This is a question that many people have, including people born into Christian families, atheists and members of other religions. The gospel is about God (YHWH) giving up His Son (Yeshua/Jesus) to die for us on the cross and to save us from damnation. What a lot of people do not understand is why Jesus had to die instead of God killing Satan or using any other means that does not require death nor bloodshed. So today I will be explaining that and what the gospel of Christ is, its importance to everyone on earth and why you should not die without a relationship with Jesus.
In the Beginning
To understand the gospel we have to go to the beginning of creation when God created this world and everything in it. God created man (Adam and Eve) and they had the whole world to enjoy, they lived in a garden with everything they wanted and everything they needed but God gave a command to them, that they shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil lest they should die. They understood and obeyed God but a deceiver came up to the woman in the form of a serpent and convinced her that they could eat from the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So the woman ate the fruit and so did her husband (Genesis 3:1-8).
This was the first sin, this sin did not bring just physical death but spiritual death, which is hell. The word death in the Bible is sometimes referred to as sheol which means hell. Death in the Bible is not just physical death but eternal death which is burning in hell for our sins hence death is a wage/payment for disobedience (Romans 6:23). So when they ate this fruit they now knew the difference between good and evil which also brought about a sinful nature to all man, this is why when we are born, we are born with a sinful nature not a perfect one. God was angry with the serpent, woman and man for what they had done but He still forgave the woman and the man and made covering for them using animal skin (the first bloodshed) instead of the leaves which they had taken.
The serpent was told he would forever crawl on his belly and eat dust and that he would have enmity with a descendant of the woman and that he would bruise the descendant’s heel but the descendant would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). If you haven’t figured it out by now, the serpent is the devil/satan and the descendant is the Saviour also known as Jesus. Jesus is a descendant of Adam and Eve in the sense that when He took human form He was born by a woman just like every other human being (Isaiah 7:14). This however doesn’t mean that Jesus is just a human, He is more than that, He is God the Son (John 1:1-18).
The Sacrifice of Christ
Due to what Adam and Eve did by eating the fruit, all of humanity now had a sinful nature and for us to be saved from our sins there had to be bloodshed and not just any kind but of a perfect sacrificial lamb. This lamb was not to have blemishes, deformity or anything of that sort so that it could be accepted as a pleasing sin offering to God which is what we see happening in the Old Testament.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. - Exodus 12:5 NKJV
This was the lamb sacrificed during the passover which protected the children of Israel from the angel of death who was going door to door killing the firstborn from the houses that did not have the blood of the lamb on their doorposts.
For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. - Exodus 12:23 NKJV
Since we as humans have a sinful nature (Romans 3:9-12) we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and we deserve punishment for our sins (Romans 6:23) but we are saved by the blood of Christ who died on the cross for us. No one else could have died on the cross unless that person was without sin (without blemish, deformity or anything of that sort) this is why Christ is also referred to as the Holy Lamb. The greatest sermon ever told is found in Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7, it explains sin, how we should live, pray, conduct ourselves and so forth and it was given by Christ. I highly recommend that you read it and I pray that it will be of great help.
Conclusion
The gospel of Christ is about saving us from sin and its consequences (death) read John 3:16. We were all destined to go to hell but God made a way for us in the Old Testament He required frequent animal sacrifice but from the New Testament He required just one sacrifice to save all of humanity i.e. the death and resurrection of Christ. The devil was bruised on his head when Christ died on the cross to free us and Christ was bruised on the heel through His death but Christ overcame all this by His resurrection which is why when we repent we have new and eternal life. So even if we die in the flesh we will be alive forever in heaven after the day of our resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Thanks for reading, stay blessed.
