WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

The gospel is the liberating message of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. It is good news. Not good advice. At Greater Hope Church, we want everything we say and do to be rooted in this life-changing message. We all need it everyday. It is the way we start a genuine relationship with God, and it is also the way we go deeper in that relationship. It is how we experience God’s forgiveness, and how we are transformed into people who follow Jesus in all of life. So what is the gospel?

GOD CREATED.

The gospel is the message about how we got here and why we are here. We are not accidents, but were created by God. God is holy—which means He is incomparable, completely unlike any other. He is greater and better than anyone or anything else. Out of love, God chose to create human beings in His own image. We were made to connect to Him and reflect who He is in the world.

WE REBELLED.

We are part of a cosmic rebellion against God. From the first human beings created (Adam and Eve), we have chosen to follow our own way instead of God’s. Even though we were made to connect to the irreplaceable God, all we have done is try to replace Him. We’ve tried to be our own gods. Everyone worships something, but instead of worshiping our Creator we have turned to worship created things. We are guilty of treason. We are separated from God and unable to find or earn our way back to Him.

GOD SENT HIS SON TO LIVE, DIE, AND RISE AGAIN TO RESCUE US.

God loved His enemies and sent His Son Jesus to rescue them. Jesus is more than a mere human being. He is God. He willingly entered our world, was born a human being, and did everything necessary to bring us back to God. He lived the perfect life—representing us so that we could be accepted by God. He died the death we deserved—our sins were put on Him and He was punished in our place for our treason. He rose again—showing that His death had been accepted as the payment for our debt and overcoming the power of death so that we could have new life. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

WE ARE CALLED TO TURN FROM LIFE OUR WAY TO TRUSTING JESUS.

We are rescued by trusting Jesus and not ourselves. God calls us to return to Him through the work of His Son. To answer His call, we have to first lay down our weapons. We have to call off our rebellion against Him, to renounce our attempts to replace God. Turning from life our way, we are called to embrace Jesus. He is worthy and we are called to trust Him and love Him more than anyone or anything else. So the gospel is not about getting more religious. Religion is all about working our way to God. The gospel is about Jesus—finding life through what He does for us. He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He makes us right with God and changes us into people who love God and others. So being rooted in the gospel means that we are humble (we know we are far worse than we ever thought). It also means we are secure in God’s love (we know we are more loved than we could ever imagine).