What Is the Gospel?The English word gospel means “good news” or “good message,” and as such it is a correct translation of the original Greek word evangelion. First Corinthians 15:1 to 4 gives us the basic biblical definition of the gospel — the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Of course, for these historical facts to have meaning today, it is essential to understand their doctrinal significance.
Merely preaching the historical events without explaining their meaning does not convey what is good about the good news. The significance is that, by these acts, Christ purchased salvation and made it available to everyone who would believe on Him. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, thereby winning victory over sin and death and enabling us to have eternal life. W. E. Vine defines gospel as follows: “In the New Testament, it denotes the good tidings of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith on the basis of His expiatory death, His burial, resurrection, and ascension.”
The good news, then, is that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection bring salvation to all who respond in faith. By definition, saving faith includes the appropriation or application of the gospel to our lives.
In the following YouTube playlist (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL015304CA4159E33D), we will discuss the specific answer to these questions: How do we appropriate or apply the gospel to our lives? How do we respond to or obey the gospel? How do we identify personally with the gospel? Paul gave the answer to these questions in Romans 6:3 to 5, in which he explained how a person actually identifies with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.