Here's a Bible way of remembering the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So if you want to use this next time you're witnessing, here’s a nice little Bible outline. If you’ve never heard the good news of Jesus Christ, this is where we find it.
We’re in the first letter that Paul wrote to a church in a city called Corinth, which is in Greece. In chapter 15, let's see the first four verses:
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
In these last two verses, we’ve got a clear three-way structure to remember the Gospel. God is explaining it to us, and He often gives us little tips and tricks to remember things in His Word, the Bible. Here, we have three key points:
- Christ died for our sins.
- Christ was buried.
- Christ rose again.
We also see repeated mention of “according to the scriptures.” Let’s explore this further.
Christ Died for Our Sins
What does that mean? Why did Christ need to die? The reason is our sins. Sin is when we do things against God's moral righteousness—when we act in opposition to His beauty and holiness.
Imagine someone doing archery, trying to aim at being righteous or holy, but the target is a kilometer away, and worse, they're aiming in the wrong direction. That’s what it looks like when we sin. In fact, that’s what it means to be human—aiming for righteousness but never being able to hit it.
Sin is part of the human condition. And, if we're honest, we all acknowledge and remember that. The Bible talks about our own sins -- how Christ died for our sins. It is very personal. James, in his epistle, says that each of us is drawn away by our own lust.
We inherited this sinful nature from Adam and Eve, and because Adam sinned, we are all sinners. However, it’s not just something we inherited—we’ve all embraced sin ourselves. We know in our hearts that we’ve done things that dishonor God. Whether it’s anger, lust, hate, stealing, or lying, these are things we don't like when we see in others, but if are honest, we find them in our own lives.
This is why Christ is so important. He is God’s chosen Messiah, the Deliverer. He is Jesus, the Son of God. He came into the world, not only to set a good example or teach valuable lessons, though He did those things. He came for one critical purpose: to die for our sins. It may seem strange that a man would come to die, much less that God would come to die, but He did. He died -- for our sins. Jesus, being sinless and righteous, had the power to take upon Himself our sins and paid the penalty for us. It’s like in a courtroom—He paid the fine so that we could go free.
Further, his death was according to the Scriptures. His death was predicted before it happened, all the way back to the first book of the Bible, Genesis.
Christ Was Buried
The second point is that Christ was buried. He died on the cross at Calvary—a torturous and painful method of execution—he dismissed His spirit and He died. Others took His body down, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a tomb-- a cave dug out of rock.
This was a real, historical event. The burial of Christ is a significant part of the Gospel because it confirms His actual death.
Christ Rose Again
The third point is that Christ rose again. This is the resurrection. Jesus Christ was reawakened back to life, and this makes Him unique. He had the power to come back to live. Before His death, He said, "No one takes my life from me; I have power to lay it down and power to take it again."
When Jesus was was on the cross he decided it was time for His life to be finished and He dismissed His spirit. Then when his time being dead and away from this Earth was finished, He--because he was God and and still able to be in control of His life--brought himself back to life. What an amazing miracle!
Just as His death and burial were literal and physical, so was His resurrection. It wasn’t an allegory, hallucination, or fanciful story. The resurrection truly happened in history. Here are two powerful evidences we have:
Christ's seen by many different people, lots of named individuals, after His resurrection, at different times, meeting him in different contexts, including over 500 individuals at once. This rules out the possibility of hallucination.
Another strong evidence of the resurrection is the transformation in people’s lives. For example, the Apostle Paul, who wrote this letter, was once a prominent Jewish religious leader. He gave up his success and later faced intense persecution for following the risen Christ.
What to Do About the Gospel
So now that we’ve gone over the three main points of the Gospel, what do we do with this information? Paul makes it clear. In verse 1, he says, “which ye have received,” and in verse 3, “which I also received.” Paul encourages us to receive the Gospel.
Think of receiving like catching a ball in footy or cricket. No coach would tell you to catch a ball way out in front of you. You bring it in close, tight to yourself. If you need to, you move yourself close to the ball. That’s what it means to receive the Gospel. You see its value, move toward it, and bring it into yourself.
In Bible terms, receiving the Gospel means "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Faith is believing that the Gospel—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection—is true. Repentance is acknowledging that our sins are real, that they are my sins personally, and turning from those sins to God.
In summary, the Gospel has three key points: Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again. To respond to this, we must receive the Gospel through faith and repentance.
If you want to learn more, read a Bible or get in touch with us.
