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.

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. 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 daily devotionals and 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!