By T. W. Parker

The gospel is the ‘Good News’; it is the whole of Scripture, God’s plan to restore humanity to Himself. The story of who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us. Jesus, as the Son of God, came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. His resurrection from the dead is the proof that His sacrifice was accepted by God. The message is that we can be restored to God and live as people of His Kingdom, under God’s rule and reign through Jesus Christ. Why is the gospel’ Good News’? Because the first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit in the middle of the garden. Therefore, they rebelled against God; they denied His authority over their lives. As a result, the Bible teaches that because of Adam’s sin, ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom. 3:23).   

What is the glory of God? The Bible speaks of the glory of God (1) appearing in the pillar of cloud leading Israel (Ex. 16:7-10), (2) the tabernacle of the congregation at Kadesh (Num. 14:10), (3) the temple of Solomon (I Kgs. 8:11), (4) the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem (Ezk. 11:23). However, the glory of God now rests in the Person of Jesus Christ (John. 1:14); moreover, the glory of God is the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ redeemed us from the law’s curse (Gal. 3:19, Rom. 10:4). Thus, the standard of God’s holiness today is not the (OT) law but the Person of Jesus Christ.  

The Word of God also says that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, sin always pays a wage, which is a drastic death. Nevertheless, God’s unmerited favor is the principle by which we become heirs to eternal life. Death is earned; eternal life is purely gratuitous. The law seals our bondage to sin. If the law governs us, we cannot be released from that bondage. The only alternative is death, but we died to the law when Christ died at Calvary. Sin has no dominion over us; neither does the law. We are now free from what held us in bondage by being justified by faith. Finally, the gospel is what Jesus proclaimed when He heard that John the Baptist was in prison. He said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt. 4:17). However, such repentance does not arise within man himself but is the result of God’s mercy in leading man to it. (Acts. 5:31).