The Gospel
Right through the New Testament there are some rich summary verses which give us a concise yet very clear picture of the gospel message. These are great verses to have at your fingertips to be able to walk someone through the gospel in a short space of time and in an uncomplicated way. Perhaps the most well known example would be John 3: 16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The gospel starts with God - ‘For God’. If God did not take the initiative in salvation, there would not be a single human being who would be saved. It was God’s plan of salvation (we are told that the lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth - Rev 13:8). It is also God who works on the hearts of men to cause them to be born again, to be made alive because they were dead in their sins (Eph 2:1). The initiative is completely with God.
The gospel is good news because it speaks of the love of God for people. This verse does not speak of a God who so tolerates the world that he sent his Son but of a God who so loved the world. God loves all the people of the world so much that he offered the greatest sacrifice imaginable to provide a way of salvation.
The salvation that God has provided is for everyone. ‘Whoever’ believes. There is no restriction. No culture is excluded. No sin is too great to be covered over by the sacrifice of Christ. There is no-one who is above or below the salvation of Christ. ‘Whoever’ believes!
The way to receive this salvation is by faith. The only criteria for someone to be reconciled to God is to believe in Christ. To believe that he is the saviour whom God has sent. To believe that the sacrifice he made was sufficient to cover your sin. To believe is to appropriate Christ’s sacrifice to your life.
The result of believing is that we escape judgement and enter into eternal life. The whole world stands condemned already because of sin (John 3: 18). The default position of man is that he will be judged by God because of sin. Man is guilty and will be held accountable. But if we believe we will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3: 16 along with many other verses is a wonderful summary of the gospel. It comforts the hearts of believers and serves as a guide to lead others to Christ so that they too can enter into this great salvation