What is the gospel?  Gospel is simply a word that means “good news.” And Christians believe that we have the greatest news. 

Our good news begins with the knowledge that there is a good, and loving, and personal Creator of the world, that we call God. This God created human beings to live in a personal relationship with him. But humans chose instead to live in rebellion, to live apart from this loving, personal God. This rebellion is what we call “sin.” We sin whenever we deny God and choose to live for ourselves. This rebellion destroys that relationship with God we were made for, and leads us away from the creator of Life, and towards death. 

But our loving God would not allow us to live apart from Him. So this very God became one of us, that is, he became a man, named Jesus. This Jesus lived a perfect life, apart from any sin. 

Jesus was then put to death at the hands of rebellious men. He was hung on a ancient wooden execution device called a cross and died a shamed-filled death. 

But the strange, good news is that this death is what restores the possibility of a relationship with God. In his death, Jesus died the death that we rebellious sinners deserved. Jesus took all of the sin, all of the rebellion, all of our hatred of God and placed it on the cross. But the best news is that Jesus did not remain dead, that he was raised from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. That he lives today in heaven, and that he holds out and offers to us his special gifts. He offers us the gifts of a restored relationship with our Creator God. He holds out the gift of forgiveness of our sin and rebellion. He holds out the possibility of a new life. He holds out the gift of eternal life, that all who believe in him will never die, but will live in his wonderful, love-filled presence for eternity. 

This Jesus calls you to believe on his name. He calls us to believe in who he is, to accept what he has done on your behalf. To know that he has died, that he has risen, so that you might believe and have eternal life. He calls you now to a new life.

This is the good news.