the gospel
By Rev. Gus Kim
The term "gospel" means “good news.” In order for us to truly understand and appreciate the “good news”, we must first come to terms with the “bad news.”
The Bad News
I say that there are only two types of people in human history: sinners who acknowledge their sins and sinners who do not. This is to say that we are all sinners. You may say, “What did I do wrong?” or even think that you are not too bad. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that it does not really matter how you perceive yourself. This is because you are not the one who is judging, but God is. Therefore, the only opinion that counts is God’s.
What is God’s standard of good then? The Scripture says, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10). It means that one has to do everything right, every time in order to meet God’s standard. In other words, one needs to be perfect to be accepted by God, which is of course not humanly possible (Mat. 5:48). This is the reason we are all sinners in God’s perspective (Rom. 3:23). What happens to a sinner? The Bible says that “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), referring to eternal punishment and condemnation.
The Good News
Just as you may be wondering, Paul asks, “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Rom. 7:24). Here is the good news. Because God loves us, He did not leave us abandoned but came to rescue us from our sins by sending His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Gal. 1:4). Jesus who is God lived an ordinary human life. The only distinction was that He lived a perfect life without doing anything wrong. Having done so, He transferred all of His righteousness to those who believe in Him. Then Jesus died on the cross taking upon Himself the punishment on our behalf. He ultimately rose from the dead proving that death had no hold on him and on those who trust Him.
Only by God’s grace, we are able to see our sins and entrust our lives to Jesus. The Bible tells us that we have received “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). It is by God’s grace that we are able to see our sins and admit that we are sinners. Also, it is by grace that Jesus has come to save us from our sin and death.
Questions?
Are you ready to trust Christ? or do you have any questions?
If so, please contact us. We will walk you through the next steps. Also, if you are curious to learn more about Jesus and His work, please contact Pastor Gus at gus.kim@graceny.org. He will be thrilled to share with you the gospel in a logical and understandable way.