What is the Gospel? What is the Good News of Jesus?
Giselle

What is the Gospel? What is the Good News of Jesus?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ — what does the word “gospel” mean exactly?

The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell, meaning “good story,” a rendering of the Latin evangelium and the Greek euangelion, meaning “good news” or “good telling.”

Encyclopedia Britannica

That’s where we get the word “evangelical” which has come to mean either someone who believes or preaches the Good News of Jesus Christ’s salvation of mankind.

The 1974 musical, Godspell, is the story of the Gospel of Matthew. Here’s the opening song, “Prepare ye the Way of the Lord”… You can listen the whole playlist here.

Learn More: Who Wrote the 4 Gospels – a look at the authors?

Basically, the Gospels proclaim the Kingdom of God. But it actually started in the Old Testament. The books of Genesis through Malachi, are all predicting Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah. In Hebrew, “basar” means “good news”, announced by the prophets. But even the stories of Judges and Kings build up to King David and how one of his decedents will be the savior.

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
    He will not judge by appearance
    nor make a decision based on hearsay.

Isaiah 11:1-3 NLT

Isaiah also proclaims…

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released
    and prisoners will be freed.
2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn
    that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
    and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

Isaiah 61:1-2

After Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness and was tempted, to no avail by Satan, He went to His home town to preach and quoted that passage from the prophet Isaiah, with whom the Jews were very familiar. He starts spreading the Good News!

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:13-20 NLT

Isaiah also wrote…

How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
    the news that the God of Israel reigns!

Isaiah 52:7 NLT

And in Matthew 24:14, as Jesus explained the signs of the last days, He says…

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”

Matthew‬ ‭24:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Check out these ministries who are taking on the challenge of spreading the Good News around the world!

Do you really know the Gospel Truth?

I didn’t for many, many years. I look at my youth in the Catholic Church and I feel they deprived me of learning the truth of Jesus’ salvation. They deprived me of the Good News! And then, the Progressive church I unknowingly joined, got me reading the Bible — Old and New Testaments, but no one explained why we need to invite Jesus into our hearts and repent of our sins. I knew…

  • Jesus was the Son of God
  • That He was born of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit
  • That the Trinity consists of God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit

However, not until I worried that I might be left behind at the time of the Rapture did I pray, repent and accepted Jesus as my personal savior. Then it took me 11 years to wrap my head around the fact that I needed to be baptized again. I was technically “saved” when I repented, but the sanctification process hadn’t begun till I was baptized.

Now, I can’t get enough of the Bible. Each time I read a passage or a chapter that I’ve read dozens of times before, God shows me something new. I learn something new. The Holy Spirit helps me tell the difference between what’s truth and what is false teachings. I’ll be discussing those in the near future. Subscribe so you don’t miss out!

Jesus is the Door. Repentance is the key. Baptism is the water that cleanses us. The Holy Spirit is the refining fire that sanctifies us.

The Truth about Salvation by me

Do you want to join the Children of God in the Kingdom of Heaven? Do you want to share in the Good News? Then….

Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.

  • Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
  • Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180 in your life and surrender your life to Him.
  • Be Baptized — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
  • Receive the Holy Spirit in your heart.

Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift and Confident Hope of Eternal Life…

Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly…

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Colossians‬ ‭2:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Next Steps in Your New Walk with Jesus…

  1. Start reading the Bible daily to get to know God. If you don’t have one, I recommend the YouVersion, Bible.app and Through the Word app — both are free and have a lot of great Bible studies.
  2. Pray every day. Talk to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you daily.
  3. Find and join a Bible-believing church — preferably a non-denominational one and be baptized!

Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

Soli Deo Gloria — to God Alone be the Glory!

Published by Giselle

I grew up Catholic, then became a prodigal -- as lost and anyone could be. After finding myself in an impossible situation, I prayed to God for help. That led me on a quest for the truth about God. Unknowingly, I ended up in a Progressive Church -- United Church of Christ. They were very friendly, took my in and they became my church family. Not teaching salvation directly, they indirectly got me to start reading the Bible. Fast forward to the late 90s. The whole world was worried about Y2K. The world was supposedly going to end when the clocks on every computer turned to 2000. Consequently, that got me interested in Bible Prophecy. If this was the end of the world, certainly the Bible, the Word of God, would have answers to my questions. Then, in a catalog, I saw the book, "Left Behind". I was intrigued. I read it. There was a pastor who was left behind after the Rapture of the Christian born-again believers. Huh?! A pastor?! He said he had book knowledge of Jesus. But he didn't know Jesus in his heart. Wise authors put the sinners prayer at the end of that chapter. I though to myself, "Am I going to get left behind?" I didn't know. I wasn't sure. I prayed the prayer. At that moment, I was saved. I had my heavenly passport stamped. My transformation started. The problem was that I was still attending the Progressive church where they did not teach the true way to be saved. It took me 11 years for me to truly listen to God and follow HIM only. I was finally baptized AGAIN in 2006. In 2019, I heard the Holy Spirit prompting me to become a Voice Crying in the Wilderness preparing the way of the Lord. So I started this blog and podcast. Listen/watch my full testimony.

83 comments

  1. […] It’s really rather simple. You already believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins. Now you must Repent of your sins — stop sinning. Then be Baptized to show yourself and the world that you’re dying to your old life and rising like Jesus to a new life — as a Child of God. Then, you receive the Holy Spirit that helps sanctify you. Transformation complete! […]

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  36. […] One Sunday in church last year, the pastor asked us to be silent and to listen to what God was trying to tell us individually. I clearly heard — “A Voice Crying in the Wilderness“. I looked up all the John the Baptist scenes in the 3 Gospels as well as the prophecy in Isaiah. I thought deeply about them — meditated on them. This blog and podcast are the result. I am a voice crying in the wilderness of the Internet and social media. Jesus is coming back soon and the people need to be warned and readied. They need to hear the Good News! […]

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  50. […] 8 Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord. […]

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  62. My name is Alan Finch. In April of 1976, I submitted myself to the Lordship of JESUS CHRIST.

    We are told in 2 Peter 3:9 that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. In the Greek translation, the word willing means intend. (i.e. – The Lord does not intend for any to perish.) The word “intend” means “plan.” In other words, it is in God’s plan that none will perish. What a HUGE difference this makes in giving us a proper understanding of the actual meaning of this Passage of Scripture.

    In May of 2014, I began writing an article in which I have continued to add to and update. My article is now 30 pages in length. Below is a small portion of the contents of my article. If anyone would like a copy of my article, just email me at: (candy33alan@aol.com) and I will email you a copy.

    Philippians 2:10-11 “That at the name of JESUS every knee will bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and those under the earth: And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

    There is absolutely nowhere in this Passage of Scripture that states or even suggests that every knee will be FORCED to bow the knee to the name of JESUS. In ALL religions, bowing the knee is a voluntary form of worship.

    As explained in the next several paragraphs, we will come to understand more clearly that Philippians 2:10-11 is revealing to us that bowing the knee and confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord is not going to be forced upon ALL, but that ALL will do so willingly. Throughout the Bible we find that the Scriptures clearly state that God only accepts a willing heart.

    A word study of confess (ἐξομολογήσεται) in the Greek language (in light of the way that this same verb is used in other New Testament Scriptures) reveals that this verb in the context of this Passage of Scripture is rendered to thank. That meaning growing out of the sense of open, joyful acknowledgement.

    The sense here is that of frank, open confession. An individual cannot praise and joyously proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord if they are being forced to do so, especially if that individual knows that eternal torment & eternal separation from God awaits them. It is just that simple.

    The traditional teaching on Philippians 2:10-11 has been that the enemies of the Cross will be forced to bow their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This train of thought is in complete contradiction to the Word of God, because the Bible from Genesis to Revelation clearly teaches that the Lord only accepts praise and worship from a willing heart.

    Forced praise and worship DOES NOT bring Glory to God.

    Philippians 2:10-11 IS NOT proclaiming that ALL unbelievers are going to be forced to bow their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

    TO THE CONTRARY, God is proclaiming to us an astonishing & profound revelation, that because of the finished work of Christ on the Cross, that ALL will come to know Jesus Christ in such a way, that ALL will willingly (not be forced) acknowledge openly with praise and proclaim joyously that Jesus Christ is Lord. The true meaning of Philippians 2:10-11 has been greatly overlooked by the main-stream Christian Church today.

    Isaiah 45:23 tells us that the Lord has taken an oath that every knee shall bow and that every tongue “shall swear allegiance” to Him. The Lord also states that His oath shall not fail. Not only does this verse tell us God’s eternal destination for ALL people, but the Lord strongly confirms what is stated in Philippians 2:10-11.

    Take special notice that Isaiah 45:23 states that every tongue will swear allegiance to the Lord. If there are going to be people who will receive the judgment of eternal torment in a physical Lake of Fire, they certainly are not going to swear their allegiance to the Lord.

    Isaiah 45:23 along with Philippians 2:10-11 strongly confirms that ALL will be RECONCILED to God. How can it be that today’s Christian Church has been so blind to the marvelous truth which is so clearly stated in these 2 Passages of Scripture in the Bible?

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  69. […] Yes, I was a bit anxious, but I put my life in God’s hands. I had faith. I trusted Him. Was it a “calling”? No, it was more asking His guidance. Starting this blog and podcast, now, that was a calling. It’s God using the talents, expertise and education that’s He’s provided to further His Kingdom — to help spread the Good News. […]

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