• From scripture: 

Now I would remind you, brothers,  of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…. (I Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV) 

• From The Canons of Dordt, The Second Main Point of Doctrine: 

Article 1: The Punishment Which God’s Justice Requires

God is not only supremely merciful, but also supremely just. His justice requires (as he has revealed himself in the Word) that the sins we have committed against his infinite majesty be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments, of soul as well as body. We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is given to God’s justice.

Article 2: The Satisfaction Made by Christ

Since, however, we ourselves cannot give this satisfaction or deliver ourselves from God’s anger, God in his boundless mercy has given us as a guarantee his only begotten Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, on the cross, in order that he might give satisfaction for us.

Article 3: The Infinite Value of Christ’s Death

This death of God’s Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins; it is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Article 4: Reasons for This Infinite Value

This death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who suffered it is—as was necessary to be our Savior—not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that this death was accompanied by the experience of God’s anger and curse, which we by our sins had fully deserved.

Article 5: The Mandate to Proclaim the Gospel to All

Moreover, it is the promise of the gospel that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be announced and declared without differentiation or discrimination to all nations and people, to whom God in his good pleasure sends the gospel. 

• From Systematic Theology by Robert Letham: 

[T]he heart of the gospel relates to Christ; all roads must eventually lead there. This is clear from the sermons to Jewish and Gentile audiences in Acts. Paul’s comment in 1 Timothy 1:15 is crucial: “Christ Jesus cam into the world to save sinners.” God has revealed good news; this central point is the gospel strictly speaking, and all other elements relate to it the way the rim and spokes of a bicycle whell are connected to the hub.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: What is the gospel? and What are the essentials of the gospel message?
2. Ligonier Ministries: The Gospel
3. Monergism.com: What Is the Gospel?
4. Jeffrey C. Nesbitt: A Gospel Summary
5. Southern Seminary: What Is the Gospel? (video)
6. R. C. Sproul and Sinclair Ferguson: What Is the Gospel? (video)
7. Burk Parsons: What Is the Gospel?
8. Ray Ortlund: What Is the Gospel?
9. Steve Lawson: What Is the Gospel?
10. Robert Godfrey: What Is the Gospel?
11. Don Carson: What Is the Gospel?
12. The Gospel Coalition: What Is the Gospel?

Related terms:

• active obedience of Christ
• Christ alone
• incarnation
• justification
• passive obedience of Christ
• propitiation
• reconciliation
• redemption
• resurrecton of Jesus
• substitutionary atonement

Filed under Salvation

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