What is the core message of Christianity?

Mark 16:15-16, “He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

What is the gospel? The word means "good news" in Greek. So Mark 16:15 commands us to go preach the good news. But what is the good news of Jesus Christ?

It must be important what ever it is. We must give up everything for the gospel to save our lives. Mark 8:35 says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” It must be important because anyone who changes the message of the gospel and preaches another gospel other than Jesus gospel will be condemned. Galatians 1:8-9 says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” The gospel must be important.

And it's not just something we believe, it must be something we participate in and do because we are told to obey the gospel. 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not ob ey the gospel of God?” Evidently we become part of the "family of God" by obeying the gospel. The good news (gospel) must be very important indeed.

The bad news is already pretty widely known. Death is the result of sin. We know all kinds of sins kill us. Drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, violence, murder are all examples of deadly sins. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Death came into the world when Adam sinned. It's the curse on his wicked behavior. And now all die, not because of Adam's sin, but because like him we have all sinned and it bring death to us and those around us. We are all collectively guilty for the world wide surge of death.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death” When we sin, we earn death. We deserve to die and go to Hell. We all do. None of us should think we are better than others. We all deserve to die. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” No one is worthy of heaven. No matter how pious the may seem to us, we have all sinned and deserve death. That truly is bad news. God will kill us and send us to Hell for our sins. Is there no hope? Is there no good news?

The Bible tells us what the gospel is many times in many scriptures but it is made very clear right here:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”

This passage teaches us so much about the good news. First of all, the gospel is the foundation of our salvation. It is what we take our stand on. It is the basis of our relationship with God. Secondly the good news saves you. The good news is what offers us the hope of escaping death and finding eternal life. Third, the good news is conditional. Not everyone receives its benefits. It says "if" we hold firmly to the Word. Otherwise, we have believed in faith. Forth, the good news is what is of first importance. This is the core message of Christianity and where we should begin in sharing the message of Christ with a lost and dying world.

Well, what is the gospel? What is this teaching of first importance that we must believe, obey, take our stand one, hold firmly to, and share?

First of all, Christ died for our sins. The world Christ means "anointed one." It means messiah. Jesus is the messiah or Christ of the Old Testament prophecies. He is the promised one of God who would be king over the everlasting kingdom who origins were from eternity. And he died for our sins. It should have been us on that cross paying for our own crimes. However, Christ took our place and paid our debt by dying for us. Praise God our sins have been paid for.

Second, he was buried. He died. He was dead. The professional executioner proclaimed him dead. He was wrapped in air-tight sheets of linen with myrrh and aloes for three days in a tomb. His spirit and his body were separated in death that someday at his return our dead bodies might be raised up to life and reunited with our souls for eternity.

Third, Christ was raised on the third day. Death could not hold him. He conquered death by dying for the sins of all mankind. He has power over death. He proved his messiahship, his power, his divinity, his ability to give us eternal life, and every other claim he ever made by rising up from the grave.

Now you know the gospel. The good news is that Jesus was the Christ who died for our sins, was buried and rose again in order to secure us the promise of eternal life when we believe and obey this gospel message. That which separated us from God (our sin) has been paid for by the death of Christ on the cross. This payment was proven in his burial and redeemed in his resurrection. Jesus has the power and will to give you eternal life.

Now we know what the gospel is but how do we obey it? 2 Thessalonians 1:8 says, "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." So not only do we need to know what the gospel is, we need to obey it to be saved.

How do you obey the Gospel?

1st you have to believe the Gospel

Mark 16:15-16 “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-- to the praise of his glory.”

Exodus 3:13-14 “Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
John 8:24 “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I AM, you will indeed die in your sins.”

1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”

2nd we must confess the gospel
Matthew 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
2 Corinthians 9:13 “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

3rd We must repent

Romans 6:6-11 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Mark 1:15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (remember gospel means good news)
Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Luke 13:5 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”

4th we must be baptized

Romans 6:3-5 “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
Mark 16:15-16, “He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
1 Peter 3:20-21 “…God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

Many people today want to change the gospel. Even more want to change how you accept and obey the gospel. They will tell you to pray a simple prayer and ask Jesus into your heart. But there is not one command in the Bible to pray and asked Jesus into your heart. There is not one example in all scripture of someone praying and asking Jesus into their heart. But there are multiple examples of people believing the gospel, repenting of their sins, confessing Jesus as Lord and being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:37-39).

It would be dangerous to change the message of the Gospel or the message of how to obey the gospel. Your salvation and that of those you teach is on the line. Galatians 2:5 says, “We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” We don't want to ever change the truth of the Gospel. We cannot be moved from the hope held out in the gospel and keep our salvation. Colossians 1:22-23 says, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

We must preach the gospel just as it is found in the Holy Scriptures. God loves sinners and is providing a way of escape if we will have the faith to take it. Jesus was a gift sent to bridge the gap created by our sins that lay between us and our Heavenly Father. Death has been beaten by the death of Jesus and we find the hope of eternal life if we but obey the gospel.

HAVE YOU OBEYED THE GOSPEL THE BIBLE WAY?

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 “…This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”