Titus 2:13–14(NKJV) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Romans 1:16(NKJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation. The word gospel means good news.
The gospel was first announced in God’s promise to Abraham of a land, a nation and blessing – a kingdom to bring blessing to all nations.
Galatians 3:8(NKJV) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
God announced His gospel again in Isaiah’s repeated promises of a King for His kingdom.
Isaiah 40:3-5(NKJV) The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert. A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted. And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 61:1-3(NKJV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
God’s gospel is described in Scripture as the gospel of peace, hope, life, righteousness and grace.
We call Jesus our Saviour because He justifies us. Our justification or righteousness means being counted by God as righteous, even though we have sinned. This is made possible by virtue of the vicarious suffering which Jesus Christ endured on the cross. The term vicarious means taking the place of another to be a substitute. God accepts Christ’s punishment instead of ours, and this sets us right with God again. We are justified or made righteous in and through Christ. We call Jesus our Saviour because He redeems us.
Jesus our Saviour is our only possible saviour, justifier, sanctifier, and redeemer. Jesus our Saviour was able to rescue us from slavery to sin and from the wrath to come.
1 Corinthians 6:20(NKJV) For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.