Five years ago at this time, I was in Moldova.  On reflecting on that time, I rememered this blog I wrote a couple years ago. How would you answer the question "What is the Gospel?"

I spent 6 weeks in the country of Moldova during the summer of 2005. Moldova is a former Soviet State that now finds itself struggling to survive in the aftermath of the fall of communism. With 80% of its population living in poverty and 2/3 of the remaining 20% living out of the country simply to find work, Moldova is a country with great need. I spent a lot of time there with young people and almost every youth I talked to, desired to leave Moldova. When asked why they did not want to stay to change the way things were being done, they almost always answered, “It is hopeless to try.” Unfortunately, the state of mass hopelessness does exist in Moldova. I saw it in the lives of those living in the urban city of Chisinau, as well as those families struggling to make a living in the rural farm lands nearby. I have never seen a more hopeless people than when in Moldova.

By definition, I believe the gospel is the good news. When I think of good news, I tend to think of the saying, “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Good news usually is needed after some bad news. I believe the Old Testament gives a picture of what the bad news was like before the coming of Jesus Christ. Time after time, beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, man failed to completely obey God. I think of the Israelites wondering around the desert day after day and if that were me, I most likely would have felt a sense of hopelessness in that state. In fact, I did feel hopeless as a child before I came to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the good news. John 1:1 tells us the Word became flesh. Jesus Christ left eternal glory and through the incarnation came and dwelt among man. Why? Because without the hope of life that Jesus Christ brings, man continues to fault and fall short of perfection no matter how intently he tries to do right. The gospel is hope. The gospel is repentance and forgiveness as John the Baptist taught preceding Jesus’ ministry and it is what Jesus taught as he commissioned the disciples in Luke.

What is great about the gospel is that it was not just given to the Jews, it was first given to the Jews and was then given universally. The gospel is for all mankind. In the great commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, “make disciples of all nations” is actually pante ta ethne in Greek which means all peoples. Therefore, not only is the gospel meant for every nation, it is for every people group living in that nation. Missions and the gospel are not about geography, they are about people.

The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ which brings us hope by the power of the blood shed for every individual across time and throughout the entire world. The gospel is what transforms lives from hopelessness to purpose; from poverty of the soul to richness of spirit. The gospel is what has given me hope in a hopeless world and what has given me eternal life. The gospel is Jesus Christ.