What is the Gospel?
In short, the gospel is good news. It is the good news about who Jesus is and what He has done to rescue sinners and redeem His creation.
The story begins at the very beginning, when God chose to create a world to be filled with His goodness and to display His glory. The world was good. So good! Humans were made special to bear God's image and to cultivate more goodness upon the earth. Best of all, this work that God designed humans to do was to be done with Him, in relationship with Him, as joyful worship to Him. [Read Genesis 1-2]
However, the story took a heartbreaking turn. The first humans, Adam and Eve, chose to rebel against God's good and wise command. They chose to pursue their own glory and their own wisdom apart from the Lord. From that point onward, every human carries a disease within them called a sin nature. That means that every person participates in doing what God has called evil, and chooses to not do what He has called good and right. This is sin, and a holy and righteous and just God must bring judgment upon this evil. In God's commitment to heal His good creation, those who sin (which is all of us) deserve hell. [Read Genesis 3; Romans 1:18-3:23]
BUT, while God is holy, righteous, and just, He is also loving, gracious, merciful, faithful, and kind! Which is incredibly good news! He cannot sweep sin under the rug, that would break His justice. So, He made a way to satisfy justice without crushing us. The way, is Jesus. Jesus is God, who took on flesh and became a human. He lived the perfect and sinless life that no other human ever could—the life that earned heaven. And Jesus was crucified, and upon the cross, Jesus received the judgment of God upon sin. Through His death, He endured the punishment for sin that we deserved, and His perfect life was put on our "resume" before God. In an incredible reversal from death, incredible evidence attests to the fact that Jesus conquered the grave and was resurrected to life! His eternal life is offered to all whose sins He died for on the cross. [Read Romans 5:6-11]
While Jesus died on the cross to make a way to escape judgment and to be restored to relationship with God, some choose to continue in their sin and rebellion against God and reject His offer of forgiveness. They choose an eternity of separation from God and His goodness and love, and it breaks His heart. [Read 2 Peter 3:9] However, for ANY who would confess that they have sinned against God, and trust in Jesus—who He is and what He has done—they will be forgiven of their sins! They will be restored to relationship with God! They will be given the gift of His Holy Spirit! They will be made to be a son or daughter of God. For anyone who acknowledges and confesses their sins and trusts in Jesus for their salvation, they have no fear of condemnation, they will have eternal life, they will have the hope of one day when sin and pain and evil and brokenness will be done away with, and God Himself will wipe away our tears! [Read Romans 8; Romans 10:9; Revelation 21:1-5]
This is what we believe as Christians! It is what we preach at North Park. This Gospel message is what brings us joy in a world filled with suffering. It is what gives us hope despite the darkness. It is what gives us peace amidst angst and strife. It is where we gain an understanding of our identity. It is what gives us meaning and purpose in life. We will always have pain in this life, until Jesus calls us home or makes everything new again (a promise that you can trust in!), but He gives us His presence to endure until that day comes.
This is available to you! This good news can be your good news! The work of Jesus can be a work in your life that changes everything! Hear this good news, recognize that you need it to have any hope of salvation, trust it, believe in Jesus, and know that you will be forgiven!
Some important next steps: (1) talk to God (this is called prayer), and tell Him that you are a sinner and need His forgiveness, which is available through Jesus dying on the cross for you. Tell Him that you repent, which means that you are turning from your life of rebelling against Him to a life that seeks to know Him and love Him. (2) Start reading your Bible to know more about this incredible story of saving us. Start with the book Romans or the Gospel of John. Ephesians or Colossians are great too, and a little shorter to read. (3) Become a part of a Christian, Bible-believing, Gospel-loving church. The church is a community of followers of Jesus who encourage one another onward in our faith and trust in Jesus.
If you still have questions, that's okay. It's a normal part of the journey. We would love to invite you to one of our church services on Sundays at 10:30. You will meet a number of lovely people who would love to welcome you, and you will hear Jesus talked about. We would also invite you to fill out a connection card, and one of our pastors will reach out to you if you would like to correspond via email or talk in person about your questions. Don't worry about filling everything out, just share your name, how you would like us to reach you, and what you would like to talk about, and we will be in touch!
In short, the gospel is good news. It is the good news about who Jesus is and what He has done to rescue sinners and redeem His creation.
The story begins at the very beginning, when God chose to create a world to be filled with His goodness and to display His glory. The world was good. So good! Humans were made special to bear God's image and to cultivate more goodness upon the earth. Best of all, this work that God designed humans to do was to be done with Him, in relationship with Him, as joyful worship to Him. [Read Genesis 1-2]
However, the story took a heartbreaking turn. The first humans, Adam and Eve, chose to rebel against God's good and wise command. They chose to pursue their own glory and their own wisdom apart from the Lord. From that point onward, every human carries a disease within them called a sin nature. That means that every person participates in doing what God has called evil, and chooses to not do what He has called good and right. This is sin, and a holy and righteous and just God must bring judgment upon this evil. In God's commitment to heal His good creation, those who sin (which is all of us) deserve hell. [Read Genesis 3; Romans 1:18-3:23]
BUT, while God is holy, righteous, and just, He is also loving, gracious, merciful, faithful, and kind! Which is incredibly good news! He cannot sweep sin under the rug, that would break His justice. So, He made a way to satisfy justice without crushing us. The way, is Jesus. Jesus is God, who took on flesh and became a human. He lived the perfect and sinless life that no other human ever could—the life that earned heaven. And Jesus was crucified, and upon the cross, Jesus received the judgment of God upon sin. Through His death, He endured the punishment for sin that we deserved, and His perfect life was put on our "resume" before God. In an incredible reversal from death, incredible evidence attests to the fact that Jesus conquered the grave and was resurrected to life! His eternal life is offered to all whose sins He died for on the cross. [Read Romans 5:6-11]
While Jesus died on the cross to make a way to escape judgment and to be restored to relationship with God, some choose to continue in their sin and rebellion against God and reject His offer of forgiveness. They choose an eternity of separation from God and His goodness and love, and it breaks His heart. [Read 2 Peter 3:9] However, for ANY who would confess that they have sinned against God, and trust in Jesus—who He is and what He has done—they will be forgiven of their sins! They will be restored to relationship with God! They will be given the gift of His Holy Spirit! They will be made to be a son or daughter of God. For anyone who acknowledges and confesses their sins and trusts in Jesus for their salvation, they have no fear of condemnation, they will have eternal life, they will have the hope of one day when sin and pain and evil and brokenness will be done away with, and God Himself will wipe away our tears! [Read Romans 8; Romans 10:9; Revelation 21:1-5]
This is what we believe as Christians! It is what we preach at North Park. This Gospel message is what brings us joy in a world filled with suffering. It is what gives us hope despite the darkness. It is what gives us peace amidst angst and strife. It is where we gain an understanding of our identity. It is what gives us meaning and purpose in life. We will always have pain in this life, until Jesus calls us home or makes everything new again (a promise that you can trust in!), but He gives us His presence to endure until that day comes.
This is available to you! This good news can be your good news! The work of Jesus can be a work in your life that changes everything! Hear this good news, recognize that you need it to have any hope of salvation, trust it, believe in Jesus, and know that you will be forgiven!
Some important next steps: (1) talk to God (this is called prayer), and tell Him that you are a sinner and need His forgiveness, which is available through Jesus dying on the cross for you. Tell Him that you repent, which means that you are turning from your life of rebelling against Him to a life that seeks to know Him and love Him. (2) Start reading your Bible to know more about this incredible story of saving us. Start with the book Romans or the Gospel of John. Ephesians or Colossians are great too, and a little shorter to read. (3) Become a part of a Christian, Bible-believing, Gospel-loving church. The church is a community of followers of Jesus who encourage one another onward in our faith and trust in Jesus.
If you still have questions, that's okay. It's a normal part of the journey. We would love to invite you to one of our church services on Sundays at 10:30. You will meet a number of lovely people who would love to welcome you, and you will hear Jesus talked about. We would also invite you to fill out a connection card, and one of our pastors will reach out to you if you would like to correspond via email or talk in person about your questions. Don't worry about filling everything out, just share your name, how you would like us to reach you, and what you would like to talk about, and we will be in touch!