the prophets– the full extent of the gospel translated in the terms of the “new covenant” (Jer. 31: 31-34) is clearly within the scope of our firsthand and personal understanding in real-time! (Luke 24: 25-49).
Love ya and like ya!
Mom
Knowing the Gospel as it is, “the Good News from the glorious and blessed God”, individually entrusted by the works of Jesus Christ in his deeply mysterious, powerfully life-transforming, sustainable and unconfined vision of his divine identity and authority perfected in his death on the cross, will make such a huge difference for faith, life and witness. AMEN! (John 1: 47-51; 4: 21-26; 8: 21-32; 10: 17-18, 37-39; 14; 1-21; 16: 5-33; 17; 19: 30-37)