Romans 1:16 states, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

The Gospel. You have heard of it. Some of you all your lives. But, do you know what it is, what it means?

The gospel is God’s plan for solving mankind’s greatest problem.

What is our greatest problem?

We all have problems don’t we – all kinds of problems: financial, health, and relationship problems – with our spouse or child or parent or bully at work or school – or problems learning a trade or getting a job, or being victimized by crime.

But there is one problem every human being has – unless and until it is solved. It is the greatest and most severe problem each person in the world faces. The problem is this: Every person who is old enough to know right from wrong is not headed to heaven, they are headed to hell upon death. That is each person’s default condition before God.

That sounds harsh, but that is exactly what the Bible says.

I ask you, could any problem be more serious than this? We all want to go to heaven; the thought of ending up in hell terrifies us!

If we do nothing about the problem, we don’t end up in heaven but hell! Therefore, the most important thing you and I can do – in this life – is to find the solution to our greatest problem, so that we have the assurance of heaven when we die.

The next most important thing (or equally important thing) in life is to make sure our loved ones find the solution to this problem, so they too have the assurance of heaven when they die.

Why is there a problem? What caused it? How does every person end up on the way to hell?

Scripture tells us why in several passages. Listen to these:

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“There is none righteous – no, not one.” Romans 3:10

“All we like sheep have gone astray, each one to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6

The cause of our greatest problem is clear. God has given us standards for living, and we all have broken some of them. None of us have always done right – we are all sinners, and scripture says, “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23 – not just physical but spiritual and eternal death – separated from God in the place of punishment the Bible calls hell.

If you are just now aware of your predicament, or if you have never dealt with it, or never found the solution, then this ought to terrify you.

Thank goodness, there is a solution.

What is the solution?

So, what is the solution? First, let me share what it is not. Our natural instinct as humans, once faced with a problem, is to go about solving the problem.

Since this problem is a sin problem – a problem of disobedience, we want to do something to make up for it, do something to earn God’s forgiveness. We try to stop sinning and do really good deeds, or do many good deeds, to make up for our sins.

But scripture says you can’t solve the problem with your own solution, you can’t wipe away your sins with good deeds.

Romans 9:16 says, “It does not depend on man who wills or man who runs but on God who has mercy.”

Ephesians 2:9 says,”…you were saved… not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But, what man cannot do, God can and did.

The Gospel describes what God did to rescue us.

God’s solution was to pay the penalty for our sins Himself. He did that when He came as Jesus Christ. Jesus explained the scriptures to us and showed compassion by giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, and raising the dead. He further demonstrated He was God by commanding the storm to stop – and it did – and by walking on water, and by telling a stranger about her whole life.

But the main reason He came was to suffer and die for us – in our place, and He did that when He was crucified on the cross by Roman soldiers. As He died, He uttered the words, “It is finished!” meaning, His suffering and death to pay for the sins of mankind was completed. Our sin debt has been fully paid by God Himself!

One verse captures this gospel message in a nutshell – John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

Perish refers to our GREATEST PROBLEM, and God so loved us He gave Himself as the sacrifice to pay for our sins. As the song by Charles Wesley says, “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God wouldst die for me?”

The Gospel does not end with Jesus on the cross. As Jesus prophesied that He would, on the 3rd day He rose from the tomb, spent 40 days reassuring His disciples, then ascended to heaven as they watched, and is at the right hand of God the Father.

What do we have to do?

The final piece of the Gospel is this: Because of Jesus’ payment for all our sins on the cross, God offers forgiveness of our sins and peace and fellowship with Him as a gift to everyone. But each one must receive that gift.

You ask, “How do I receive the gift?” John 3:16 has already answered – through belief.

The following verse also says it, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12

When we receive Christ, we become children of God – meaning we are forgiven of our sins and have assurance of heaven. AND, just as it says in John 3:16, the way to receive Christ is to believe in what He did for you, to have faith in Christ to the extent of relying on what He did for you on the cross to save you from your GREATEST PROBLEM.

Faith must be with the right attitude. It has to be with an attitude of repentance – not with the attitude that you can sin and get away with it. Jesus Himself said, “Unless you repent, you shall likewise perish.”

Repentance is an attitude change where you admit to God you have sinned and that you want to stop sinning and start living the way God wants you to live.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

You receive God’s gift of eternal life by trusting in Christ in an attitude of repentance.

THAT’S IT! The GOSPEL – The solution to mankind’s greatest problem.

After hearing what God did for you in Christ, with a repentant heart, do you believe?

If you do and mean it, God knows it, and you have His forgiveness, peace with Him, and assurance of heaven. Confirm it by telling God in a prayer that you believe. The next step – thank God for what He did for you in Christ, and point your loved ones to Christ, tell them about the Gospel.

Dennis Christian