What is the Gospel?
The Gospel from Start to Finish
Dear friends,
The Gospel is first and foremost a message; but what is that message? For those of us who have grown up loving and believing in the Gospel, it can sometimes be hard to articulate the Gospel to other people. Like the proverbial fish trying to describe water, we can easily assume and even skip important parts of the message. The 5 G's reflects our efforts to think carefully through the message of the Gospel from start to finish, so as to share it usefully with our friends and neighbours.
The format of this book has been designed to facilitate either a one-on-one meeting with an inquiring friend, or a small group of 8-10 people. Each session presents an aspect of the Gospel to be considered, a variety of Scriptures to be read and a comprehension task to be completed. There is an answer key at the end of the booklet to assist the group or discussion leader.
May God bless you and anoint your words as you share Christ from the Scriptures with all those he has entrusted to your care. And may God alone be glorified!
Rev. Paul Carter
There are many ways of explaining the Gospel. The true message always remains the same but sometimes language can change how it is presented. We use what we call the "5 G's" to help explain and remember the Gospel.
G1 - God
God is the Sovereign Creator to whom all creatures owe obedience and worship.
He dictates the terms of life.
He has made humanity in His image and with an innate sense of Himself and right and wrong.
All are without excuse.
G2 - Guilt
We are all sinners who sin.
Apart from the grace of God sin affects every aspect of who we are, how we think and what we do.
We are dead in our sins and in need of mercy and rescue.
G3 - Grace
We are saved by Grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.
Only on the basis of Christ's life and death can a sinner be made righteous before God.
Even the faith to believe is a gift from God.
G4 - Gratitude
We worship God, serve Him and obey Him in response to our salvation.
We do not do good deeds to earn our salvation; rather we do good deeds to respond to our salvation.
The saved Christian serves, obeys and ministers out of gratitude and love. It is response.
G5 - Glory
The end of our redemption is the Glory of God. God will display His glory in us through progressive sanctification and will share His glory with us as we enjoy His goodness forever.
This is the ultimate 'why' of our salvation. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
If you want more information about the Gospel then we would love to speak to you about it. We would also like to hear if God has opened your eyes to the beauty of the Gospel for the first time as you read this page. You can contact the office here for more details, or call 705.326.3800.