What Is the Gospel?

Pastor, teacher, and author, Adrian Rogers, has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ, and it's impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth, simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. Take God's Word, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. If someone were to ask you to give a definition of the gospel, could you do it? I think the word gospel is a word that is carelessly used.

Sometimes we talk about gospel music. Sometimes a man may be telling the truth, and he says that is the gospel truth. It may be true, but not the gospel truth. Sometimes a preacher may preach marvelous, wonderful teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that's not the gospel. Sometimes a preacher may put on a pair of hobnail boots, walk up and down on people's spine, and then after they are bloody and raw, pour salt in the wounds. I mean, he'll preach a message on hell fire and damnation. By the way, that needs to be preached.

I'm not opposed to that. We had more hell in the pulpit. We'd have less hell in the community, but that's not the gospel. What is the gospel?

Plain and simple. Here it is, 1 Corinthians 15, verses one through four. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel.

Do you see that? I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved. If ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain, for I have delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Ladies and gentlemen, plain and simple, the gospel, the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter one, verse 23, but we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks, foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Now, the word gospel comes from our English word from a combination of two words, good spell.

Spelling out good things, telling good things. The Greek word itself literally means good news. The gospel is the good news of the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The best news this world ever heard came from a graveyard outside Jerusalem, and it is this, he is not here.

He is risen. That, my friend, is good news. But good news is not good news unless there is the possibility of bad news. Suppose I said to you tonight, I've got good news for you. Your house is not on fire.

Well, that kind of falls flat, doesn't it, unless you felt that your house may have been on fire. But if you're in the hospital, perhaps a person that you love is there in the operating room, and you're waiting in the waiting room, and you're waiting and waiting and waiting. And then the doors swing open, and that surgeon comes out, takes that mask from his face and removes that little hat that he wears, and looks at you and says, I've got good news. That's good news because you did not know what you might hear. The good news, friend, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And by the way, the bad news that makes the good news good is found in verse 3. Christ died for our sins. I told you before, the word sin is not politically correct. People don't like the idea of sin. The evolutionist doesn't like sin. He just says that man has not had yet enough time to develop properly.

Give him enough time, and he will stumble upward, and he'll be all right. The geneticist says that the problem is in the genes and the chromosomes. Maybe one day we can make some designer babies and do away with the problem of sin. The sociologist says that the problem is in the environment. If we just change the environment, we'll change the man. The educator says, well, the problem is that we need to teach more, that the problem is ignorance.

And all of these things, no matter what it is, they deal with what man lacks. The evolutionist says he lacks time. The geneticist says he lacks the ingredients. And the environmentalist says he lacks the proper surroundings. And the sociologist says he lacks the training.

And the educator says he lacks knowledge. But man's problem is not what he lacks. It's what he has.

He has a problem. It is sin, and sin brings about three things. Sin brings debt. Sin brings defilement, and sin brings dominion. What debt does sin bring?

Heaven has sued us for damages. We have misused God's intention for us, and we are in debt to a holy God. And then sin brings defilement.

It is not only what we have done, but what we are. We are sinners by nature. And then, therefore, sin brings dominion. Sin rules over us. That's the bad news, the debt of sin, the defilement of sin, the dominion of sin.

And it is the gospel and only the gospel that has anything to say right about those things. Notice, if you will, look in verse 3. Paul said, I delivered unto you first of all. Do you see that, first of all?

Look at it, first of all. I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. Now, he doesn't mean that's the first thing I said.

He's not saying this is the first chronologically. He is saying it is of prime importance. This is the first thing. This is the major thing. No matter what else you do, if you don't get this, you have missed it all. Somebody said a long time ago, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is the gospel. No matter what else the church does, if it doesn't preach the gospel, it has missed the main thing.

It has missed the first thing. Now, there are three things I want you to learn about the gospel tonight as we talk about the purpose of his passion, the gospel truth. First of all, I want you to see the scriptural content of the gospel.

I've already mentioned it to you, but now we're going to slow down and look at it a little bit more. The death burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why was his death necessary? His death deals with the debt that sin has incurred. Verse 3 says he died for our sins. His death was a blood atonement to pay the debt of our sin. Jesus paid it all, and we need to understand that sin, therefore, is annulled and done away with, and the penalty and the debt is taken away. Somebody said he paid a debt he did not owe.

Because I had a debt, I could not pay. Now, his death deals with sin's debt, but his burial deals with sin's defilement. Have you ever wondered why the burial is a part of the gospel? That Christ died for our sins and that he was buried? Well, there's another reason that he was buried, so we would know for certain that he was dead. Some people say that Jesus never really died on the cross. He only fainted.

They call it swooning. He was not really dead. You think about that. He was beaten. He was crucified.

A spear was placed inside. Out came blood and water. Then he's put for three days in a sealed tomb, and after three days in that tomb, after having been beaten mercilessly and after having been nailed to a cross and hanging there for six long hours, and after having a spear placed inside, they said, well, he just revived. And then after he revived, they believed he waked up and rolled away a stone that engineers at Georgia Tech say weighed between one and a half and two tons. He rolled that away, then appeared to his disciples and convinced them that he had been raised from the dead.

Can you imagine a person in that condition convincing them that he had been raised from the dead, convinced them enough that they were willing to die for their faith? No, he was buried all right to show that he was dead, but there's another reason that he was buried. He was buried to show us that he has put in the grave of God's forgetfulness our sin, the pollution of our sin. He put our sin away. You see, he dealt not only with sin's debt, but sin's defilement.

We sing that song by Augustus' top lady, be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. The power of sin and the pollution of sin is dealt for in the death and burial of Jesus. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. But not only does his death deal with sin's debt, his burial deals with sin's defilement, then his resurrection deals with sin's dominion. Because if all he did was to pay my sin debt and put me and my sin away in the grave, I still have me. If he doesn't save me from me, he hasn't truly saved me. So he died for me to give himself to me. Look in verse four. He was buried and he rose again. Now let's do a little word study. It literally says he was raised.

That's the Greek construct. He was raised. Now, you see, the world had put Jesus on trial. The trial was a mockery of justice.

But what they've said is, we have heard the evidence. He is a fraud. He is a blasphemer.

He is a troublemaker. He is worthy of death. And they sentenced him to death and put him to death.

However, there was a higher court that reversed that decision. Acts chapter two, verses 23 and 24. Him, Jesus, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Now listen to this. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Now, you crucified him, but God reversed your decision and God raised him up. And then Acts chapter two, verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

He is raised. You see, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was God's stamp of approval upon Jesus Christ. Many false messiahs have come. Many religious leaders have come.

But what is the difference? Buddha lived and died. He's dead.

Confucius lived and died. He's dead. Mohammed lived and died. He's dead. Jesus lived and died and rose again.

That's the difference. He is a living, risen savior. Now, look at the scripture very carefully. The Bible says he died.

You see that? He died. Now, in the Greek language, that's the aorist tense. You say, oh, pastor, I'm so blessed. Well, now listen.

Now listen. It's the aorist tense. What that means is it is done once for all. He died. Aorist tense. Then the Bible says he was buried. Aorist tense.

What does that mean? He's buried once for all. It is done.

It is a finished fact. But then it says, and he is raised. That's not aorist tense. That's present tense. Now, what does that mean? It means he was raised, still is raised, and always will be raised.

That's very, very important. See, you may run from the Lord Jesus Christ all of your life, but when you die and are raised yourself in the resurrection of the dam, you will meet Jesus face to face, sitting on the throne. He is the risen Savior. You have a date with deity.

You're going to meet Jesus Christ in salvation, or you're going to meet him in judgment, but you're going to stand before Jesus Christ. He died. That's finished. He was buried.

That's finished. But he is raised. He is alive. He is a risen Savior. Now, friend, that is the scriptural content of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Get it? Good. Okay, now, here's the second thing I want you to see. I want you to see not only the scriptural content of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but I want you to see the saving intent of the gospel, the saving intent of the gospel. Look now in verses 1 and 2. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, by which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. Now, what is the intent of the gospel? The intent, number one, is that you can believe it and be saved. You can do nothing with the gospel if you don't believe it. The Bible teaches believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Acts 16, 31. Romans chapter 1, verse 16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Now, there are many dead ends that people try rather than putting their faith in Jesus.

The Bible says, Is the way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You might try sincerity, but you can be sincerely wrong. I'm told that sulfuric acid, H2SO4, and pure drinking water are both clear and odorless. But if you drink H2SO4 rather than water, you may be sincere, but you'll be sincerely dead.

Poor Willie, he's gone from us. His face will see no more, for what he thought was H2O was H2SO4. Sincerity is not enough. There are many sincere people.

Many in the false cults are sincere. Some try sentiment, weeping in tears. But again, the Psalms, Could my tears no languor know? These for sin cannot atone, and then some do service. They are working themselves into the ground on pilgrimage, pilgrimages and service and all of these things, but they cannot save. Some think sacrament, and they have their various kinds of sacraments. Some believe sacraments they think can save.

No priest craft can save you. Friend, it is not in sincerity or sentiment or service or sacrament, but in the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. It is gloriously simple, simply glorious. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It is so simple that some will miss it. It's not so high that few get up to it.

It's so simple that few get down to it. Believe it, number one, and be saved. Now listen, number two, and this is very important, believe it not only and be saved, but believe it and be strengthened.

Now look, if you will, in verse two. Paul says, By which ye are saved. Now that is present tense, and what it literally means is you are being saved. Now salvation comes in three tenses. I have been saved from the penalty and the pollution of sin. I am being saved day by day from the power of sin.

Remember what I told you? That He rose to give Himself to us because He has given Himself for us. Day by day, Jesus Christ is saving me.

I was thinking about it as I prepared this message. Many years ago, way more than a half a century ago, as a teen, I prayed and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into my heart and in my life. I know that I know as surely as I'm standing here, I would never have made it. Never had it not been for the gospel of Jesus Christ that not only has saved me, but has strengthened me and I am being saved day by day.

Salvation is a crisis when you trust Christ, but it is a crisis that is followed by a process as He pours His life into you day by day. Those of you who are saying, well, I'd like to be saved, but I'm afraid I can't live it. You can't live it.

I can't live it. Nobody has ever lived a Christian life but Jesus Christ and He will live it in you and through you. I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you trust Jesus Christ, He will come into your heart.

He will give you a new nature. Listen, believe it and be saved. Believe it and be strengthened and listen, believe it and be secured. Notice again, look if you will in verse one. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.

Wherein ye stand. Here's the glorious thing about the gospel. Isn't it great that we can be saved? Say, amen. Isn't it better that we can be saved and know it?

Say, amen. But now listen, it is thrice wonderful that we can be saved and know that we're saved and know that we can never, ever lose it. We stand in the gospel. Friend, I stand amazed and I stand assured because of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. People say, well, you know, if you're living faithfully, when you die, you're going to heaven.

I wouldn't trust the best 15 minutes I ever lived to get me to heaven, much less some of my bad ones. I am secured by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I stand amazed. I stand assured.

I stand secured by the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has me in His hand. Somebody says, well, what if you slipped through His fingers?

I'm one of the fingers. I'm in His body. For me to perish, a part of Christ would have to perish. Friend, it is impossible for a twice-born child of God ever again to be a lost soul. That, friend, is the saving intent of the gospel. We've talked about the content and the intent. Now finally, let's talk about the extent of the gospel. The extent of the gospel.

Look again in chapter 15 and verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which ye also have received, and wherein ye stand. Paul was talking to the church at Corinth, and he said to these people at Corinth, I have preached the gospel to you. But everywhere he went, he preached the gospel.

What is the extent of the gospel? Number one, it extends to every person. I've already mentioned this several Sundays ago, but the gospel is for all. Don't ever believe that God does not want to save all. He wants to save all. There is a whosoever in the Bible.

It extends to every person. Red, yellow, black, white, young, and old, there is nobody, nobody that God cannot save and will not save who will repent of his or her sin. You say, well, what if a person has committed the unpardonable sin? Well, then they won't repent. Anybody who wants to be saved can be saved. There's some here who think, well, you know, maybe I've committed the unpardonable sin. Let me ask you this question. You want to be saved?

Come on. Whosoever will may come. Anybody who wants to be saved can be saved. It extends to every person.

It extends to every place. There's no special place that you have to be saved. You don't have to be saved in the front of a church. You can be saved on a street corner. You can be saved in a submarine. You can be saved in an airplane.

You know, there's some people who want to add to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They say in order to be saved, you have to believe on Jesus and then you have to be baptized, and if you're not baptized, then you're not saved. Now, I believe in baptism so much that I'm called a Baptist. Somebody said, you're in the king's army.

I said, no, I'm in the king's navy. I believe in baptism, but baptism, whether spoonful or tankful, can't save. If you make baptism necessary to salvation, you take the whosoever out of the Bible.

Did you know that? I was on an airplane riding along with a man. He was a member of a denomination that believes you have to be baptized in order to be saved. He was a very kind man. We had a wonderful conversation. We were discussing the Bible. I knew what he believed, so I asked him a question. I said, do you ever share your faith? He said, yes, I do. I said, well, let's imagine that I'm sitting next to you. He said, I'm a businessman.

I've heard about Jesus Christ, but I'm not a Christian. I've been cheating on my wife, cheating on my expense account, taking God's name in vain. I'm on this airplane with you, and the pilot comes on the intercom and says, ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to alarm you, but I have some very serious and grave news for you. We have lost power. We're over the mountains. I believe that I can set this craft down gently. We're going to crash and burn, and we're in a glide pattern.

We have about five minutes in the air before we hit the ground. I said, now let's just suppose that happened. I'm sitting next to you. Now remember, he believes you have to be baptized in order to be saved, and I say to him, sir, you're a Christian, and you say yes. Then I say to you, I'm not a Christian. I'm lost, and I tell you about my sinful life, but I don't want to die and go to hell.

Sir, would you tell me how to be saved? He said, well, there's certain things you have to do. I said, well, tell me now.

I said, well, in two and a half minutes. He said, well, I wouldn't have a message for you. Now you think about that. Is that not sad? I would not have a message for you.

Why? Because if baptism is necessary, I can't get baptized on that airplane. Friend, if baptism is necessary to salvation, a man in the desert can't be saved. A man in a submarine can't be saved. A man where there's no water can't be saved.

I don't care where he is. So you have to take the whosoever out of the Bible and say whosoever would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and is fortunate enough to be near water and is fortunate enough to have a preacher there to baptize him, and some would say of my denomination, will be saved. Do you see what that does? It emasculates the gospel. It takes the good news out of the gospel. I am so everlasting and glad that I can say to anybody any place, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. You'll be saved.

Why? Because it is totally, completely by grace. Listen, friend, it is the saving gospel. Believe it and be saved. Believe it and be strengthened.

Believe it and be secured. It extends to every person. It extends to every place and it extends to every problem. When you take all of the air out of everything, when you step back and analyze life and you ask yourself what is it all about, there's only one thing that really ultimately matters and that's your relationship with God. There's only one truth that has the answer to man's three major problems, sin, sorrow, and death.

There's no other message that has an answer to sin, sorrow, and death but the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified.

Freely, forever. One day, he's coming. Glorious day. And friend, that is the gospel truth. That's the gospel. That's the gospel.

Amen. That's what the passion is about. It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. And if you've not yet believed and received, would you do it? And if you will, I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, he will save you. I'm not saying that you're going to sprout wings and get a halo. I'm not saying that you're automatically going to have just incredible feelings. You may or you may not. Your emotions don't have that much to do with it.

It may show up in your emotions, but your emotions cannot measure and your emotions do not prove it. It is the Word of God that you must trust, the promises of God that are yay and amen. And if you want to be saved, I want you right now to give your heart to Jesus, and I'm going to guide you in a prayer. I want you to pray this prayer.

Dear God, pray it sincerely. Dear God, I'm a sinner, and I'm lost, and sin is a debt I cannot pay. Sin is a defilement. It's in my heart.

I know it. If sin has dominion over me, I need deliverance from sin's debt and sin's defilement and sin's dominion. Jesus, by your death, burial, and resurrection, you, dear Lord, are able and willing to save me.

I receive you right now. Right now, this moment, I receive you into my heart and I receive you as my Savior. Come into my life. Forgive my sin. Thank you for paying my sin debt. Lord, cleanse me from the defilement of sin. Sin has defiled me, and Lord, deliver me from the power of sin and the dominion of sin. I trust you to do it right now. Thank you for doing it.

Thank you, Jesus. I don't look for a sign. I don't ask for a feeling. I don't ask for a word.

You cannot lie. You're now my Lord and my Savior, my God and my friend forever. And Lord Jesus, because you died for me, I will live for you, and I will not be ashamed of you. Lord, I will make this public because you died for me. In your name I pray. Amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus and your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.