Day 1 – What Is the True Gospel?

The Gospel We Must Understand

Before we can understand Christianity, we must understand the Gospel.

The word Gospel means good news.

But good news about what?

The Gospel is the announcement of what God has done through Jesus Christ to save sinners.

Paul gives us a remarkably clear summary in 1 Corinthians 15.

Christ died for our sins.

He was buried.

He was raised from the dead.

And all of this happened according to the Scriptures.

This is the foundation.

The Gospel is not something humanity invented.

It is not a philosophy created by religious leaders.

It is not simply a collection of moral teachings.

And it is not merely the story of a great teacher.

The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ and His saving work.

And because the Gospel is the message of salvation, we must understand it correctly.

We cannot afford to replace the Gospel with our own ideas.

We cannot reshape it according to culture.

We cannot add to it according to human preference.

We cannot remove what we find difficult.

We must return to the Word of God and ask:

What is the Gospel that God has given us?

The Gospel Begins With God

The Gospel begins with God—not with us.

God created humanity for Himself.

We were created to know Him, love Him, worship Him, and live in fellowship with Him.

But sin entered the world.

Humanity turned away from God.

Instead of trusting the Creator, humanity chose its own way.

Sin brought separation from God and left humanity unable to repair the damage through human effort.

This is why the Gospel is necessary.

If humanity could save itself, we would not need a Saviour.

If good works could erase our sin, Christ would not have needed to go to the cross.

If religious activity could make us righteous before God, there would be no need for the sacrifice of Jesus.

But the Gospel tells us something different.

We could not save ourselves.

So God acted to save us by sending His Son.

The Gospel is therefore not a message about humanity climbing its way up to God.

It is the good news of God reaching down to save sinners through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel Is About Christ

Paul does not begin his Gospel summary with our works.

He begins with Christ.

“Christ died for our sins.”

This is the centre of the Gospel.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world.

He lived without sin.

He willingly went to the cross.

He bore our sins.

He died for us.

And then He rose again.

The Gospel therefore points us away from ourselves and toward Christ.

We do not look to ourselves for the foundation of salvation.

We look to Jesus.

We do not trust in our own righteousness.

We trust in Christ.

We do not boast about what we have achieved.

We give glory to God for what He has accomplished.

This is why the Gospel is so different from every message that tells us we can make ourselves acceptable to God through our own performance.

Christianity does not begin with:

“Look what you must accomplish for God.”

The Gospel begins with:

“Look what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.”

The Cross and the Resurrection

The Gospel cannot be separated from the cross.

Paul says:

“Christ died for our sins.”

The cross was not an accident.

It was not merely the tragic death of a good man.

Jesus willingly gave Himself for sinners.

He bore the penalty of sin.

He died.

He was buried.

But the Gospel does not end at the tomb.

Paul says:

“He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The resurrection is essential to the Gospel.

Jesus Christ is alive.

Death did not have the final word.

The grave did not hold Him.

The resurrection declares that Jesus is victorious and that His saving work is not a failed mission.

The Christian hope rests upon a living Saviour.

We do not follow a dead teacher.

We trust the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross shows us the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s love.

The resurrection shows us the victory of Christ.

Together, they stand at the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel Is Not Religion Alone

Religion can become external.

A person can attend church and never truly know Christ.

A person can know prayers without knowing the One to whom they are praying.

A person can participate in religious activities while their heart remains far from God.

A person can inherit a Christian identity from their family without ever personally trusting Christ.

The Gospel goes deeper.

The Gospel calls us to Christ Himself.

It calls us to trust Him.

To receive His grace.

To believe His Word.

To turn to Him.

And to follow Him.

This does not mean that obedience is unimportant.

It means that obedience is the fruit of genuine faith, not the foundation upon which we purchase salvation.

We are not saved because we have performed enough religious activities.

We are not saved because we belong to a particular family.

We are not saved because of our heritage.

We are not saved because we have accumulated enough good works.

We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

And genuine faith produces a life that increasingly follows Him.

Grace, Faith and Christ

As we continue through The Open Gospel, we will repeatedly return to three essential truths.

Grace

Salvation is God’s gift.

We do not deserve it.

We cannot earn it.

God gives it because He is merciful and gracious.

Grace means that salvation begins with God.

We do not make ourselves worthy and then ask God to save us.

God graciously provides what we could never provide for ourselves.

Faith

The gift of salvation must be received through faith.

Faith means trusting Christ.

It is more than knowing facts about Him.

It is more than acknowledging that He existed.

It is placing our trust in Jesus Christ and relying upon Him.

Faith looks away from ourselves and looks to Christ.

We trust His finished work.

We trust His promises.

We trust His Word.

Christ

And the object of our faith is not religion.

It is not ourselves.

It is not our achievements.

It is Jesus Christ.

He is the foundation of our hope.

He is the One who died for our sins.

He is the One who was raised from the dead.

He is the One in whom salvation is found.

Therefore:

Grace is the source.

Faith is the response.

Christ is the object.

And God receives the glory.

According to the Scriptures

There is another phrase in Paul’s message that we must not overlook.

He says that Christ died and rose again:

“according to the Scriptures.”

The Gospel is rooted in God’s revelation.

This is why throughout this entire journey we will continually return to the Bible.

We are not asking:

What do I prefer?

We are not asking:

What has my culture always done?

We are not asking:

What does everyone around me believe?

We are asking:

What does God’s Word say?

That question will guide us throughout The Open Gospel.

The Bible is not something we consult only when it agrees with us.

We come to Scripture willing to be corrected by it.

We come willing to examine our assumptions.

We come willing to change our beliefs when we discover that they do not agree with God’s Word.

Our confidence is not ultimately in human tradition, cultural expectations, religious institutions, or personal opinion.

Our confidence is in the truth God has revealed.

An Open Bible and an Open Heart

Perhaps you have been a Christian for many years.

Or you have only recently begun searching for God.

Maybe you have inherited your faith from your family.

Or you have questions about things you have always believed.

Wherever you are, this journey is an invitation to open the Scriptures again.

Do not be afraid of honest questions.

Truth does not fear examination.

If something is true, it will remain true when we open the Bible and examine it carefully.

And if we discover that something we have believed is not supported by Scripture, we should not be afraid to change.

That is not a failure of faith.

It can be an expression of faithfulness to God.

Because our ultimate loyalty is not to tradition.

It is not to culture.

It is not to our family history.

It is not even to our own understanding.

Our loyalty belongs to Christ.

The purpose of this journey is not to attack people.

It is not to mock traditions.

It is not to create division.

It is to return together to the Scriptures and ask what God has revealed about the Gospel.

We should approach that task with humility.

But we should also approach it with courage.

Because the Gospel is too important to leave undefined.

Why the True Gospel Matters

Why does this matter so much?

Because the Gospel is the message through which we are saved.

Paul says that the Gospel is the message believers received, upon which they took their stand, and by which they are saved.

If we misunderstand the Gospel, we can misunderstand the very foundation of Christian faith.

We can confuse grace with human achievement.

We can confuse faith with religious activity.

We can confuse Christ with religious identity.

We can confuse obedience with the means of earning salvation.

We can place confidence in things that cannot save.

That is why we must continually return to Scripture.

The Gospel must remain the Gospel.

Christ must remain at the centre.

Grace must remain grace.

Faith must remain faith.

And God must receive the glory.

The Invitation

Perhaps today you realise that you have known about Christianity without truly understanding the Gospel.

Or you have attended church for years but have never personally placed your trust in Jesus Christ.

Maybe your faith has been shaped more by family tradition than by Scripture.

Perhaps you have been trying to earn God’s acceptance through your own goodness.

Or you have been carrying guilt because you believe you must somehow become good enough before God will receive you.

Today, the Gospel calls you to look away from yourself and look to Christ.

You cannot save yourself.

But Christ can save.

You cannot erase your sin through human effort.

But Christ died for our sins.

You cannot conquer death through your own strength.

But Christ has risen.

You do not need to manufacture your own righteousness.

You need to trust the righteousness God provides through Christ.

This is the good news.

Christ died.

Christ was buried.

Christ was raised.

And salvation is found in Him.

Therefore, do not merely inherit Christianity.

Know Christ.

Do not merely know the language of faith.

Trust Christ.

Do not merely participate in religious activity.

Follow Christ.

Do not place your ultimate confidence in yourself.

Place it in Jesus.

And as we begin this journey, come with an open Bible and an open heart.

Ask God to show you the truth.

Ask Him to correct you where you are wrong.

Ask Him to strengthen you where you are weak.

And above everything else, ask Him to help you see Jesus Christ more clearly.