The word gospel means “good news” or “good tidings.” It is the good news that is the solution to the bad news that all people are unrighteous and are under the wrath and curse of God. The biblical authors sometimes use the word gospel to speak of the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets foretold—the objective and historical fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ (Gal. 1:3–7). At other times, it is used to refer to the preaching of the message—namely, Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins and the coming of God’s blessed kingdom (1 Cor. 15:1–3; Rev. 12:10). In both uses, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the central elements of the salvation of God’s people.

John Stott wrote, “The gospel is not good advice to men, but good news about Christ; not an invitation to us to do anything, but a declaration of what God has done; not a demand, but an offer.” Similarly, Burk Parsons has rightly noted: “The gospel isn’t advice, instructions, threats, or warnings. It’s the good news of the victory of all God has done through Christ by the Spirit.”

The gospel stands in contrast to every attempt of men to establish their righteousness before God based on their effort or law-keeping. The distinction between the law and the gospel is essential in redemptive history. No attempt to keep the law can ever be added to the gospel for someone’s standing before God. Instead, the obedience of Christians is the fruit of having been redeemed by the grace of God in Christ. We do not keep the law so that the gospel will save us; rather, having been saved by the gospel, we are freed to keep the law in grateful obedience for our salvation.

Paul contrasted the law and the gospel, opposing works and faith as the means of justification (Rom. 4:5; Gal. 3:12), in Romans and Galatians. The law requires work. The gospel requires faith. In the gospel, God provides what He demands. All mankind is required to perfectly obey the righteous requirements of the law. Jesus was born under the law to fulfill its righteous requirements on behalf of the elect. Jesus kept the Mosaic law perfectly—together with the mediatorial commands of God such as that He would die for His people (John 10:17)— to be the last Adam and true Israel. He represented those who would believe in His perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead. By meriting a status of perfect righteousness through His flawless law-keeping, Jesus can impute that righteousness to those He represents as the Mediator. In other words, when we believe, His perfect law-keeping is placed on our records before God, and we are declared righteous in His sight (2 Cor. 5:21).

The gospel is the good news about the death and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of God’s people. In Scripture, the word gospel is sometimes used to refer to the historical fulfillment of the Old Testament promises and sometimes to the proclamation of that message in the New Testament. The gospel is the central message of the covenant of grace, and the gospel was first pronounced to Adam and Eve in the garden after they fell when God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).

The gospel is built on the free and unmerited promises of God. It stands in contrast to every legalistic attempt to gain God’s favor by human effort. It is received by faith in Christ alone. In this way, it stands in distinction to law, which is built on legal demands and works. In the gospel, God provides the solution to the problem of the unrighteousness of man. By sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the just demands of the law through Jesus’ sinless life—and by removing the curse of the law in the death of Jesus—God provides what He requires.

The gospel secures for believers every saving benefit in Jesus Christ by grace alone (Eph. 1:3). These benefits are applied to believers through their union with Christ. They are received only by faith, which is worked in the people of God by His Holy Spirit. Those who receive the benefits of the gospel by faith alone will certainly lead lives of repentance. Accordingly, the warnings of Scripture accompany the promises of the gospel in leading the wayward and hypocritical back to Christ for grace, mercy, and pardon.

In union with Christ, believers have spiritually died, been buried, and raised to newness of life. According to Scripture, Jesus was vindicated by God in His resurrection. The resurrection is proof that His sacrifice was accepted by God. The efficacy of His blood and His perfect righteousness were the grounds on which He was raised (Heb. 13:20–21). Jesus’ vindication is the grounds of the believer’s justification. The resurrection of Jesus is the source of the regeneration of the elect. His resurrection is also the source of their sanctification. The resurrection of Jesus is also the basis of the glorification of believers. Just as God raised Him in glory, so believers will be raised incorruptible and given eternal glory on the last day (1 Cor. 15:43).