“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9.

(Note “Galatians 1:9” is a reference to the Bible, which is a collection of books. It means that the quotation above referred to as “Galatians 1:9” is taken from the book of Galatians in the Bible, the 1st chapter, and the 9th verse, where a chapter consists of numbered sections called verses.)

The “gospel” is a term that is often spoken of in the world, but what is it? What is the truth about the gospel? Is there a counterfeit gospel? These are valid questions and we will answer them in what follows. First, though, we will look at the context of the gospel in order to understand what made it necessary and its importance to humanity.

We cannot understand the gospel without an understanding of who God is.

Who is God?

God is a Family of three divine Persons, namely, the Father, the Son called Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This Family known collectively as “the Godhead” (Acts 17:29) is “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” Hebrews 7:3. That is, the members of the Godhead are self-existent in that they have life that does not originate from anyone else. Also, God is eternal. The members of the Godhead are one in nature, purpose, and character.

God says of Himself, “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” Isaiah 45:12.

God, “the Creator” (Isaiah 40:28) of all that there is in the universe has created not only humanity, but also “angels” (Genesis 19:1) and other “worlds.” Hebrews 1:2.

What is God Like?

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) which means that God has a character of love. In accordance, with His character, God has prescribed a law of love for the created intelligences in the universe. To all His intelligences, God has prescribed that, “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. “This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it” (Matthew 22:38, 39), namely, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18. These two great commandments are a summary of God’s law of love by which He governs the universe.

God’s law is intended to preserve the harmony, joy, and peace of the universe and so is in the best interest of all created intelligences.

The First Human Pair

Adam and Eve, the first human pair which God created, who lived about six thousand years ago, were created perfect and holy in character. However, they both broke God’s law of love when they disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree without God’s permission. This tree God had preserved as his own personal possession and Adam and Eve stole from God when they ate from it.

This act of Adam and Eve was the breaking of God’s law of love because when we love someone we will not steal from them.

What is Sin?

Now Gods says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth [breaks] also the law: for sin is the transgression [breaking] of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Thus, Adam and Eve sinned and “the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. By annihilating all those that sin, God intends to eliminate evil from the universe and so preserve the happiness of all created beings. Therefore, God pronounces the sentence of death upon sinners.

God’s Mercy Towards Humanity

But God is gracious and merciful. Therefore, God gave Adam and Eve a second chance to keep His law of love because of His love for them. God loves the sinner, but hates their sins. If Adam and Eve had died for their sins without having any children yet, the human race would have become extinct.

That second chance which God gave Adam and Eve has also been extended to the rest of humanity “for all have sinned.” Romans 3:23. By the great law of heredity, all of humanity have inherited Adam and Eve’s sinful nature and so are born as sinners and under the condemnation of death as a penalty for their sins.

The second chance which God has given humanity is that God will “put enmity” (Genesis 3:15), that is, God will put hatred, in their hearts for sin. Thus, they will love what God loves and hate what God hates because their characters have been changed from selfishness and evil to love. Therefore, they will cease from sinning and keep God’s law of love.

Nevertheless, all mankind would remain condemned to death by their past sins even though they had been made sinless by God, had not God made a way of escape for all humanity. This provision was that Christ would die “for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2.

The death of Christ was prophesied by God’s promise: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This meant that Christ would enter into single-handed combat with the evil angel, Satan, and the angels which followed Satan. Christ would win the war by giving a “mortal wound” to Satan’s head, but Christ would be harmed, figuratively, in the heel, in the process of defeating Satan.

The Provisions of the True Gospel

From the time of Adam and Eve, sins were forgiven based on the promise of God that Christ would die for their sins in the future. Approximately, 2,000 years ago, Christ came to the earth in human flesh when He was born as a baby boy named Jesus. He did indeed die for the sins of humanity and so, ever since, them God has forgiven sins based on the fact that Christ has died in the past for all sins.

Now humanity’s sins are not automatically forgiven in that God has conditions that the individual must first meet before they are forgiven. These conditions are “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:31), where repentance is deep remorse for one’s own sins. When these conditions are met, God gives the individual “the gift of righteousness” (Romans 5:17) whereby God puts enmity in their heart for sin. Then it is that God forgives their sins and so they are now in right standing before God which is a milestone known as “justification.” Romans 4:25.

Next comes a lifelong process of “sanctification” (1 Corinthians 1:30) when God says that He tests the individual “that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Exodus 16:4. God’s testing then is to see if the individual will live in accordance with God’s law of love. Only when the individual has successfully completed this process of sanctification can they stand “faultless” (Jude 1:24) and “holy and without blame before him [God] in love.” Ephesians 1:4.

At that time, the individual becomes entitled to paradise and immortality, blessings which God, in His delight at their sinlessness, gladly bestows upon them.

This then is the true gospel, the means by which all humanity may be saved from annihilation which is eternal death. So God says, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9. In other words, God is saying that anything else that is presented as the gospel is a counterfeit.

How This Blog Teaches Bible Study

My blog posts take one or more Bible verses and unpack what is often the hidden meaning in them, to help you to gain in your understanding of the Bible, and to receive insights into how to study it. For God says, “Study [the Bible] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth [the Bible].” 2 Timothy 2:15. There are new blog posts every two weeks on a Monday at 12:01 a.m. in timezone UTC-5 (GMT-5).

Further Reading

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