A Brief Explanation of the Gospel

Sovereign God says to all of us “Be holy as I am holy.” Unfortunately, the Bible informs us that we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory. We are also told that our righteousness is as filthy rags. At this point, we are in eternal trouble. The greatest news, however, is that God provides a substitute in Christ. Christ does two things for us. One, He receives the punishment for all of our sin. Second, He gives us His righteousness. We can indeed now “be holy” as God is holy, because He gives us His very own holiness in which to stand before Him. Jesus makes very clear, however, that this privilege of holiness comes only to those who repent and believe (Mark 1). Those who do not deny self, take up their cross, and follow Jesus will have no part of His righteousness.