What is the Gospel?

Here is something to keep in mind. The gospel is NOT forgiveness. The gospel is NOT escaping from hell. The gospel is NOT being cleansed from our sins.  The gospel is NOT being declared righteous before God.

What then is the gospel? 

1 Peter 3:18: “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.”

Here it is:  The gospel is Jesus bringing us to God.

And once we get there, what will we find and experience?  Boredom? Misery?  A thousand times NO!  The Bible says, that in God’s presence “is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).   “We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now have the reconciliation” (God restoring sinners being restored as friends, Romans 5:11).

You see, “gospel” means good news. And if the gospel was only about forgiveness, escape from hell, eternal life, health and wealth, but did not include the enjoyment of God, it would not be good news.  You see, as good as those other achievements are – escape from hell, deliverance from sin, being declared righteous before God, having our sins forgiven, etc., are only obstacles removed by Christ in order “to bring us to God,” where it is there we will experience the greatest joy possible.