What is the Gospel?
“The word Gospel means “Good News”, and is used to teach the lost (unsaved) the story of Jesus Christ. The Gospel explains the following, in short form:
1. That Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin.
2. That Jesus came to earth to save our soul from death and hell.
3.That Jesus died on the cross, a sinless death, becoming the sinless sacrifice that would save a soul who believes in Him.
4. That Jesus was buried in a tomb for three days.
5. And The Jesus resurrected on the morning of the third day, and is alive, and in heaven today.
The Gospel is contained in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books record the birth,
life, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each book presents Jesus in a different way and is directed toward certain people.
The Gospel of Matthew: Represents Jesus Christ as King and was directed especially to the Jews. The book opens with the royal genealogy and closes with the King commissioning His disciples.
The Gospel of Mark: Represents Jesus Christ as the Servant of God and was directed to the Romans. No genealogy is given since Jesus is portrayed as a servant and no one is interested in the pedigree of a servant. The book closes with the Lord “working with them,” laboring as a servant with His disciples.
The Gospel of Luke: Represents Jesus Christ as the “Son of Man,” the perfect man and Saviour of imperfect men. Luke 3 traces the human genealogy of Jesus back to Adam. Luke ends with this perfect man, Jesus, ascending back up to Heaven to His Father.
The Gospel of John: Represents Jesus in His position as the Son of God. The book opens with Jesus the Word revealed as God. The closing verse of John indicates that the world could not contain all Jesus did during His earthly ministry. This is further evidence He was truly the Son of God.
The Great Commission
The last chapter of Matthew specifies the calling of all disciples of Christ: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20. This is the Great Commission that is given to all Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. We are to spread the Gospel “Good News” of Jesus Christ to the world and teach the lessons that He commands.
There are 3 Commands That Jesus Gives Us:
1. Get Saved. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations“. This means that we are to go into all nations and teach the Gospel. This is known as soul winning. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” – Mark 16:15,16.
2. Get Baptized. “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” This means that once one gets saved he/she is to be baptized. Jesus said, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” – Acts 1:5.
Getting baptized is merely a public profession that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and are depending on Him alone to take you to heaven. Yes, it is wise to get baptized after you are saved as Jesus commands, but there is no requirement to get baptized in order to keep your salvation or is necessary to wash away your sins. The key to realizing that baptism is not necessary for salvation is in the second part of the verse, “He that believeth not shall be damned”, Jesus did not say, “He that believeth not and is not baptized shall be damned.”, He only said, “He that believeth not shall be damned.”.
3. Teach Them. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. This means that once one gets baptized we are to teach them to teach the Gospel to others. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” – Matthew 24:14
Christ ended His command of the Great Commission by saying we should do these things, “even unto the end of the world.” This shows that the Great Commission is to be taught to all until the end of this age.
One thing that you may want to be aware of, not everyone that you present the Gospel to will accept Jesus, but do not let that discourage you. You must not let those who refuse to be saved discourage you from seeking those who want to be saved. There are many searching for the truth and you may be only one to help them.