By: Louis Rushmore, Editor

What is the Gospel? By divine inspiration, the apostle Paul concisely described the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, which reads as follows.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (NKJV)

Thus, we discern that the Gospel, boiled down to its basic essence, relates to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, Who is the Christ. The function of the Gospel, once obeyed, is salvation, which is possible by the removal of sins. Concerning Jesus Christ, Hebrews 5:9 reads, “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

Contrariwise, people who do not obey the Gospel remain in their lost, sinful condition (Galatians 3:1; 5:7). “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be
the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

How does a person obey the Gospel? That depends on where a soul is in the progression to salvation. Our Lord declared that soul conscious disciples are to baptize believers. “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’” (Mark 16:15–16). That belief or faith is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God (John 8:24). Without that faith, true baptism cannot occur, and therefore, Jesus did not need to speak in verse 16 about baptism pertaining to unbelievers.

Obviously, from Acts 2:37, the audience to whom the apostle Peter was speaking came to believe in Jesus as the Son of God; “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” Hence, Peter responded, “…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).

Confessing or publicly acknowledging one’s belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God leads to salvation. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto [in the direction of] salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

With everyone who proposes to receive the forgives of sins—salvation—the Word of God is the source to which one must turn and on which to rely as complete and divinely preserved (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:3). God’s Word was delivered by His prophets (2 Peter 1:21). The New Testament, in particular, is the portion of the Bible effective and applicative for the Gospel
Age in which mankind now lives (Romans 7:4–6; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 8:7–13). Out of knowledge of the Word of God (i.e., the Gospel, the New Testament) comes forth Bible faith (Romans 10:17). Faith leads to repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30). Naturally, believers are willing to confess Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:32–33).

Baptism—immersion in water—for the forgiveness or remission of sins is the point where one’s sins are forgiven and that person Jesus adds to the body of the saved—the church. Baptism is a burial (Colossians 2:12). Bible baptism cleanses people’s consciences and saves them. “Who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20–21). A crown of life awaits Christians who endure to the end (James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4). Enduring to the end of life as a faithful child of God saves (Matthew 10:22).

Even Christians sin sometimes (1 John 1:8, 10). Forgiveness for them occurs in two ways. First, a person must repent of the sins of which he is aware and pray for forgiveness (Acts 8:22). Secondly, Christians receive the forgiveness of sins of which they are not aware as they continue to follow Jesus according to the light of the Word of God (1 John 1:7). Jesus Christ Himself is our defense attorney (1 John 2:1).

The act of baptism is the Gospel reenacted. Through baptism, a person imitates the very definition of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). Romans 6:3–5 associates the act of baptism with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:3–6)

Like a jigsaw puzzle with all of the pieces accounted for and properly fitted together, the Gospel—the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ—factors into a person’s salvation from past sins by one’s imitation of His death, burial and resurrection through the act of baptism. We, too, through baptism, imitate the crucifixion of Christ by burying the old man of sin in
baptism. The Gospel saves (Romans 1:16)!

Author: Louis Rushmore