What is the "gospel" according to scripture?

Many people have asked me, whether directly or indirectly, this question: “What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?” It is interesting to note that the word “gospel” is only found in the New Testament, and never a single time in the Old Testament. However, according to the words of Jesus in this passage of scripture:

Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

The poor have the “gospel” preached to them. Compare that to this passage of scripture:

Isaiah 61:1-2 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"

Therefore, the gospel is “good tidings” unto the meek (the poor). Jesus tells us in:

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

This goes to show that the gospel is good tidings for the poor in spirit. Consider the next passage of scripture:

Romans 10:15-16 "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"

Isaiah 52:7 "¶ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"

To preach is to publish: to preach the gospel of peace is to publish peace, and to preach the gospel of salvation is to publish salvation, and both are good tidings. Therefore the gospel of Jesus Christ is tidings of peace and salvation for the poor in spirit. Compare these scriptures:

Matthew 11:4-6 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

Isaiah 35:3-6 "¶ Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

The poor in spirit are “them that are of a fearful heart,” and so the gospel of Jesus Christ is summarized in these words: “Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.” That would be the good tidings peace and salvation unto the meek in Isaiah 61:1. Furthermore, notice the word “be strong” found in the words of the gospel? The same words can also be found in:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

Joshua 10:25 "And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight."

1 Samuel 4:9 "Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight."

Daniel 10:19 "And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me."

1 Corinthians 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

2 Timothy 2:1-3 "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

Notice how this word “be strong” is embedded in the words of the LORD published to men of different times and ages? The words “be strong” references to “strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees” in Isaiah 35:3. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) to receive strength. It is to enable a believer to quit being a natural man who believe not in the words of the LORD, and in so doing, he becomes strong in the Lord, and given the ability to endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. That’s why “temperance” is a fruit of the Spirit of God according to Paul:

Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

"Temperance" is part of the fruit of the Spirit, and it comes with the trial of our faith, even as a piece of ordinary glass is put through fire and is toughened in the process to become tempered glass, or lime powder is put into a temperature kiln and becomes tempered mortar. Consider the next set of scriptures:

Romans 10:16 "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"

Isaiah 53:1 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?"

Paul tells us that the gospel requires obedience. John expounded on this passage of scripture:

John 12:37-41 "¶ But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him."

Believe on the gospel will produce obedience. Likewise, unbelief will produce disobedience, and because of disobedience, God hath blinded the eyes and harden the hearts of them that believe not, lest they should see with their eyes or understand with the heart, and should be converted, that Jesus should heal them. In fact, that was John quoting from:

Isaiah 6:9-10 "¶ And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

The keyword to note here is “convert,” that is to say, the gospel has the power to convert a person, which according to Paul, is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth:

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

So, to be converted means that:

1. the heart is no longer fat, but is now given the ability to understand the word of God;

2. the ears are no longer heavy, but are now given the ability to hear from the Spirit of God;

3. the eyes are no longer closed, but are now given the ability to perceive the things of the Spirit of God.

In that sense, God has healed you because you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and believe on the gospel will produce obedience, which according to Peter:

1 Peter 1:14 "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:"

You are a child of God because you have believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the gospel has produced obedience in you, and being obedient to every word of God, you have been converted and healed, and are no longer fashioning yourself according to the former lusts in your past ignorance. That’s why Paul calls you a “new creature.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

You are a new creature because old things are passed away, and all things are now become new to you. It started with the gospel of peace that you have believed in your heart, and how it was able to convert you and heal you by giving you a heart that understands, ears that ear, and eyes that see. True conversion is evidenced by the healing that you have received, and that is the power of God in your life unto salvation.