Every believer should be able to articulate the gospel. If, I was to ask you to define the Gospel, what would you say?

Technically, the gospel at its very essence is the story of God and His redemptive relationship with mankind.

Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate our sin. Sin is anything that offends God’s holy character. God gave us the law to show us our sin. Because every person has sinned and has come short of God’s glory no one can have an intimate relationship with God. 

Because God is just, He cannot overlook our sin. As the just Judge of all the earth, He must judge every sin, and the wages of sin are death. Nothing unclean can enter Heaven, and thus all sinners will be given their place in the eternal lake of fire. God must pronounce the just verdict and penalty. Love doesn’t undo the necessity for justice.

But God is loving and has reached out to us. He has provided a way for us to be close to Him that satisfies His holy and just nature. That perfect way is Jesus. Jesus is God. He came to earth as a human. He lived a perfect life and earned a right standing with God. He came to give Himself in exchange for us because we could not earn our own right standing with God.