At Christ Memorial Church, we're forever talking about "the gospel."
But what does that word really mean? Whether you've heard it a thousand times or just once, the gospel bears repeating.

 

What is the gospel?

It’s the fantastic news that God has provided a remedy for our sin through His Son. Yes, a remedy for sin. All humanity is born in bondage to sin, joined with Adam in his exile. The problem is not personality; it’s not a genetic disorder; it’s not a matter of circumstance. Rather, the problem is sin, from first to last: sin, which God justly condemns;  sin, which rules man’s heart;  sin, which earns our death. The gospel is the good news of God’s remedy for sin, for sinner and saint alike.

What is that remedy?

It’s a Savior. God provided a Savior, Christ the Lord.

 

How did this Savior secure salvation?

By paying sin’s debt in the sinner’s place. This could only be accomplished through Christ bearing the actual sins of the sinner. Thus God’s punishment of His Son was the punishment of the sinner, designed to exonerate the sinner, designed to set the captive free. Christ, very God of very God, the second person of the Trinity, fully and actually bore the sins of those who take refuge in Him. Jesus, the God-man, really paid the death penalty for those who believe, liberating them from bondage.

What does it mean to believe in Him?

It means facing the problem of sin, believing that you’re the chief of sinners, and rightly condemned to eternal hell. It means being broken before God because of that sin, convinced of the fairness of God’s wrath. It means turning from that sin in repentance, which God alone grants as a gift. It means losing your life for Christ and the gospel, a prerequisite to being His follower. It means no longer living for self, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf. It means being joined to Him by faith alone, taking full property in all of His merit. It means loving the One who so loved us and delivered Himself up for us, a love which will always prove itself in love for His body, the church.

Why did He love us?

Because He chose to, despite our sin, despite our rebellion, despite our crucifying His Son. And that love relationship began before the foundation of the earth. The God of heaven set His affection on us, choosing us to be in His Son before time began, and proved that love by sacrificing His unique Son for us.

 

 

The gospel is the most intense love story in the universe, the story of a spurned divine lover graciously and persistently seeking His bride, paying the consequences for her infidelity so that she might be fit to dwell with Him in heaven. This gospel love story culminates in the rescue of those who deserved to be hated.

 

At Christ Memorial Church, our confidence is in the gospel, and in its ability to convert the sinner and conform the saint. The gospel is preached, taught, counseled, and sung - directing, informing, and controlling every aspect of the church’s life and mission.

 

Want to know more? We would love to talk to you about the gospel! Just click here to contact us.