The most simple yet complex thing to attempt to communicate is the Gospel. When your with your friends and talking about Christ its so easy to communicate the truth of Christ in a simple form. When reading a bible story to a child it seems slightly more difficult. As every sentence has to be simplified to a point where big, or even medium sized words, don't have to be defined. But the toughest time to share the gospel is when you have never articulated it in understandable terms to yourself. You've heard it but never thought it through in full yet simplified terms.
What do we mean when we hear a song and reply with “wow, now thats gospel”? Or when someone says that we have to protect the gospel message? The gospel put simply is vital to our Christian walk. We must dwell on it at all times because this message and its implications is what has taken our dark minds and brought light to every corner of our being. Let us never forget the good news that Christ died so that we can live.
Here are simplified versions of the Gospel.
God created man in His own image and likeness. He created us as good beings but the first man, Adam, committed sin against God and the curse that came on man because of sin included death; both spiritual death and eventual physical death. Adam’s sin has been passed down through all generations so that even we were born with an inclination to sin rather than to follow God. Sin is treason against a holy God and God, being perfectly just, must punish sin. However, God is also loving and merciful and sent His Son, Jesus Christ the God-man, to live a perfect live and die a sacrificial death on our behalf. Jesus bore the wrath that you and I cannot bear so that if you would repent of your sins and trust in Him alone for your salvation you can be saved from the wrath of God and declared to be righteous in God’s sight. - Stephen Bean
There is one God, He made us. He made us in His image, He made us good. We have sinned against him, we have fallen. God would be just and good to judge us eternally. But, in His amazing love, the eternal Son of God has taken on flesh; an incarnate Jesus Christ fully man, fully God lived the life we should have lived, lived perfectly, died on the cross in the place of the sins- in the place of everyone who will repent of their sins and trust in Him, and God raised Him from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He will return in the same manner and he calls us to repent of our sins and trust in him and he will give us new life, he will fill us with his Spirit and give us the new birth and adopt us as his reconciled children forever. - Mark Dever
The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy. - John Piper
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 (ESV)
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
We must hear the gospel, believe in it, study it and meditate daily on this truth. Simple right?
My friend Jason put this nice piece together it you want something more to look into
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I agree with you that getting the Gospel right requires some serious thinking and practice. So often, when I'm in a position to articulate those truths to someone, I'm caught off-guard. At those times, when I get nervous, I fall back on training received years ago. (Yay for training!) The element I'm most likely to forget is the resurrection.
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