The gospel is the terrifying fact that God is good, so good in fact that He cannot tolerate an ounce of evil. It is the revelation that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The gospel tells you to repent, for you are disgustingly evil in the sight of a holy God. It is showing that you are a liar, adulterer, blasphemer, and murderer at heart. It is realizing the impossibility of ever being near God because of your very nature, which is one that hates Him who created you. The gospel is examining your own life and seeing how you've hurt others and how in turn you might have been hurt. It is seeing this fallen world for what it really is. The gospel is the sound of many footsteps marching into Hell.
The gospel is good news, it is the news that tells us of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the picture of people running away from God, but stopped by His loving hand. The gospel is confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead. The gospel is turning over control of your life to Him, actually letting Him guide your every word, action, and even taking every thought captive. The gospel is saying that we cannot and we are not, but He can and He is. The gospel is being covered by the righteousness of Christ, being bought by his blood and therefore becoming slaves of Him. The gospel is substitutionary atonement, propitiation of sin, justification of the sinner, sanctification of the saint, glorification to God. The gospel is life eternal. And you are not to be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
The gospel is coming to the foot of the cross every single day and never wanting to leave. It is forgetting everything else in the world, desiring nothing else except the presence of our Lord and saviour. The gospel is a love relationship with the one who will never leave you nor forsake you. It is the ultimate picture of a husband and a wife. The gospel is perfect love, driving out fear, fear of how others might look at you or feel about you. The gospel is living a different life from the people around you, so different in fact that you must live always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. The gospel is grace, the gospel is law, the gospel is peace, the gospel is war. The gospel is real, the gospel is love, the gospel is Him coming down from above. The gospel is everything that points to God.
O why do you sin? Why do you lead this defeated life? Why do you anger? Why do you seek approval from men and to fit in with your friends? Look to Him, look AT Him. Look at Jesus' face as he took on the stripes by which we are healed. Look at the torment that caused him to sweat drops of blood. Look at the man who bore the terrible and complete wrath of God. Look at the Christ who came back three days later and pronounced final victory. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops! Preach, preach to the nations! How can you hold it in?
The gospel is not being right or treated fairly, it is being in awe of the unfairness of the great transaction. The gospel is not reading your Bible every day, it is clinging to the cross every moment. The gospel is not running from sin, it is running to Him. The gospel is not wondering whether you have done enough, it is wondering if it can ever be enough. The gospel is not easy for it costs a man his life, but it is simple for even a child can understand it. The gospel is Jesus Christ. Please, I beg of you, receive the gospel of Jesus Christ! Love Him with everything that you are, love the gospel, be reconciled to your Master! And taste the sweetness of the joy set before you. And for the first time, live. For the sake of your own soul, live! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, live! In the name of Jesus Christ, live!
Yes God, I shall.
