What is the gospel?

The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the Rescuing-King who has the authority to forgive us for all our wrongdoing. Jesus used that authority by giving up his life to death on a cross, where he took the punishment for all our wrongdoing. He then rose again from the dead – never to die again – to give us new life.

This message has to be understood in the light of God’s creation and human rebellion. God is the creator, sustainer and ruler of the word, who made us to have a relationship with him, and to whom we are accountable. But we have rebelled against God, we’ve ignored him and failed to listen to him, and have tried to run our lives in our own way. Because God is a just judge he will punish people for their rebellion. But, because of his great love for us, God came down to earth in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, so that we do not have to suffer the consequences of our rebellion in hell. Jesus offers forgiveness, a cleansed conscience, a place in God’s kingdom, a loving relationship with God that will last for eternity, and many more good things.

When Jesus proclaimed the good news, he expected people to respond to his message. What kind of response does Jesus expect us to make? We explore this question on this page.