What is the Gospel?
Photo Credit: Sharon Barshinger (Original Artwork
Bridge considers itself to be a Gospel-centered church. What do we mean by the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news that "...God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
To expand on that a little bit, we believe that the history of mankind, if viewed as a story, can be seen in four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Glory. God created us, in His goodness, and love, to be in a relationship with Him. But our first parents - Adam and Eve - turned away from God. They didn't trust Him, and they fell out of a relationship with Him by rebelling against Him. This is what we call sin. As the parents of all humanity, their sin did not just affect themselves but everyone, and it is because of this "Fall" - humanity's turning its back on God - that we experience the effects of sin today. Though God created the world be to perfect, we separated ourselves from His perfection, and we now experience suffering, pain, heartache, violence, tragedy, and death. This is the bad news.
But that's not the end of the story. You see, "Gospel" actually means "good news". The Gospel is the good news that even though we have turned our backs on God, He has not turned His back on us. God became a man, took the name Jesus, and lived among us. He lived a perfect life. He never sinned, and He never turned His back on the Father. And instead of receiving the reward for His obedience, Jesus swapped places with sinners like you and me. The Scripture says that "For our sake He (the Father) made Him (the Son) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21). That means that if we put our trust and hope in Jesus, our sins are counted to Him and forgiven because of Jesus' death on the cross, and we are given perfect standing before the Father. We are then counted as sons and daughters of God, and will enjoy a relationship with Him forever.
Have you heard this good news before? Have you ever responded to it? If not, we'd love to talk with you about it. We believe that it is the most beautiful story ever told, and that its truth and power change everything. We would love to share more about that with you if you are interested.