The Gospel
Tap a numbered reference to read the verse.
In Genesis, we learn that God made everything, and it was good Genesis 1:27, 31 (ESV)27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.. So, if everything was made good, why is there suffering, pain, and hell?
Well, sin was introduced into the world in the garden Genesis 3:1–19 (ESV)1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”14The Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”16To the woman he said,“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”17And to Adam he said,“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”. As a result of sin, we have been separated from God Isaiah 59:2 (ESV)2but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.. God is so pure and holy that our sin deserves His judgment and death Romans 3:23 (ESV)23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,Romans 6:23 (ESV)23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.. But in His grace and mercy, God provided a way for us to be forgiven through Christ Romans 5:8 (ESV)8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.. Christ came to die for us and forgive us of our sins so that we may be reconciled to God 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,Romans 5:10–11 (ESV)10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.. It is through faith and trust in Him that we receive forgiveness and eternal life with God Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.. In Christ, we are made new 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come..
There are many people who simply don’t know what the gospel is, or who have a twisted version of it. This can be true of both Christians and unbelievers. So, then, what is the gospel?
Well, it all starts in the beginning, when God made us. We were made good and without sin Genesis 1:27, 31 (ESV)27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.. However, sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, bringing about the fall of humanity Genesis 3:1–19 (ESV)1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”14The Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”16To the woman he said,“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”17And to Adam he said,“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”. Since then, all people have a sinful nature; we are all sinners Romans 5:12 (ESV)12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—Romans 3:23 (ESV)23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,. Sin separates us from God Isaiah 59:2 (ESV)2but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.. Why? Well, God is perfect and pure, and our sin deserves His judgment Romans 3:23 (ESV)23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,Romans 6:23 (ESV)23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.. The consequence of sin is death, and those who remain apart from God face eternal punishment Romans 6:23 (ESV)23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Matthew 25:46 (ESV)46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”.
However, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, and He later rose from the dead 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,Romans 5:10–11 (ESV)10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.. As I said, we deserve death and God’s judgment because of our sin Romans 6:23 (ESV)23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Matthew 25:46 (ESV)46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”. Christ came, perfect and sinless, to pay the price for us Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.. This makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,Romans 5:10–11 (ESV)10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.. But we must believe this truth: God, in His grace and mercy, offers us the free gift of eternal life, which we don’t have to earn Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.. If we do not believe what Christ did and why, we remain under sin’s judgment.
Christ died for our sins so that we can be reconciled with God 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,Romans 5:10–11 (ESV)10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.. We do not have to face eternal punishment; instead, through Christ, we can live with God forever John 3:16 (ESV)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.. But first, we must turn away from our sin, turn to Christ as our Savior, and believe that He died for our sins and rose again so that we may be reconciled with God Mark 1:15 (ESV)15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved..
Scripture references
- (1) Genesis 1:27, 31
- (2) Genesis 3:1–19
- (3) Isaiah 59:2
- (4) Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23
- (5) Romans 5:8
- (6) 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Romans 5:10–11
- (7) Ephesians 2:8–9
- (8) 2 Corinthians 5:17
- (9) Romans 5:12; Romans 3:23
- (10) Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:46
- (11) Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:24
- (12) John 3:16
- (13) Mark 1:15; Romans 10:9–10
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.