What Is the Gospel?: A 4-Week Bible Study

The word gospel simply means good news, but Christians can sometimes use the word without slowing down to ask what the news actually is. For some people, the gospel becomes a formula about how to go to heaven. For others, it becomes social improvement, personal therapy, religious belonging or moral respectability. Each of those may touch something important, but none of them is large enough to carry the full biblical meaning.

The gospel is the good news that God has acted in Jesus Christ to fulfil his promises, defeat sin and death, reconcile people to himself, form a new people and renew creation. It calls for repentance, faith, allegiance and transformed life. It is personal without being private. It is cosmic without becoming vague. It is grace without becoming cheap.

This study is written for seasoned Christians, but it is also accessible to newer Christians who are willing to stretch. Some questions will feel straightforward. Others ask people to compare passages, test assumptions and think carefully about how the gospel is presented in Scripture.

How to use this study

Each week has a main passage, supporting passages, a big idea, context notes, discussion questions, application questions and prayer prompts. Encourage people to read the passage before the group meets.

Do not rush to a neat answer too quickly. Let the group notice what Scripture emphasises. A good discussion will probably expose ways we have made the gospel too small.

Suggested rhythm

• Week 1: The Gospel of God
• Week 2: The Cross and Resurrection
• Week 3: Grace, Faith and Repentance
• Week 4: Gospel-Shaped Life and Mission

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Week 1: The Gospel of God

Main passage

Mark 1:14–15

Supporting passages

Isaiah 52:7; Romans 1:1–6; 1 Corinthians 15:1–8

Big idea

The gospel begins with God, not with us. It is the announcement that God’s promised reign has arrived in Jesus and that people are called to repent and believe.

Opening question

When you hear the word gospel, what comes to mind first?

Context notes

Mark opens Jesus’ public ministry with an announcement: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus is not offering a vague religious message. He is announcing that God’s promised future has arrived in him.

This matters because the gospel is not merely advice about how to improve our lives. Advice tells us what we should do. News tells us what has happened. The gospel includes a response, but the response is grounded in what God has done first.

The phrase “kingdom of God” does not simply mean heaven. It means God’s reign, rule and saving authority. In Jesus, God is confronting evil, forgiving sin, restoring people and calling Israel and the nations into renewed allegiance to him.

Read the passage

Read Mark 1:14–15 slowly. Then read it again and notice the order of the announcement.

Observation questions

1. What does Jesus say has been fulfilled?
2. What does he announce about the kingdom of God?
3. What two responses does Jesus call for?
4. What is the difference between “good advice” and “good news”?
5. What does this passage say before it says anything about going to heaven?

Interpretation questions

1. Why does it matter that Jesus announces the gospel as something God has done?
2. How does the phrase “kingdom of God” enlarge our understanding of the gospel?
3. What might repentance mean if it is a response to God’s reign, not merely feeling sorry?
4. How does Mark 1:14–15 challenge a gospel that is only about private forgiveness?
5. How does it challenge a gospel that is only about social change?

Stretch question

Compare Mark 1:14–15 with Romans 1:1–6. What common elements do you notice? What does Paul add about Jesus’ identity and mission?

Application questions

1. Where have you been tempted to make the gospel smaller than Scripture makes it?
2. How would your life change if you saw the gospel as allegiance to King Jesus, not only forgiveness from Jesus?
3. How could this shape the way your church explains Christianity to guests?

Prayer prompt

Thank God that the gospel begins with his action. Ask him to help you receive the good news as both gift and summons.

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Week 2: The Cross and Resurrection

Main passage

1 Corinthians 15:1–8

Supporting passages

Romans 3:21–26; 2 Corinthians 5:14–21; Colossians 2:13–15

Big idea

At the centre of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised and appeared to witnesses. The gospel is not an idea. It is grounded in events.

Opening question

Why do you think the cross is sometimes easier to talk about than the resurrection, or the resurrection easier to celebrate than the cross?

Context notes

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul reminds the church of the gospel he preached. He speaks of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and appearances. He does not present these as symbols only. They are events with saving meaning.

Christ died “for our sins.” His death deals with human rebellion, guilt, alienation and the powers that enslave us. His resurrection is not merely proof that heaven is real. It is God’s vindication of Jesus, the beginning of new creation and the promise that death will not have the final word.

The gospel needs both cross and resurrection. Without the cross, we may underestimate sin. Without the resurrection, we may reduce salvation to forgiveness without new life and future hope.

Read the passage

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1–8. Notice the verbs Paul uses and the repeated phrase “according to the Scriptures.”

Observation questions

1. What does Paul say he received and passed on?
2. What are the central events he names?
3. What phrase does Paul repeat?
4. Why might Paul mention witnesses?
5. What does Paul say the Corinthians had received and in which they stood?

Interpretation questions

1. What does it mean that Christ died “for our sins”?
2. Why is the burial important to Paul’s summary?
3. What does the resurrection add that forgiveness alone does not fully express?
4. Why does Paul connect the gospel to the Scriptures?
5. How does this passage protect the gospel from becoming merely inspirational teaching?

Stretch question

Read 2 Corinthians 5:14–21. How does Paul connect Christ’s death and resurrection with reconciliation, new creation and mission?

Application questions

1. Which part of the gospel do you tend to emphasise most: cross, resurrection, forgiveness, kingdom, new creation or mission?
2. Which part might need more attention in your thinking or your church culture?
3. How would you explain the gospel to someone without reducing it to a slogan?

Prayer prompt

Praise God for the death and resurrection of Jesus. Ask for a deeper grasp of both the seriousness of sin and the power of new life.

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Week 3: Grace, Faith and Repentance

Main passage

Ephesians 2:1–10

Supporting passages

Acts 2:36–41; Romans 5:1–11; Titus 3:3–8; James 2:14–26

Big idea

Salvation is by grace, received through faith, not earned by works. Yet grace does not leave us unchanged. We are saved for the good works God has prepared.

Opening question

Why do Christians often struggle either with legalism or with treating grace too lightly?

Context notes

Ephesians 2 gives one of the clearest biblical accounts of grace. Paul describes people as dead in sin, enslaved to the patterns of the world and unable to rescue themselves. Then he says, “But God.” Salvation begins with God’s mercy and love.

Faith is not a meritorious achievement. It is the empty-handed receiving of God’s gift in Christ. Yet Paul also says we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works do not earn salvation, but they are part of the new life salvation creates.

Repentance belongs here too. Repentance is not an attempt to pay God back. It is turning from sin and false lordships because God’s grace has met us in Christ.

Read the passage

Read Ephesians 2:1–10. Pay attention to the movement from death to life, from human inability to divine mercy and from grace to good works.

Observation questions

1. How does Paul describe the human condition apart from Christ?
2. What does God do because of his mercy and love?
3. How are people saved?
4. What role do works not play?
5. What role do good works play after salvation?

Interpretation questions

1. Why is grace necessary if people are spiritually dead?
2. What is the difference between faith and achievement?
3. Why is boasting excluded?
4. How does verse 10 prevent grace from becoming passive or careless?
5. How do repentance and faith belong together?

Stretch question

Compare Ephesians 2:8–10 with James 2:14–26. How can both passages be true without contradicting each other?

Application questions

1. Where are you tempted to measure your standing before God by performance?
2. Where are you tempted to receive grace without letting it reshape your life?
3. What good works might God be calling you to walk in more faithfully?

Prayer prompt

Thank God for saving grace. Confess any pride, self-reliance or cheapening of grace. Ask for faith that bears fruit in love.

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Week 4: Gospel-Shaped Life and Mission

Main passage

Philippians 2:1–11

Supporting passages

Matthew 28:18–20; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Peter 2:9–12; Revelation 21:1–5

Big idea

The gospel creates a people shaped by the humility, obedience and exaltation of Christ. We do not merely believe the gospel. We are formed by it and sent as witnesses to it.

Opening question

What would make a church visibly gospel-shaped rather than merely religious?

Context notes

Philippians 2 shows that the gospel is not only something to explain. It is something that forms a community. Paul appeals to the self-giving pattern of Christ to address unity, humility and service.

Jesus did not use status for self-protection. He humbled himself, took the form of a servant and became obedient to death. God exalted him. This pattern does not mean Christians save themselves by suffering. It means those saved by Christ are shaped by the cruciform life of Christ.

Mission also flows from the gospel. Jesus has all authority and sends his people to make disciples. The church witnesses to the gospel in words, worship, holiness, hospitality, justice, mercy and hope.

Read the passage

Read Philippians 2:1–11. Notice how doctrine and community life are held together.

Observation questions

1. What attitudes does Paul call the church to practise?
2. What does he say about selfish ambition and conceit?
3. How is Christ described?
4. What does God do in response to Christ’s humiliation?
5. What future confession does Paul describe?

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Paul use Christology to address church relationships?
2. What does the humility of Christ reveal about true greatness?
3. How does this passage challenge ambition, pride and status-seeking?
4. How does Christ’s exaltation shape Christian hope?
5. What would it mean for mission to reflect the character of the gospel?

Stretch question

Read Matthew 28:18–20 and Revelation 21:1–5. How does the gospel move from Christ’s authority now to the renewal of all things?

Application questions

1. Where does your life need to become more visibly shaped by the gospel?
2. How might your group or church better embody the good news it proclaims?
3. Who in your life needs to hear or see the gospel more clearly?

Prayer prompt

Ask God to make you and your church a faithful witness to the gospel in word, character and service.

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Leader notes

This study can easily become a debate about gospel definitions. That is not necessarily bad, but keep bringing the group back to Scripture. Encourage people to notice how rich the biblical gospel is.

Some people may have only heard a very narrow gospel presentation. Others may be suspicious of anything that sounds too doctrinal. The aim is not to shame either group. The aim is to let Scripture expand and deepen the group’s understanding.

A healthy outcome would be that participants can say the gospel more clearly, trust it more deeply and live it more faithfully.

Further Reading

• N. T. Wright, Simply Good News.
• Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel.
• Greg Gilbert, What Is the Gospel?.
• Michael F. Bird, Evangelical Theology.
• Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy.
• Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion.

Word Count

2101 words