There are many “gospels” out there today. But what is the true, Biblical Gospel? There is a lot of confusion about what the Gospel is—both among non-Christians and even among Christians. Some reject the Gospel without really knowing what it is. Others think they know what it is but believe a false or truncated gospel.

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In one respect, the Gospel is straightforward. The word “Gospel” comes from the Greek, εὐαγγέλιον (euaggelion), which simply means “Good News”.

But, the question is, “The Good News about what?”

Some people think the Good News is how to live your best life now, or steps to self-actualize your potential, or how to be a moral person or seek social justice. Some think that the Gospel only pertains to what is spiritual—meaning what is non-material—and has little to do with our physical world apart from some relevance to ethics and piety. However, while some of those things may be good, they’re not the whole of what the Bible means when it talks about the Gospel.

The Gospel is the Good News about the Kingdom of God and what Jesus Christ has done to bring salvation to the world.

Interestingly, when Jesus came preaching the Gospel, he didn’t sound like many do today. 

The stereotypical gospel presentation usually involves “asking Jesus into your heart and accepting him as your personal Lord and Saviour.” Yet nowhere in the Bible do we find an example of this language being used to communicate the Gospel. We don’t find Peter on the day of Pentecost saying, “OK now, with every eye closed and heads bowed, raise your hand if you want to accept Jesus into your heart.”

Now, it is true that Jesus is LORD and Saviour. However, Christ is LORD whether one accepts him or not and he is the Saviour of the world, not just us personally. 

The Gospel isn’t about how we accept Jesus into our heart, but rather how we are accepted into Christ’s Kingdom. 

The proclamation of the Gospel is not a suggestion, it’s not an invitation, it’s not a sales pitch to “try Jesus out.” It is a command, it is a summons to lay down your arms, forsake your rebellion and surrender wholly to King Jesus.

You’re not the point of the Gospel. It’s way bigger than you. When we become Christians we are being brought into something far bigger than ourselves and our personal relationship with Jesus. We are being brought into a Kingdom.

So, why does the world need saving, what has Jesus Christ done, and what is the Kingdom?

As we look into these things, there are four main questions we all have to answer:

1. What were we created for? (Creation)
2. What went wrong? (Fall)
3. How can things be made right? (Redemption)
4. Where are we heading? (Consummation)

Those are the questions that divide the world. The most important questions of history. They are the questions we must understand if we are to truly know what the Gospel is.

In the Beginning

As with every story, to understand the plot, we must know where things started. Judging by the success of so many Marvel movies, it seems like we all love a good origin story.

In the beginning, God designed a perfect world of immense beauty, diverse complexity and harmony. In this creation, He placed the pinnacle of his handy-work—a creature that would bear and multiply His image in the world—man.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
(Genesis 1:26)

God then told the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over” all of creation (Gen. 1:28).

The Dominion Mandate

God created the man and woman to be his kingly vicegerents—to rule in His Kingdom. They were to be His administrative deputies—exercising God’s delegated power to fill, steward and make the earth fruitful.

This is what is called “The Dominion Mandate”.

As R.J. Rushdoony notes,

“Adam was created in the image of God to exercise dominion over the earth and to subdue it to God’s purposes through man as God’s priest, prophet, and king. As priest, man was ordained to dedicate himself and his activities to the triune God. As king, man was to rule the earth as God’s vicegerent, and, as prophet, to interpret all things in terms of God’s sovereign word.”
(R.J. Rushdoony, “Foreword” in Theonomy in Christian Ethics by Dr. Greg Bahnsen, xi)

We were made to rule as God’s kingly representatives on earth.

We are not “kings” in and of ourselves (as some modern influencers erroneously think), but our “royal” status is a delegated and derivative one graciously given to us by the true King—God Himself.

As Steven R. Martins, director of the Cántaro Institute, has said,

“The creation of the world was not some blank slate for man to make whatever he willed without any guiding principle, creation was instead purposed since time immemorial by the Creator God to be His kingdom, and the glory of that kingdom was to be developed by man subject to God in terms of God’s divine purpose.”

God placed man in the garden of Eden specifically to “work it and keep it”.

“Work” implies that Adam was to take the raw materials of creation and bring order and fruitfulness to it. He would develop tools and technology, cultivate the plants and animals, and build communities and cities as he multiplied with Eve. This is arguably what humanity has been doing ever since that time. “Keep” in Hebrew means to guard it. Adam was given the mandate to protect the garden from all threats.

God, in His generosity, gave the whole world to Adam and Eve as their dominion.

He only gave one rule:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
(Genesis 2:16–17)

One “no” in a whole world full of “yes”.

Simple, right?

The Fall

Some argue that there is no need for salvation. 

However, even a cursory look at all the pain, suffering and evil in the world makes all of us realize that there is something deeply wrong with the world. There is something in all of us that cries out, “this is not the way things were supposed to be”.

We all have Eden echoing in our ears. A distant memory of paradise lost in our souls.

As the story unfolds, we see that into God’s perfect paradise of Eden enters a villain. Satan, that slippery serpent of old, tempted Eve—questioned and twisted God’s word. Planting seeds of doubt, Satan says to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

However, God did not say “you shall not eat of ANY tree” but rather that you shall not eat of ONE particular tree. Satan makes it seem like God, who had given them the world, was a stingy Deity.

Eve affirms what God had told Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to the serpent. However, she adds an embellishment: “neither shall you touch it”. The serpent, now knowing the bait was starting to set in Eve’s heart, next fully contradicts God’s word, saying,

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4–5)

Though God had clearly told Adam that he would die if he ate of the fruit, the serpent here tells the woman that God’s word is not trustworthy. The woman, being deceived (1 Tim. 2:14) took the fruit and ate it, “and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Gen. 3:6) 

Though Eve was deceived, Adam was not deceived and willingly rebelled against God’s command. Adam was supposed to guard the garden. Instead he stood by passively while a snake deceived his wife and betrayed His Creator, letting sin into the garden. It is the ultimate betrayal. Cosmic treason.

In an instant, shame fell upon them as they realized they had betrayed their Benevolent Creator—exchanging the truth of God for a lie (Rom. 1:25). Instead of owning their sin, they blame-shifted—something we all have continued to do.

As the late, great theologian, Dr. R.C. Sproul has said,

“Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is the treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself.”
(R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, 116)

As a result of their sinful rebellion, Adam and Eve brought a curse upon humanity and creation. The very things which they were to do to fulfill the dominion mandate were now going to be difficult and painful. Having kids would increase in pain, the marital relationship would struggle with conflict, the cursed creation would make it more difficult to cultivate fruitfulness, and eventually they would die (Gen. 3:16–19). The curse of sin fell on all aspects of life.

Ever since that moment, all of creation has groaned as it was subjected to futility (Rom. 8:20).

All of us, sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, inherit their sinful nature. We now are all sinfully disposed to abdicating our God-given responsibility and often go into willful rebellion. We all bear the curse—from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return (Gen. 3:19).

Sin is the reason our world is broken. 

When we see the pain, devastation, conflict, turmoil, and corruption in the world—at root, it is all ultimately caused by sin; either directly or indirectly.

Let me warn you at this point. I’m going to need to tell you some bad news first before we can get to the Good News… and it’s probably going to be worse than you think. But stay with me, because the the Good News is probably better than you expect.

What is sin?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that,

“Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.”

In the garden, God gave mankind a law—don’t eat from the fruit. They transgressed it and sinned. Today, we continue to break God’s law—both written in His word and on our conscience as a moral compass so that we are without excuse.

Think about it: the majority of things you do wrong—was it because you genuinely didn’t know it was wrong? Or, did you know it was wrong and did it anyways, then made up some way to justify it in your mind?

Even for those who don’t believe in the law of God, they have some sort of moral code—a set of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” that they aspire to live by. For some, they maybe have even made up their own moral code. Yet, for every single person, if we were to ask them if they’ve been able to perfectly live up to the moral code they invented, the answer would be no.

Why? Was it because they didn’t know?

Obviously not, since they made it up themselves!

The answer is, because we all have a sin nature—rebellion inside our hearts that causes us to do the things we know are wrong. Since the Fall of mankind into sin, we’re all born sinners, children of wrath with a sinful nature that inclines us toward evil. This is the diagnosis the Bible gives to us.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
(Ephesians 2:1–3)

This does not mean that we’re always as bad as we possibly can be. Rather it means that there is not any area of our lives that is not tainted by the mark of sin. Our thoughts, actions and emotions have all been corrupted by our sinful nature which we inherit from our forefathers. We are “sons of disobedience”, in rebellion to God and His ways.

This means that we often think in wrong ways, do wrong things, and even our emotions can be sinfully disordered.

The 3 Problems of Sin

Sin brings three problems:

1. SIN’S PENALTY: We have failed to keep God’s holy Law—we are imperfect and guilty—thus deserving of the just PENALTY of sin. God, being a just Judge must punish sin.
2. SIN’S POWER: Our nature is fallen and we are slaves to sin—we are broken and unable to live rightly—we are under sin’s POWER.
3. SIN’S PRESENCE: Sin destroys and corrupts us and the world we live in—we are plagued by sin’s PRESENCE.

We’re all guilty

Some are tempted to justify themselves by saying, “well, at least I’m not as bad as Hitler”—justifying themselves by comparison.

However, the standard is not other fallen people, but God’s perfect moral law—most clearly seen in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). We don’t need to go very far down the list—we all fail at commandment one—to love God supremely at all times. None of us have been able to do that perfectly, every second of our lives. Yet that is the greatest commandment.

Thus, breaking the greatest commandment is the greatest sin—and we all have committed it. But it doesn’t end there.

Have you ever hated someone in your heart (1 John 3:15)? Or lusted after someone who wasn’t your spouse (Matt. 5:28)? Have you ever lied or stolen something? The answers are obvious if we’re honest. We’re all sinners (including myself).

We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.

Since the Fall, we cannot help but sin. So, we are unable to save ourselves from our predicament. Bad news indeed.

Man, this is heavy. I thought the Gospel was about Good News?
It is. But to appreciate and understand the Good News, we need to know the bad news.

Sin is not an outward problem, it’s ultimately a problem with our heart.

We’ve probably all heard someone say, “Oh, he sometimes does bad things but he’s got a good heart.” It’s a popular sentiment. The problem is though, it’s not at all Biblical.

Jesus said,

“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(Mark 7:20–23)

According to Jesus, our hearts are the problem. The prophet Jeremiah asked,

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9)

Even our hearts can deceive us. That’s how deep the problem of sin goes.

All sin is against God

God’s requirement is perfection; if someone breaks one of the commandments they are guilty of breaking all. 

Why? 

Because the Law is based on the character of God. Therefore, breaking the commandments is a direct assault on the very character and nature of God. 

Just as you cannot separate attacking one particular character of a person without at the same time attacking the whole person, so too we cannot break one Law without in essence, breaking them all—offending the whole character of God. Because God is infinite and eternal, an offense against Him is one deserving infinite and eternal punishment.

This is why when David realized his own sin with Bathsheba, although he had wronged Uriah—killing him and taking his wife—David confessed, “Against You [God], and You alone, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4)

All sin is ultimately committed against a holy and righteous God. Thus, sin brings condemnation (Romans 6:23) and Spiritual Bondage (Romans 6:16).

The Bible often describes sin as the “works of the flesh”—referring to our fallen nature under Adam.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
(Galatians 5:19–20)

Those are sobering words. Those who do such things WILL NOT inherit the Kingdom of God.

We were created to rule and reign with God. But because of sin, we didn’t just lose eternal life, we also lost the Kingdom.

R.J. Rushdoony notes that,

“By his fall, man’s calling was deflected and perverted, and, instead of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Man became his goal, and towers of Babel have, in one form or another, consistently occupied his energies.”

Because God is absolutely good and just, He must judge and punish sin. A good and perfect Judge cannot let wrongdoing go unpunished or else He would be unjust. The final end for all those who remain in their rebellion and never repent of their sins is a place called Hell (Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:10). Hell is a place of God’s active judgment against sin—it is God’s justice and wrath justly poured out against sin.

While some people think they can get away with sin in this life, Scripture tells us that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) There is a judgment day coming for each person and Jesus says that they will have to give an account for even every careless word they’ve spoken (Matthew 12:36). The Omniscient eyes of the One who see everything doesn’t miss a thing.

Many today say “only God can judge me”, but that’s not good news because we’re all sinners.

We’re sinners and we need salvation. But who will save us?

But God…

Pastor and theologian, R.C. Sproul noted that,

“…if the final decision for the salvation of fallen sinners were left in the hands of fallen sinners, we would despair all hope that anyone would be saved.”
(R.C. Sproul, Chosen By God, 33).

At this point, if this was where the story ended, we would all be hopeless. We would all be lost to an eternity of everlasting punishment we would all deserve.

However, to those who understand the Bad News, the two words—“but God”—are some of the sweetest words we could ever hear!

God’s loving kindness and great grace and mercy are the twist to this whole story.

Grace: God’s unmerited favour

The most important thing about the Gospel is that it is all undeserved grace.

Salvation from sin is not because of our own good works—we cannot do enough good works to save ourselves. We weren’t even Him—we were dead in our trespasses, enemies of God and slaves to sin. It was because of God’s goodness, His loving kindness, and mercy that in the fullness of time He sent Jesus Christ to save us (Galatians 4:4).

We did nothing to deserve or earn it. It’s all a gift of God’s undeserved, unmeritted grace.

Solving the Problem of Sin

Only Jesus Christ solves the problem of sin. No other human being can solve the problem of sin because we’re all sinners. Jesus Christ, God incarnate, comes into the world to rescue His fallen creatures and creation by becoming a sinless man to live the perfect life we couldn’t live and pay the debt of sin we owe on our behalf.

Jesus Christ takes care of sin’s 3 problems: its penalty, power and presence.

Sin’s Penalty Paid

Jesus Christ satisfied the PENALTY due to us for breaking the Law by dying on the Cross in our place. He is our substitute. Thus, the Gospel frees us from the PENALTY of sin.

When we say, Jesus died for us—we mean, it should have been us on that cross! 

We should have borne the full wrath of God against our sin poured out on the Cross. It was our sins that Jesus Christ bore on the Cross in our place. We should have been forsaken by God, but instead, Christ took our place. On the Cross, all of our sins were placed on Christ. Jesus never sinned (so he didn’t have to pay for any of his own sins) but he was treated like he sinned because he was suffering in the place of sinners like us.

Unlike our forefather Adam, Jesus also perfectly obeyed God’s law. His perfect life is also “for” us.

Jesus lived a perfect life so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. In other words, in order that sinners might receive the blessings earned by Christ’s obedience to God, Jesus perfectly kept all of God’s law—perfectly loving God and loving others. Through Jesus’s perfect life, he earned the merit of God’s perfect righteousness on behalf of those who would trust in him.

“For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:21)

Our sins were laid on Christ, and His righteousness was credited to those who, by faith, trust in him alone for their salvation. We don’t just get our debt paid, but we also get the positive righteousness of Christ credited to our account!

Sin’s Power Broken

Romans 6:4 says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” And verse 6 continues that, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

Therefore, the Gospel also frees us from the POWER of sin! In Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin but have power, through God’s Spirit in us, to put to death the deeds and desires of our sinful nature.

Because Jesus rose again, those who are united with him through faith will rise again on the Last Day—death no longer has the final say, the grave has lost its power and death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, nothing can condemn or separate those who trust in him from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39). We are freed from the POWER of sin and progressively being transformed into His image day-by-day. 

Sin’s Presence Eradicated

This process for the Christian is called sanctification or growth in holiness where we are progressively being freed from sin’s PRESENCE in our lives.

Because Christ’s resurrection is ours, we will one day too be raised to resurrection life—freed forever from the PRESENCE of sin to be together with him for eternity when Jesus brings the final and complete restoration of all the brokenness in this world (Romans 8:19-21; Revelation 21:3-5). 

What a glorious hope!

The Gospel of the Kingdom

That’s all great news personally, but how does this relate to the Kingdom of God?

We’re not just saved personally. We’re also redeemed and reconciled to something bigger than ourselves—the Kingdom of God. This is what we lost in the garden when we fell into sin. This is what Christ restores to us. When a person repents of their sins and puts their trust in Jesus Christ to save them, they are rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13).

So, to understand the full extent of the Gospel, we must understand what the Kingdom is.

What is the Kingdom?

The Kingdom of God is a divine political order that stands over and against the kingdoms of this world. 

Some people think that the Kingdom of God is something ethereal and wholly spiritual (meaning that it has little or nothing to do with our present physical world). Some argue that it is entirely a future reality.

However, the Bible would say otherwise.

When Jesus said that his Kingdom is not “of” this world (John 18:36), he meant that it does not derive its source from this world, but rather from heaven. It does not operate the way earthly kingdoms do—through force and coercion. This is why he goes on to say that, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.”

Jesus’s Kingdom is one of peace. Its origin and source of power and authority are not from this world. 

However, it is manifested in this world.

The Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Christ over every single person, institution, nation, and square inch of this created cosmos. It encompasses all of reality and all spheres. Christ is King of kings and LORD of lords—over earthly rulers and governments, education, the arts, business, law, entertainment and all parts of life.

Therefore, the Kingdom of God has implications and relevance to all areas of life in this world today.

Entrance into the Kingdom

So, how do we enter this Kingdom?

1. COUNT THE COST

Although the Gospel is offered as a free gift, Jesus Christ’s call to follow him comes at a cost.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25)

Becoming a Christian means denying yourself and following him as LORD and Master. 

This may involve losing many things for the sake of following Christ. Some have lost jobs, money, relationships or respect from others as a result of their faith in Christ. In fact, Jesus guarantees their will be a cost to following him.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…” (John 15:18–20a)

When we become Christians—citizens of Christ’s Kingdom—there is a change of allegiance. The Gospel calls us to renounce our rebellion and surrender whole-heartedly to Christ’s Lordship over our lives. We are no longer “of the world”, we now belong to Christ. So, Jesus tells us to ‘count the cost’ of being his disciple and following him.

The apostle Paul said it this way:

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Followers of Jesus Christ are all in, or they’re not in at all. You cannot be a halfway Christian.

The cost to following Christ in this world is often very high, but the reward for those who do is worth it. Jesus himself promises that those who follow him and lose in this life for his sake will be repaid both in this life (Mark 10:30) and at the resurrection in the life to come (Luke 14:4; 18:30).

The apostle Paul, who suffered greatly for the sake of following Christ, says it this way:

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18; cf. Phil. 3:–8)

Following Jesus may cost you everything in this life, but you will gain Christ—and thus gain everything in the end.

Jim Elliot, a martyred missionary, once said,

“He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

This is what it means to follow Christ.

So, don’t be hasty. Count the cost.

2. REPENT & BELIEVE

OK. You’ve counted the cost. Now what?

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

The Bible sums up what our response to the Gospel should be in two words: “repentance” and “faith” in the Lord Jesus.

Repentance and faith are like two sides of a coin. You cannot have one without the other.

REPENTANCE – turning from sin

Repentance, at it’s most basic level means to change your mind. But repentance involves not just the change of mind, but the change of the heart—and as a result, the direction of our lives.

First, repentance involves seeing the penalty and tyranny of sin, and turning away from looking to sinful things to save us and give us life. Second, repentance involves acknowledging that we cannot lift a finger to solve our sin problem (condemnation and spiritual bondage), thereby, it causes us to stop trusting in our good works to save us.

We turn away from going our own sinful way and we now go Jesus’s way—because Christ is our Lord and Master.

The famous preacher Charles H. Spurgeon famously wrote,

“There never was a person who did unfeignedly repent of sin with believing repentance who was not forgiven. On the other hand, there never was a person forgiven who had not repented of his sin.” (Spurgeon, All Of Grace , 97)

FAITH – turning to God

Faith is not some vague feeling we have.

Faith is putting our trust in what Jesus has objectively done on the cross in history to save us from the judgement of God. 

Before, you may have thought that your own morality could make you right with God—or hoped God would overlook your sin. But now you see the truth of the Gospel, and you know that the death of Christ is your only hope for forgiveness. You know that the resurrection of Christ is the only hope for life beyond the grave. And so, you place your trust in his promise that he will not turn away anyone who comes to him (John 6:37).

Faith is biblically defined as reliance, confidence or trust which is grounded on the rock-solid truths of God’s promises to us. It is being fully convinced that God is able and willing to do what He has promised (Romans 4:18-21). It is turning to God through Jesus Christ.

But with so many cults and religions out there claiming to follow or represent Jesus Christ, who is he really?

The Real Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the central figure of history. Our timeline itself pivots around him (B.C. and A.D.—irregardless of attempts to reframe this as B.C.E. and C.E.). He is the most controversial and debated figure in the world. Many admire him, many more misunderstand him, but few take the time to get to know him.

He is the central point of the Gospel. So, to get the Gospel right, we must get Jesus Christ right.

Some think he was just a good teacher or philosopher. Some think he was just a prophet. Some view him as a psychological archetype for untapping our own potential. However, God’s Word will not allow for any of this.

He was in the beginning with God the Father. He is the co-eternal, co-Creator of the Universe who became incarnate in real history (John 1:1 & 14). Jesus affirmed his equality with God (John 5:18), using the very name of God [“I am”] that was attributed to Yahweh (John 8:24) and claimed his pre-existence (John 8:58; cf. Exo. 3:14). Jesus said that he was one with the Father (John 10:30–33) and accepted Thomas’s worship of him as God (John 20:28). Colossian 2:9 says that, “in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” and Philippians 2:5-8 affirms that he existed in the form of God, humbled himself in the incarnation, and is now glorified. His disciples worshipped him (Matt. 14:33 & 28:9; John 9:35-38)—which would have been idolatry if he were not God. And, just as the Magi who came for his birth, wise men still seek and worship him today (Matt. 2:2 & 11).

Jesus Christ is God’s Son—the eternal Second Person of the Trinity—who became a real man in history, suffered, died and rose again and is now the King of kings and LORD of lords (Rev. 19:16; 1 Tim. 6:15) to whom every knee will bow (Phil. 2:9–11; cf. Isa. 45:23).

This is what genuine Christians throughout time have believed. As the Nicene Creed (written around 325 AD) summarizes,

“[We believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.”

There are many cults and false religions (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Muslims, New Thought Movements, etc.) who have a distorted view of Jesus. They may claim to know the way to salvation.

However, a false Christ cannot save you. We want to believe in the real Jesus Christ—the one revealed to us in the Bible and affirmed throughout Church History.

So, when we repent and believe—it must be belief in the true Son of God—Jesus Christ.

Two Choices

The primary difference between Christianity and all other religions is that every other religion puts their faith/trust in what they can do to reach God and earn their salvation. Christianity puts its trust in what God has done to reach us and give us our salvation.

Every other religion says “do”, Christianity says “done.”
Every other religion says, “do this and live” – in Christianity, God says, “I’ve done this so you can live.”

To have faith in Jesus Christ means to renounce all hopes in anything else to save us. Prayers to saints or ancestors, indulgences, penance and giving to charity, following the pillars of Islam or trying to pay off your Karmic debt will never save you. 

There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Only Jesus Christ can bring us safely to God.

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)

Jesus is an exclusive Saviour because he will not share his glory with anyone else (Isa. 42:8). We either trust in Christ alone, or not at all. We must believe that according to Scripture, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

“Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

You cannot have Jesus plus anyone or anything else.

There are only two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Christ, or the kingdom of darkness. Everyone belongs to one of them. There is no neutrality. It is Christ or chaos—you choose.

The Consummation of the Kingdom

Looking toward the end, Revelation 11:15 says that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ…” 

Note that it does not say that the kingdoms of this world have become the institutional church (although the church is a very important part of the Kingdom). Note also that it is not some one-world nationless reality at the end of time like some modern globalists like to imagine—there are still plural “kingdoms of this world”.

Thus, the end goal that history is moving towards is Christian nations, not merely unconnected individual believers. 

This is what we’re taught to pray for in the Lord’s prayer (Matt. 6:9–13)—that His Kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven. 

How much is God worshipped and obeyed in heaven? Well, that’s how much we should desire to see it done here on earth. And why would we pray for something that we never endeavour to see made a reality?

This should be the desire of every Christian—every citizen of Christ’s Kingdom. When you become a Christian, that should be your desire too.

The Expansiveness of the Kingdom

If you are a Christian, you are now a part of God’s Kingdom expanse in this world.

The Gospel brings us into the Kingdom of God that makes totalizing claims on us. Willem Ouweneel notes that,

“the main discovery of the Reformation was the insight that Scripture has divine authority over the entire human life, both individually and societally – not only over the domain of grace (the sacred realm), but also over that of nature (the secular realm). Total natural depravity demands a total redemption of the person, and hence also a total reformation of human life and society under the guidance of God’s Word and Spirit.” (Willem Ouweneel, The World is Christ’s, 36)

The Gospel transforms us into Kingdom citizens with a new identity and new obligations that extend to every area of life. 

Thus, the Gospel also creates a new culture.

We must be committed to discipleship for the Kingdom that does not only concern itself with the “spiritual” things and getting “souls” saved. If a man is spiritually saved, his whole being is also saved and transformed and in the process of renewal into the image of Christ. This means that the process of discipleship includes instruction in how to think, feel and act Christianly in all areas of life including education, politics, arts, the family, entertainment, church, law, politics, economics, sexuality, environmental stewardship, justice, relationships, community and so much more. This is what we must apply ourselves to learn and practice as Christians.

Thus, if you are a new Christian, you need to be in a healthy Church that preaches the Bible and teaches you how to apply it to all of life.

In every area of life, you are always being discipled, it’s just a matter of by whom and for what kingdom. 

The words of Dr. J. Gresham Machen, one of the founders of Westminster Theological Seminary, are appropriate here.

“The Christian cannot be satisfied so long as any human activity is either opposed to Christianity or out of all connection with Christianity. Christianity must pervade not merely all nations, but also all of human thought. The Christian, therefore, cannot be indifferent to any branch of earnest human endeavour. It must all be brought into some relation to the gospel. It must be studied either in order to be demonstrated as false, or else in order to be made useful in advancing the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom must be advanced not merely extensively, but also intensively. The Church must seek to conquer not merely every man for Christ, but also the whole of man.”
(J. Gresham Machen, “Christianity and Culture,” The Princeton Theological Review 11, 1913, p. 6)

In every area of life, you’re either being discipled by Christ through his Word for his Kingdom, or you’re being discipled by the world and the Devil. That’s why no cultural activity (such as going to the movies, shopping, doing business, going to school, etc) is truly neutral.

As a Christian, it must all be done unto the glory of God and under the Lordship of Christ whom you now serve.

Spreading the Kingdom

As a citizen of the Kingdom, you are part of a purpose—given to us by our Sovereign King—the Great Commission:

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

Many Christians hear of the Great Commission and what pops into their minds is personal evangelism such as sharing your faith one-on-one with a family member, neighbour, friend, co-worker, etc. While that is certainly important and included in this command, it is not the object of the verb, “make disciples”. 

We are to make disciples of ALL NATIONS! (This is especially clear in the original Greek of the verse)

A nation is far more than just a collection of individuals. It implies culture, politics, civil government, laws and all of the other aspects of public life. This is what we’re to disciple! Wow. And not just some nations, but all of them! Feeling the scope of that Notice also the content of that discipleship—obedience to all his commands. It is extensive! The Bible speaks to all areas of life, and so too must our discipleship of the nations.

So many people today are looking for a purpose and mission bigger than themselves that they can give their lives to. This is why we have seen the rise in activism around various causes. For followers of Christ, we have the biggest mission and highest purpose—to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom everywhere and see every area of life brought to glorify God.

In Greek, the grammar of the commission implies that Jesus actually expects this to be done. What a tremendous task! Had it not been for Jesus first declaring his omnipotence in heaven and on earth, we should rightly recoil at this. 

As Dr. Kenneth Gentry notes,

“His “all authority” over “all the nations” demands we preach His crown rights over all men and all their institutions, cultures, societies, and nations. The saving of multitudes of individuals must eventually lead to cultural Christianization under Christ’s rule and to His glory by His providence, in conformity with God’s creational purpose.”
(Kenneth Gentry, The Greatness of the Great Commission, p.58)

Puritan commentator, Matthew Henry, summarizes the Great Commission this way, “Do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations.” As Christians, we should desire to see our nations become Christian.

Where this has been done, the result has been God’s blessing and prosperity upon a people.

“When God’s Word has been applied by fallen people to life and culture (however fallibly), the result has still been the building of the most stable and just civilization known to man, and in recent centuries people have flocked to these nations from around the world for justice, liberty, prosperity and opportunity. It is not chance that made the West what it is.”
(Joseph Boot, Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society, 124)

Ultimately, we seek to spread the Kingdom of God out of love for God and our fellowmen. As a Christian, you do everything to fulfill the two greatest commandments: to love God and love your neighbour. This means that there should be no area of your life—education, politics, family, business, arts, entertainment, etc—that is not intentionally done from a Biblical worldview and with these two great commandments in mind.

It is now your life’s mission to expand the Kingdom of Christ wherever He has placed you. Christ saves us and gives us a mission—let’s get to it!

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This is what God has done through Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension: He has conquered sin and the grave and now rules and reigns from Heaven over all of history as His Kingdom expands.

As we seek to make disciples, in our homes through family worship, in our churches and communities, and in our nation—through seeking righteous laws and standards in the public sphere—Christ’s Kingdom continues to expand as his enemies are made a footstool (Psa. 110:1; cf. Luke 20:41–43; Acts 2:34–36; Heb. 10:12–13).

While in our very small slice of time and limited perspective, it can seem like things are not looking good, history is heading towards Christ’s total and ultimate victory over sin and rule over the world. Christ will accomplish total dominion and the restoration of all things to himself. So, we fight and labour in Christ’s Kingdom with victory guaranteed.

The empty grave proves it and the risen and reigning Christ guarantees its success.

The only question is, will you turn from your rebellion and submit to Christ as LORD to serve in His Kingdom?

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