The gospel is the good news of salvation, made possible because the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and atone for our sins. Because of His sacrifice and resurrection on the third day, believers are reconciled to God and granted eternal life.
The English word gospel comes from the Greek term, euaggelion, which means good news. Though euagelion is the root word for evangelism in English, the termis often transliterated as gospel. Thus, gospel is the good news, whereas evangelism is the declaration of the good news.
The word gospel is only found in the New Testament. The term occurs more than 90 times in the New Testament and is inseparably linked to the message and work of Christ. Notably, the angel announcing the birth of Jesus declared to the shepherds, “…behold I bring you good news of a great joy” (Luke 2:10b, NASB). The term good news in that passage is euangelizomai (drawn from the root word euagelion).
The story of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, and the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus are good news for humanity. Why? Because Jesus met our greatest need. Scripture notes that Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden severed the once pure relationship between God and man, and because “we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), we all need a Savior—Jesus is that Savior. The good news is that Jesus came to Earth, lived a sinless life, and gave himself as a perfect sacrifice so that our sins could be forgiven.
The Old Testament Law made provision for covering sin. Once a year in Jerusalem, on the day of Passover at 3:00 pm, the High Priest would sacrifice a perfect lamb—its blood would make atonement for the sins of Israel for the past year. Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, on the day of Passover, and died at 3:00 pm. Although it may be difficult for us in modern culture to understand, according to God’s law, the shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22).
John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). The shedding of his blood on Calvary makes forgiveness possible today. Forgiveness in the Old Testament was limited in scope and duration, but the forgiveness that comes via the blood of Christ is limitless. And because Jesus was crucified, the elect are now justified. That means, though guilty, our penalty is pronounced paid. Romans 4:25 notes: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” That’s good news!
The good news of the Gospel is encapsulated in John 3:16. We read: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Believers are called to rejoice in what Christ has done and be quick to share the gospel message—the good news. The Apostle Paul said it this way: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”