What The Gospel Ain't

I was listening to Duncan a lot today and felt this point was warranted. When we talk to others about Christianity, we need to represent the gospel correctly.

The gospel ain't helping the poor.

The gospel ain't going to church.

The gospel ain't trying really hard not to sin.

The gospel ain't reading the Bible.

You can do all those things and be in an awful mess if you haven't put any faith in Jesus Christ. An atheist can even easily do all of those things.

That is not to say the things above are not important. They are all very important. As Christians we should help the poor, go to church, try really hard not to sin, read God's word, and so on.

But they are not the gospel! They are responses to the gospel!

If you're trying to tell someone the gospel and you don't have time, ask the question of yourself "Can this person be saved through what I am telling him?" If the answer is no, you're on the wrong track.

In a nutshell, the gospel (good news) of Christ is that "Jesus Christ came to earth, lived as a man, died for our sins, rose again, is now seated at the right hand of God the father, and offers forgiveness of sins for those who repent and put their trust in him."

That's boiled down into a 10 second answer. For a longer answer, check this out.