The Gospel

It starts with God.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

God’s love is the foundation of everything. But to understand why Jesus had to die for us, we need to first understand something about God’s nature.

God is holy.

“No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)

“Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy.” (Revelation 15:4a)

God is perfect, set apart, and pure. His holiness means He cannot ignore or tolerate sin.

We are all sinners.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Every one of us has missed the mark. Our sin separates us from a holy God.

Sin has a cost.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

The penalty for sin is death—eternal separation from God. But God didn’t want that and didn’t leave us to fend for ourselves.

God lovingly paid the cost for us.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God shows His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. Even when we were at our worst, He chose to love us fully and sacrificially by taking our penalty upon Himself. Christ’s death for our sins is a once-for-all event as He paid for all sin, for all mankind, for all time. Sin has been taken care of, so God offers salvation to us as a gift.

We are saved by grace.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Grace means undeserved favor. Because of the undeserved favor God did for us by dying on the cross in our place, He offers us the gift to be saved from eternal separation from Him. He offers this gift because of what Jesus Christ has done, not because of any good works we try to exchange for it. God did all the work necessary to save us from the penalty of our sins. Now He wants us to respond to what He’s done with faith.

We receive salvation by faith in Christ alone.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:30-31)

Salvation is a free gift received by faith (or belief) in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross alone. Over 150 verses affirm that faith—not works—is the key. To be clear: salvation is the gift and faith is how we receive it. “Faith” means to “rely on” or “trust in.” The very moment you place your trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross alone, you are saved from an eternity in hell separated from God and receive the gift of everlasting life. Belief is all He requires from you to receive this gift.

You are eternally secure.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

When you place your trust in Jesus, you are born into God’s family—and nothing can undo that. Just like a child cannot be “unborn,” a believer cannot be “unsaved.” John 5:24 says when you believe, you have eternal life and will not “come into judgment.” Likewise, John 3:16 says when you believe you have everlasting life and “should not perish.” John 5:24 also says you have “passed from death into life.” You cannot pass back. These verses tell us your eternal destiny is changed forever. Once you have eternal life, you cannot lose it. Your eternal destiny is secure.

You can know with 100% certainty that you have eternal life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

God wants you to know that you have eternal life and live with confidence and assurance of your salvation. Do you know you have eternal life?

Place your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:17-18)

Every person must make a choice. The gift must be accepted or by default rejected. Put your trust in Jesus Christ today! Don’t wait. Tomorrow is not promised. Accept the gift of eternal life by placing your faith in what Jesus Christ has done for you—and step into a relationship with the God who loves you.

How you are not saved.

Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. The only right response to the Gospel is faith alone based on Christ’s cross-work alone. (Acts 16:30-31; John 3:16-18, 5:24, 6:32-40, 8:24; Romans 3:28, 4:5).

There are many contemporary phrases that are often stated as necessary responses or conditions for someone to be saved. These things do not save you:

• “make a commitment to Christ” → A commitment is a pledge or promise to do something. The issue of salvation is not about what you do for God, it’s about what He did for you. (1 John 2:25; 5:13)

• “turn over the controls of your life to Christ” → “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice” from Romans 12:1 is an exhortation to the saved, not the unsaved.

• “believe plus be baptized” → A believer’s baptism is to be done as a public testimony of one’s faith and identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as a result of being saved—not as a means to salvation. (Acts 8:36-38; 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:17)

• “believe and keep the Ten Commandments” → God never designed the Ten Commandments to be a way of salvation, but to show us our sin and need of the Savior. (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 2:16; 3:10, 24-26)

• “submit to Christ’s mastery/lordship in your life” → James 4:7-10 is a passage for believers not unbelievers. And while there is no debate that Christ is Lord, the issue in salvation is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31; James 1:2, 16, 19; 2:1; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:1, 11)

• “repent of or confess your sins” → 1 John 1:9 is a condition for believers to have “fellowship” with God (1 John 1:3; 6; 7) as a child of God (1 John 2:1), not a means to be born again for the unsaved (John 1:12-13). And while one must see he is a sinner before a holy God in order to see his need of a Savior, the solution is not confessing ones sins to God. Instead, it is believing that Christ made full payment for your sins upon the cross (1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:9-10). Otherwise, how many sins must you repent of, how often, in what areas, and how perfectly in order to know you are saved? Confusing, isn’t it? One must repent (change their mind) about trusting Jesus Christ versus something else.

• “pray the sinner’s prayer” → This is found nowhere in the Bible. Where do you find anyone in Scripture leading someone else in prayer to be saved? Nowhere!

• “come forward” → The issue is not getting out of your seat, but coming to Christ by way of a mental choice of placing your faith in Him alone.

• “ask Jesus into your heart” → Jesus comes in when you believe the Gospel, not by asking Him in (John 1:12; Gal. 4:6)

For more on wrong responses to the Gospel, see the additional resources below.

Messages on the Gospel by Dr. Dennis Rokser

What is The Gospel? | 9/17/23 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Romans 1:1-17 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Can Anyone Really Know for Sure That They Have Eternal Life Now & Forever? | 5/29/25 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | John 3:16; 1 John 2:25 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Keeping the Gospel Clear | 8/8/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Romans 1:16-17; Colossians 4:3-4 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Must You Confess Christ or Call to be Saved? | 3/3/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Luke 18:9-14; John 12:42-43 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Must I Ask Jesus Into My Heart to be Saved? | 2/25/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | John 1:12; Romans 10:9-14 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Must You Be Water Baptized to be Saved? | 2/18/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | John 1:12; Acts 2:38 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Justification Before God is Not by Rituals | 2/11/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Acts 2:38; Romans 4:9-12 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Must I Repent From My Sins to be Justified? | 2/4/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Psalm 32:1-5; 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Must I Live a Holy Life to be Justified? | 1/21/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Luke 13:1-5; 1 Peter 1:3-5 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Justification Is Not By Works Applied | 1/14/24 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Psalm 32:2; Romans 4:4-8 - SermonAudio | YouTube

The Importance of Romans and The Gospel Roadmap | 8/20/23 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | Romans 1:16-17; 16:25-26 - SermonAudio | YouTube

The Only Gospel that Saves | 4/9/23 | Grace & Truth Bible Church, GA | 1 Corinthians 15 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Are You 100% Sure that You Have Eternal Life? | 12/12/21 | Duluth Bible Church, MN - SermonAudio | YouTube

Getting the Gospel Right & Wrong | 3/7/21 | Sugar Land Bible Church, TX | 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Knowing and Believing the Gospel Pt. 1 | 1/4/15 | Duluth Bible Church, MN | Romans 1:1-6; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - SermonAudio | YouTube

Knowing and Believing the Gospel Pt. 2 | 1/11/15 | Duluth Bible Church, MN | 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 - SermonAudio | YouTube