This is a great question!
The word gospel literally means "good news," appearing 93 times in the Bible, solely in the New Testament. In the Greek language, the word is euaggelion, from which we get the words evangelist, evangel, and evangelical.
The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia summarizes the gospel this way:
The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation through the gift of His son to the world.
He suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and now offers a share in His triumph to all who will accept it.
The gospel is good news because it is a gift of God, not something that must be earned by penance
or by self-improvement (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8–11; II Cor 5:14–19; Tit 2:11–14).
THE GOSPEL IS LITERALLY "GOOD NEWS"
because it addresses the most serious problem facing humanity: SIN.
The problem is this: God is holy, and He is just, but we are not. When we come to the end of our lives, we are going to stand before a just and holy God and be judged based on our own righteousness–or lack of it–or the righteousness of another.
That other is Jesus Christ, the central figure of the gospel. His role is of utmost significance in the salvation of humanity.
When we, by faith accept Christ into our lives, He covers us with His righteousness. This act of faith brings reassurance and peace, knowing that we are not judged by our own righteousness, but by His.
The Bible is clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds. Works and deeds in this context refer to our attempts to earn God's favor or to be good enough for salvation through our actions or moral behavior. But the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith–and by faith we have peace with God (Rom 5:1). The only way you can benefit Christ's life and death is by putting your trust in Him and in Him alone.
God's Plan of Salvation for You
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
The path to eternal life is a lot easier than you may realize. It is easy as ABC.
A- ADMIT to the Holy God that you are a sinner and confess your sin to God.
Our problem is that we disobey God, and that is called sin. The Bible teaches us that we all have sinned, and for sins, the punishment is death.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
The good news is that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Yet "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins." (1 John 1:9)
B- BELIEVE that Jesus died for you.
The good news is that God sent His Son to bring us back to Him, to be His people.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31)
All Jesus asks us to do to receive salvation is to believe in Him.
C- CONFESS that Jesus is your LORD.
When Jesus died on the cross, He died for our sin and when He was raised from the dead He proved His victory over death.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved". Acts(4:12)
The Bible tells us that "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, repeat this prayer:
Dear Jesus, I understand that I am a sinner and I ask You for forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I could receive Your forgiveness and have eternal life. I ask You to come into my life right now and become my personal Savior. From this day forward, Lord, I give you control of my life. Make me a new person and help me to live for You. Amen
