Understanding the Gospel

By Dr. Rick Flanders

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “power of God unto salvation,” and if we hope to see a great many people saved, we must take the Gospel to a multitude of people. Of course it is our intention to do just that on April 11, 2009. In order to spread the Gospel, we must understand it ourselves so that we can explain it. It is a sad fact that many who seek to preach the Gospel to others are confused about important aspects of it themselves. It will be good then that we remind ourselves of what the Gospel actually is by looking at a couple of scripture passages before our big evangelistic effort.

The Essentials of the Gospel

Of course, the Gospel of Christ is laid out for us in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…”

Be sure to notice seven things about the Gospel in this passage.

  1. A “gospel” is good news to be preached. The word translated “gospel” means “good news,” and the word for “preach” means “to tell good news.” News is something to be told, not a creed to be adopted, a commandment to be obeyed or a way of life to be adopted. It is information about something that has happened, and it is spread by messengers.

  2. When the Gospel is told, it will either be “received” or rejected. This is what happens with news. Christians are people who have chosen to receive the Gospel of Christ, by believing in it.

  3. Those who believe in the Gospel are “saved.” The question of whether they “have believed in vain” is not about the quality of their faith, but rather about the credibility of the Gospel. Verse 17 of this chapter says that if “if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”

  4. They heart of the Gospel message is not the fact that Jesus died, but rather the reason why He died: “for our sins.” He took the guilt and blame for our sins so that He could take the penalty we deserve, and suffer it in our place. In this way God can be just and yet justify sinners for Jesus’ sake.

  5. The authority behind the Gospel is the infallibility of the scripture.

  6. The proof of the Gospel message is Christ’s resurrection from the dead (which has been objectively verified, as we see in verses 5-10). Because He arose, we know that He is the Christ He claimed to be, and that He died for the reason the Bible says He died: for our sins.

  7. Our salvation does not depend on what we do for God, but rather on what He did for us.

The Issues of the Gospel

When presenting the Gospel, we must be sure to deal with the three vital issues.

  1. The issue of sin. Jesus died for our sins. We need to be saved from our sins. The problem to be solved is our sin! Any presentation that leaves out the issue of sin is not a true Gospel presentation. Men must know what sin is, that they have sinned, what the penalty for sin is, and that they face Hell if they are not saved from their sins. To ask Jesus simply to come into one’s life without reference to our need for salvation from sin is not what getting saved is according to the Bible. (The issue of sin can be explained from Romans 3:23, 5:12, and 6:23).

  2. The issue of Christ. It is vital in a Gospel presentation that we be clear about Christ: Who He is and what He did to save us. (The issue of Christ may be explained from Romans 5:8 and 10:9).

  3. The issue of faith. Faith is what brings salvation to the individual sinner. For this reason, he must understand what saving faith is. It is dependence on Christ, trusting in Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves: save our souls, forgive our sins, prepare a place in Heaven for us, give us new hearts. It is not our good deeds, nor our promise to do good deeds. Faith in Christ alone is what saves us. (The issue of faith can be explained from Romans 3:28 and 10:9-13).

To evangelize is to spread the Gospel. It is not just visiting, giving out literature, talking with people about religion, and getting people to pray with us. We must tell them about Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, the reason He died for us, His resurrection in victory over sin and death, and what sinners must do with this news in order to be saved. Then we are ready to ask them to put their faith in Christ and express that faith in a prayer that calls on the name of the Lord for His salvation.

Especially important in the work of personal evangelism are these five things:

  1. Including the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our witness.

  2. Urging the sinner to put his faith in Christ, not just to say a prayer.

  3. Dealing with all three issues.

  4. Seeing that the sinner understands the Gospel before urging him to pray.

  5. Not leaving the new convert until he personally has the assurance of his salvation from the Word.