THE ONLY MESSAGE THAT MATTERS: A Simple and Clear Approach to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Charles Spurgeon, often referred to as the “Prince of Preachers”, once said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.”

I have a feeling that with words like those, that old “prince” wouldn’t be allowed to preach behind most pulpits today. We live in a generation that reads the same Bible Spurgeon read; but has somehow come to very different conclusions.

Spurgeon’s interpretation of the Scriptures led him to believe that evangelism was not only a command to every believer, but also an evidence as to whether or not a person had experienced true conversion. Much has changed since those words of his. Evangelism has now become more of a suggestion. It has become optional.

We now live in a time where the average professing Christian (at least many of the ones that I speak with) cannot even articulate the message of the Gospel in any clear and logical way. Isn’t that crazy? They are claiming that their belief in the message of the Gospel has saved them from eternal damnation, yet they cannot even articulate what that message is! As preposterous as this now sounds to me, I must confess; I used to be one of these people myself.

So, I write this article to help all of those who find themselves – like I used to be – a bit hazy as to what the message of the Gospel actually is…

Let me start by being very clear about something: There is only one message that will save a mans soul. It is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can tell others that we will pray for them. We can be kind and generous to them. We can invite them to church. We can tell them about how God has changed our lives. All these things are beautiful and good, but we must not fool ourselves; none of them will save their soul. There is only one way for them to be saved from eternal damnation; They must know and believe the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope that the following will be a simple and concise starting point for all who need a little help understanding and articulating the message of the Gospel….

What is the Gospel?

When explaining what the message of the gospel is, I have found it helpful to start with the actual definition of the word; The word “Gospel” in the Greek means good news. The reason why this is helpful is because it leads to a very logical starting point when sharing the message, which is this: The only reason there is good news is because there was bad news first. The reason why the good news is so good is because the bad news is so bad. You could say that the Gospel is the medicine for man’s disease.

Now I would ask you; Would the doctor hand you a bottle of medicine without first giving you the diagnosis? No, that wouldn’t make sense. To go a step further; the worse the diagnosis is, the more one treasures the medicine that heals him. When we attempt to share the good news without first starting with the bad news, we strip the Gospel of its power. Remember, the Old Testament (Law) came before the New Testament (Grace). There is a reason for that. Man has no need for a Savior until he first sees that he is condemned.

The Bad News

So, what is this bad news? It could be summed up with 3 simple statements: 1) God gave a Law to mankind. 2) All men (with only one exception) have broken that Law. 3) All of mankind is now sentenced to eternal death as punishment for the crime. Let’s look at these briefly…

1.  God Gave a Law – At Mt. Sinai God issued His moral law: The Ten Commandments. Most people seem to have heard of these commandments… You shall have no other Gods before me, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, you shall not commit adultery, etc… (Exodus 20:1-17)
   
   
2.  All Men have Broken that Law – The Scriptures say, “all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God”. (Romans 3:23) Remember, the standard was perfection; nothing less. Jesus cleared up all confusion as to the divine standard when He issued statements such as this; “if you even look at a woman with lust, you have committed adultery in your heart.” (Matthew 5:28) And that if you are even angry with your brother, you’ve committed murder. (Paraphrase of Matthew 5:22) There is a name in the Scriptures for one who breaks the Law of God; he is called a sinner. That is the essential problem of all mankind: SIN
   
   
   
3.  All of Humanity is now Sentenced to Eternal Death – As the Scriptures say, “the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) It is important to remember that His punishment flows from His goodness. One of the qualities of His goodness is that He is a just God; meaning that justice is one of His attributes. If He was not just, He would not be good. The just punishment for a creature, breaking the Law of God, and rebelling against the infinite and Almighty Creator of the universe is eternal death – eternal execution. This is the sentence that rests upon every living being born into this world. I often say that all men have been born into a “holding cell”, where they will live for a short while, until they breathe their last breath. After that:

The courtroom awaits. The sentence will be issued. The gavel will come down. This is the diagnosis. THIS IS THE BAD NEWS.

The Good News

The Good News (Gospel) can also be summed up with 3 simple statements: 1) God Gave His Son – Jesus. 2) His Son fulfilled the Law. 3) His Son took our Punishment upon Himself. Let’s look at these briefly…

1.  God Gave His Son – Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Triune God, came to earth in the flesh. He was fully God and fully man.
   
   
2.  His Son Fulfilled the Law – Jesus did what we could not do; He fulfilled the Law. He met the divine standard of perfection and lived a sinless life.
   
   
3.  His Son took our Punishment upon Himself – God fulfilled the righteous requirement of justice by having His Son, Jesus Christ, take our punishment upon Himself on the cross. He died in our place. The theological term is “Substitutionary Atonement”. Jesus Christ was the sacrificial Lamb of God to the world.

How Can one have Eternal Life?

So, now the question is: How does one take advantage of what Jesus did on the cross? Or maybe you could put it this way; How does one take the medicine for their disease? The answer is simple; all they must do is believe. They must believe that simple message above. They must believe themselves to be a sinner, whose only hope for forgiveness and redemption, is the blood of Jesus Christ. Any man/woman who truly believes this message will be granted eternal life as a gift of God. The Scriptures say that the Spirit of God will indwell him and cause him to be “born again”. He will be a new creation and will become a child of the Living God who will inherit Eternal Life. As the rest of the passage goes, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”(Romans 6:23)

How does one know if they have truly been saved? Is it really that easy?

The word of God is clear; there are two kinds of “belief”. There is a genuine belief that will lead to salvation, and there is a false belief (dead faith) as well. (James 2:14-26) So how does one know the difference? The Scriptures say that if the belief is genuine, it will be accompanied by repentance. (Acts 26:20, Luke3:8) This means that a man/woman who has truly believed the Gospel will turn from their sins and begin to pursue a life of holiness and righteousness. They will bear good fruit. This is why Jesus said, “you will know them by their fruits”. (Matthew 7:16-20) Any person who claims to be a believer who does not turn from their sin is a liar. (1John 1:6) The life of a true believer will be the evidence of their salvation.

My Friend, you have now heard the simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the only message that will save the souls of men. Learn it and Proclaim it!

“You have one business on earth – to save souls.” John Wesley