The Gospel
As a young seminary student, I remember wondering, “Why do so many authors include a chapter about the gospel at the beginning? Don’t they realize we know that already?” But as I’ve grown older—and I hope wiser—I understand why. It is because we so easily lose focus on the gospel and turn instead to man-made religion. Now more than ever, I am convinced that clarity on the gospel is of first importance and should be the explicit basis for every Christ-centered work. So even on this blog, written to address what we believe are the errors of Doug Wilson, I want to put the gospel first, because that is precisely why this blog exists—to counter what we see as gospel distortions in his teaching. If you only read one page, let it be this one.
Much could be said about what the gospel is, but here I want to focus on its simplicity, seen in the Philippian jailer’s interaction with Paul and Silas that begins with his question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).
Notice that the jailer already knew he needed to be saved. Scripture makes it clear why. God, our Creator (Genesis 1:1), is holy (Isaiah 6:3)—set apart, pure, without darkness: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5b). Though God created humanity without sin, Adam and Eve disobeyed his command and fell into sin. Sin is any failure to conform to God’s holy law, whether in thought, word, or deed. Through Adam, all of humanity was plunged into sin, and the penalty for sin—death—spread to all people: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). This death is not merely the end of earthly life. Sin leaves us spiritually dead and alienated from God, brings the death of the body, and, apart from Christ, ends in everlasting judgment. Because all of us are sinners, none of us can earn our way back to God: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10). We are all in need of salvation, for we all rightly deserve sin’s penalty (Romans 6:23a; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).
So what is the answer? How can we be saved? The response to the jailer’s question is simple: “‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (Acts 16:31–32). Who is Jesus? He is God in the flesh (John 1:1–14), one with God the Father (John 10:30), and God’s own Son: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
What did Jesus do so that we can be saved by faith in him? He came to earth, born as a baby, lived the perfect life without sin that we could not (Hebrews 4:15), and then suffered and died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). On the third day, he rose from the dead “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). His resurrection was not only proof of who he is but also essential to our justification: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25 NIV).
This is the gospel—the good news—that we are saved by grace, not by our works, but through faith in Jesus. As Paul preached: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31). And again: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame’” (Romans 10:9–11).
The call to “believe in the Lord Jesus” is never a bare assent to facts; it is a heart-turn from sin to full reliance on Jesus for salvation. Scripture regularly speaks of this turn as repentance (Acts 20:21; 2 Timothy 2:25; Romans 2:4).
Salvation is not only the forgiveness of sin and the declaration of righteousness—it is also reconciliation with God himself. Through Christ, we are brought near: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). The good news is not merely that our record is cleared but also that our relationship is restored. God welcomes us as beloved children, no longer enemies but friends (Romans 5:10–11; John 1:12–13; 15:15).
There is nothing we can add to Christ’s finished work: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. . . . For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:12–14). Christ’s atonement was fully sufficient for all whom the Father gave him. Nothing—whether sacraments, covenant faithfulness, or human merit—can add to his finished work. It is ours only to repent and believe: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “But God . . . made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5). When we come to faith in Christ, his Spirit indwells us (Romans 8:9–11), we are made a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we are counted righteous: “the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:5). This righteousness is not our own: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9). This justification is a one-time act of God declaring sinners righteous on the basis of Christ’s righteousness imputed to them (Romans 5:1). And because salvation rests on Christ’s finished work and not our performance, we can be assured that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38–39). His saving grace not only pardons but also preserves his people to the end (Philippians 1:6).
After believing in Jesus, the jailer and his family were baptized (Acts 16:33). But this was not a work that contributed to their salvation; it was the fruit of obedience flowing from their saving faith. His baptism demonstrated that his inward rebirth and the indwelling of the Spirit had already occurred. So it is with all believers: The Spirit changes our desires and gives us new hearts that no longer want to live in sin. Though once slaves to sin, now through Christ we have been “freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life” (Romans 6:22 NET). This ongoing work of God’s Spirit conforming believers to Christ’s image is called sanctification. As Paul writes, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1–4). True faith produces fruit: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
And God has not left us to walk alone. In addition to his Spirit, he has given us the local church, where believers are built up through the preaching of his Word, the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship of the saints, and mutual accountability under the authority of Scripture (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:24–25; 1 Timothy 3:15).
And yet we live in the tension of the already and not yet. We have been justified, and our new nature no longer delights in sin, yet we still struggle against it (Romans 7:19). But our hope is sure: We await the day when we will be glorified and freed forever from sin’s presence. On that day, “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52). Creation itself longs for this redemption: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19–21). Then God himself will dwell with us in perfect fellowship forever: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3–4).
We are sinners saved by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no hope. Do you know Jesus? If you do not, we invite you to place your faith in him for salvation.
Our hope and prayer, as you read this blog exposing the dangerous errors of Doug Wilson, is that you will be reminded to always look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:2–3). Come, Lord Jesus!
This page is the opening chapter of Doug Wilson Says, adapted for the blog.