1st DOT: God is the source of being and life.
The gospel starts with the fact that God created the heaven and the Earth. Thus, the starting point of the gospel is creation (Psalm 24). Hence, we need to read the creation story as the message of salvation. God created all things to reveal His goodness, His glory, and His nature. God created us in His own image, for His own glory. God is the source of being and life; all things come from Him and exist by and for Him.
If creation is God’s work, then it is His to keep, maintain, and redeem. Therefore, God is active in whatever undermines His divine purpose in creation.
Humans did not invent creation, and creation did not just happen by chance. Thus, creation cannot be explained by a big bang theory or by the Darwinism theory of evolution. Creation exists because there is the God of creation. Meaning, we do not exist because we want to, but we exist because there is a creator who is willing both to create and save us.
The metaphor of God as the gardener who takes care of His creation is persistent in both the Old and New Testament. In this metaphor, God is actively involved in His creation: uprooting the root of sin, planting the Seed of salvation, and watering it by His Spirit. God is at work in His creation, and this is good news!
2nd DOT: Human condition.
Sin corrupts the beauty and goodness of God in creation. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23). This is the human condition, it is the condition of creation. God created humanity in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Every human being is fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalms 139:14). However, humankind sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of sin, which is death physically and spiritually. Therefore, all human beings are inherently sinful and need God’s saving grace, (Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8-10).
What is sin? Sin is a hostile nature against God. It is a life of rebellion against the goodness of God. Sin thrives when your passions have no godly motive, and your pleasures are isolated from God’s glory. Sin is to live contrary to the will of God and not care. It is to ignore God’s self-evidence in Christ and replace Him with mere religion, human ideologies, and man-made gods.
3rd DOT: Jesus Christ, the Savour.
God has responded to the problem of sin through salvation. God combats every form of evil that tries to envelop His creation. He does so by revealing His righteousness, grace and glorious truth to His creation, (Psalms 98:1-3). God has entered His creation in person; the Word became flesh (John 1:14). In incarnation, God comes to justify His creation and restore it to its intended purpose (1 Timothy 3:16).
Jesus Christ is the central message of the gospel, and the Bible is the absolute authoritative bearer of this gospel. The gospel is the totality of Jesus Christ: what Jesus said, what He did, how and why He died, His resurrection, where He is now, and the result of it all – is the gospel. Thus, the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:42).
God redeemed us from death to life by His will, through His Son, for His glory. This is good news!
4th DOT: Human response (Repentance and Faith).
Repentance:
The gospel demands a change of heart and transformation of mind. Repentance is the only way to realise and live in this newness of life.
John the Baptist mentioned repentance as a prerequisite when he introduced the dawn of the Kingdom of God, (Matthew 3:2). Jesus also continued to preach the same message of repentance as criteria to the Kingdom of God, Matthew 4:17. The sermon of Peter that moved three thousand people ended with the following words: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38-39).
Whenever the gospel is preached, repentance is demanded. God demands repentance from all people, (Acts17:30). The only way to experience the forgiveness of sin and the Kingdom of God is through a repentant heart.
Faith:
The Kingdom of God is a matter of Faith. It is impossible to come to God accept by faith: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.
In the book of Acts 16, a man asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:30-31.
The preaching of the gospel is an effort to get people to believe in God. Every effort that Jesus made towards people, both in miracles and in teachings, was so that people may believe in Him for the Salvation of their souls (being born into the Kingdom life). The Bible was documented for this very purpose, and we also preach today for this very purpose; that people may believe the truth and be saved.
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples … but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31.
The gospel calls for people to believe in God’s saving grace for the Salvation of their souls both now and after life. This call to salvation through the gospel is good news!
Conclusion.
Let’s put the dots together.
In essence, the gospel is the proclamation of God’s redemptive story (God creates, redeems, and glorifies); Jesus Christ being the central message that brings the forgiveness of sin and eternal life to all who believe in Him (saved by grace through faith) according to the will of God.
A beautiful article indeed. You have communicated the gospel in simple words. The teaching is very basic yet very important and fundamental. Although this information is so important not only for the understanding of our faith, but also for determining whether we’re Christians or not, it can be easily missed and therefore many who think are in the faith many miss the very salvation they profess to have obtained.
Thank you Pastor for labouring to ensure that we’re in the right standing with God. This is an important article!
Amen.
Life leaves no vacuum. When we stop preaching the gospel, something else will take that space in our lives.
Well written article.
What a good read. There is no creation without the Creator. God created with intention. We were not created to just to exist and consume resources, we were created for good works predestined by Him. If man did not sin, I think we would not need the redeeming Gospel, let alone the Redeemer. Hence, the Gospel and the word of God adress all aspects of mankind so that we may be restored to God’s intended purpose and glory. Jesus Christ and His ministry are a personification and depiction of God’s love. Thank you for the wonderful article.
thank you Mvu, “ Jesus Christ and His ministry are a personification and depiction of God’s love.“ that’s it!
Thank you for a great prelude on this work… God used you to move us mightily.
Jesus Christ the Savior,
I will always be grateful to God for salvation, the gift of eternallife.
From the beginning God wanted us to live, it has never been His will for us to perish(until today that is still true).In the beginning He gave a clear instruction to Adam and Eve that if they eat from a forbidden bidden tree they shall surely die. Which shows that life is what He wants for us. Even after they sinned and died , He stills comes back with a redemptive plan to bring us back to Himself, to life because we were now dead. He deals with sin once and for all and gives us eternal life. What a Savior He is, a gracious Father.
“God redeemed us from death to life by His will, through His Son, for His glory. This is good news!”
All glory be to God.
This is the gospel… for us to see God’s intent not only at the Cross but from the beginning. God wanted us to live for the praise of His glory but we fell short of the glory of God. HENCE REDEMPTION! To bring us back to Himself through Christ…!!! Loved your commentary Nontombi
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Thanks for the post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.