The Gospel
The good news from first to last: the gospel itself, and the grace, justification, faith, and repentance that make it up.
The Gospel
What is the gospel?
The gospel (the word means 'good news') is the announcement that God, in love, became man in Jesus Christ, died for our sins, was raised for our justification, and freely saves all who repent and believe. It is news to be believed, not a task to be performed.
The Gospel
What is grace?
Grace is God's unearned, undeserved favor. Because we could not save ourselves, God freely gave us in Christ what we did not deserve: forgiveness, righteousness, and adoption. Grace is why the gospel is a gift.
The Gospel
What does it mean to be justified?
Justification is God's declaration that a person is righteous, not on the basis of who they are or what they have done, but on the basis of Christ. In it, the Judge accepts the sinner for Jesus' sake, pardoning their sins and crediting Christ's righteousness to them.
The Gospel
What is faith, exactly?
Faith is not blind wishing: it is trust that rests on the character and promises of God. It believes God's testimony about Christ and entrusts the whole life to Him. Faith has a content (the gospel) and a confidence (God's faithfulness).
The Gospel
What is repentance?
Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction: turning from sin and turning to God. It is the necessary companion of faith: to believe the gospel is to turn from the sins it forgives. Repentance is God's gift and the doorway to a new life.
The Gospel
Does grace mean I can live however I want?
No. Grace does not loosen the grip of sin; it breaks it. The same grace that forgives is the grace that teaches: it frees us from slavery to sin, not from loyalty to Christ. To turn grace into a license to sin is to misunderstand what grace is for.
The Gospel
What does it mean that Christ's righteousness is 'imputed' to us?
Imputation is the great exchange at the heart of the gospel: our sin laid on Christ at the cross, and His righteousness credited to our account. He took what we deserved; we receive what He earned. It is a legal transaction of grace, and it is the only ground on which a sinner can stand before God.
The Gospel
Is it okay to have doubts sometimes?
Yes. Doubt is not the same as unbelief: unbelief is a settled refusal of Christ, while doubt is a question that still wants Him. Scripture shows believers struggling, asking, even demanding answers, and Jesus met them with gentleness, not distance. Bring your doubts to Him, and hold the promise while the feelings waver.
The Gospel
Is repentance a one-time decision or a lifelong posture?
Both. Repentance begins with a decisive turning at conversion, and it continues as a lifelong posture of turning back whenever we wander. The same word covers the once-for-all turn and the daily re-turn; both are real, both are the work of grace, and heaven rejoices over each one.
The Gospel
What is the kingdom of God?
The kingdom of God is God's reign: His rule and salvation arriving in Jesus Christ. Jesus announced it as breaking into the world, called people to enter it through repentance and faith, and taught its surprising way of growth, like a seed and leaven, belonging to the poor in spirit. The kingdom is both already present in Christ and not yet complete, and it is the good news at the center of the gospel.
The Gospel
What is the difference between grace and mercy?
Mercy and grace are God's twin compassion, and they are closely related. Mercy withholds what we deserve, the punishment our sin has earned; grace gives what we do not deserve, forgiveness, salvation, and every blessing. Both are rooted in God's love and meet at the cross, where the punishment for sin was carried by Christ and righteousness is freely given. Neither is something we earn, and both change how we live.
The Gospel
How are justification and sanctification related?
Justification and sanctification are two distinct works of God's grace that belong inseparably together. Justification is God declaring us righteous through Christ, a finished verdict received once by faith. Sanctification is God making us holy, a lifelong work of the Spirit. Both come from union with Christ and both are gifts of grace, and they are to be distinguished without being separated: we are justified in order to be sanctified, and sanctification is the fruit of justification.
The Gospel
What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight?
To walk by faith and not by sight is to live our lives trusting God's word and promises rather than what we can currently see or feel. It is the normal posture of the whole Christian life, rooted in the assurance of things hoped for, lived out in daily trust and obedience, and held patiently because we will one day see what we now believe. Faith does not ignore reality; it interprets it by God's promises.
The Gospel
How do I know my repentance is genuine?
Genuine repentance shows itself in fruit. Scripture distinguishes real repentance from mere regret: godly sorrow works repentance to salvation and brings no regret, while worldly sorrow works death. Real repentance is a turning from sin to God that changes direction and, over time, produces the evidence of a changed life. We can examine ourselves by the Word: has my heart turned, has my life changed, am I bearing the fruit of repentance?
The Gospel
Did God choose me to be saved before I chose Him?
Yes. Scripture says God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of the world, and it never bases that choice on foreseen merit. Election is unconditional: it rests on God's mercy and the good pleasure of His will, not on anything in us. Far from being cold, it is the deepest ground of our assurance and our praise.
The Gospel
Can anyone resist God's grace?
People can and do resist the outward call of the gospel: Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they would not come. But the saving work of God's grace is another matter. The Spirit opens closed hearts, raises the dead, and gives the new heart that loves God. In that deeper sense Scripture speaks of a call that cannot fail, because it is the work of God Himself.
The Gospel
What price can buy forgiveness?
Nothing we can pay, and nothing anyone else can pay on our own merits, ransoms a soul: no man can redeem his brother or give God a ransom for him. The price was paid once, by Another, the precious blood of Christ, and forgiveness is received as a gift through faith, never accumulated through payments, penalties, or purchased merits.
The Gospel
What does it mean that God remembers our sins no more?
When God says He will remember our sins no more, He is not forgetting the way we forget: He is promising never to call them to mind again, never to treat us according to them, and never to bring them up in judgment. The new covenant rests on that promise, and the cross is its price.
The Gospel
What are the parables of the kingdom about?
Jesus' kingdom parables answer one question: how does God's reign come? His answers are deliberately small and slow: a mustard seed, hidden yeast, buried treasure, seed growing while the farmer sleeps. The kingdom arrives quietly now, grows irresistibly by God's power, is worth everything you have, and will one day be sorted and revealed in full.