The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over his enemies, so that there is no condemnation for those who believe. In this article, I want to write to you about an essential aspect of the gospel, which is the necessity of the gospel. In other words, why do I want to hear the gospel? Why do I want to know the gospel? What is wrong with me that I need to listen to the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ?
Now imagine that you go to the hospital for a medical checkup, you get your medical exams, and the results come back. You meet the doctor, and the doctor tells you, "I have bad news for you." You then ask, "Ok, what is it?" The doctor says, "You have a terminal illness, and you only have a short period to live." You probably react with a statement like this: "Oh my goodness, I can't believe this." However, the doctor also says, "But, I have good news for you. There is a cure. There is hope." You would most likely be thankful and relieved.
For you to appreciate that good news and appreciate that cure, you must know and understand the bad news, which is that your terminal illness will kill you. If you deny the bad news and do not want to hear it, you will not appreciate the good news, and you will not take the cure. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 9 verse 12, "It is not the healthy people that need a doctor, but the sick." Similarly, the key to understanding the gospel is to know why it is the good news. To do that, you must start with the bad news.
The bad news is that all of us, you and me, have the same spiritual illness. It is the spiritual sickness that separates us from God. What is that spiritual illness that separates from God? The answer is in Romans chapter 3 verse 23, which said, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." This is the bad news: we all have the same spiritual sickness, which is sin. In this article, I want to share two aspects of sin that you need know so that you will trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
The first aspect is the scope of Sin. Romans chapter 3 verse 23 says, "All have sinned." This verse should cause us to tremble, it means that everyone has done something wrong against God and others, either in their thoughts or actions. The Bible didn't say that all of us are imperfect or all of us are weak. The Bible says explicitly that all of us have sinned. All have done something specific and immoral against God and other people. Sin does not discriminate. Regardless of your economic background, race, gender, education, social status, this fact of universal sinfulness puts all of us in one class. The point is not whether you sin, but that you are a sinner. Sin renders all of us unrighteous. Romans chapter 3 verses10-12 says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, and together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
The first aspect is the scope of sin; the second aspect is the nature of sin. What is sin? Romans chapter 3 verse 23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin is any action or thought that would dishonor God and His glory. Sin is anything that contradicts the characters of God. God is the standard of perfection, and anything that we do that falls short of that standard is sin. Jesus states, "We are to be holy as God is holy," and the problem is that we are not. Our spiritual sickness is sin. We all have sinned, and the consequence of our sin is death, being separated from God and tormented in hell for eternity. That is the bad news.
However, here is the good news. God is good, and He is love. He gave us a cure for our spiritual disease. The cure is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died to pay the penalty of sins and lived a perfect life on behalf of those who trust in Him and rose again from the grave to demonstrate His victory over sin and death. Jesus is the only one that never sinned and the only one that didn't fall short of the glory of God. Now, God promises, if you trust in Jesus Christ and turn away from your sin and turn away from your good works, you will receive the forgiveness of sin and eternal life with God in heaven.
Dat Nguyen is a student at the Master’s Seminary and a member of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, California. His desire is to be a faithful minister of the Word of God. He loves playing basketball and watching movies.