What do we mean by "The Gospel"
Very simply - the Gospel (good news) is that God so
loved the human race that He gave His only-begotten Son to be born as
the man Jesus Christ. The God-man lived a perfect life without sin and
died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of those who would
believe on him. (Read John 3:16 )
He triumphantly rose again from the dead and returned
to heaven. There He remains with the Father until He shall come again
to this earth in power and glory to judge the living and the dead.
To believe on Christ means to put your trust in who
He is and what He has done for you as your Saviour and your Redeemer
and Lord.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!
( Acts 16:31 )
In order to have this "saving faith" one must
be "born again" by the power of the Holy Spirit. The next
question is, "How can a man be born again?" ( Read John's
Gospel Chapter 3 )
Only by the Grace of God
God commands ALL men everywhere to repent. That is,
to turn from all sin - all that we know is displeasing to God and to
turn to Him for grace to overcome sin in our lives. Repentance and faith
go together and are the gift of God. We cannot MERIT salvation - that
is to say, no one is good enough to earn their salvation. Salvation
is all of grace. GRACE is defined as "God's unmerited or undeserved
favour" . Read (in the Bible) Ephesians 2: verses 8 and 9.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of (good) works,
lest anyone should boast."
"Saving" faith is in the finished (completed)
work of Christ in His life, sufferings and death on the cross, as one's
substitute - paying the penalty for one's sins - and in His resurrection
(rising again) from the dead. This is the God-given faith by which one
is saved.