"The Gospel is the heart of the Bible. Everything in Scripture is either preparation for the Gospel, presentation of the gospel, or participation in the Gospel." - Dave Harvey
I. CREATION
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
"We once had the world we all wanted - a world of peace and justice, without death, disease, or conflict." - Tim Keller
God created all things to demonstrate his glory; therefore, He is worthy of worship! God created men and women in His image with equal value, worth and dignity as image bearers of God Himself.
Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good..."
II. FALL
"But by turning from God we lost that world. Our sin unleashed forces of evil and destruction so that now 'things fall apart' and everything is characterized by physical, social, and personal disintegration." - Tim Keller
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6 ESV)
Genesis 3:7 "then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked..."
We see in Gensis 3 that shame and guilt were experienced for the first time. Adam and Eve ran from God rather than to God. We see that sin and its effects were passed down to Adam and Eve's children. Meaning that all human beings are sinful by nature and choice.
III. Redemption
"Jesus Christ, however, came into the world, died as a victim of injustice and as our substitute, beating the penalty of our evil and sin on Himself." - Tim Keller
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5 ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)
Jesus came and lived the life we couldn't live and died the death we should have died.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13 ESV)
Several things happened at the cross:
Propitiation - Jesus diverted the wrath of God away from us by absorbing it Himself in our place.
Expiation - On the cross, Jesus deals with our sin in such a way that separates it from God's face.
Reconciliation - By His death, Jesus reconciles us back to God the Father.
But Jesus didn't stay dead!! After being laid in a tomb for 3 days, He rose from the dead!!
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:20-21 ESV)
IV. RESTORATION
"This will enable Him some day to judge the world and destroy all death and evil without destroying us." - Tim Keller
"The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That purpose will not be accomplished until God has ushered in the new earth, until Paeadise Lost has become Paeadise Regained..." - Anthony Hoekema.
V. EXPERIENCING THE GOSPEL
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13 ESV)
Want to leave you with a question for you to ponder. When you think about your "personal gospel story", how was it that you became a Christian?