What is the fundamental theme of the Gospel? That is an easy question to answer. Jesus our Savior or Messiah is the essential theme of the Gospel. An angel told Joseph (Matthew 1:20) of the baby Mary was going bear, “she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 NKJV). The Gospel records are all about Jesus and His mission to save humanity from the condemnation of sin. Our Lord said of Himself, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Further, the New Testament epistles confirm that Jesus Christ left heaven and came to earth for the purpose of saving mankind from the damnation of sin. “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15). “…the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Even more, the Messiah or Savior is the theme of the entire Bible, beginning with the first prophecy (Genesis 3:15) among hundreds of Old Testament prophecies (e.g., Isaiah 7:14).
Our Lord brought about the salvation of souls through His vicarious, sacrificial death upon Calvary’s cross nearly 2,000 years ago.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8-11)
The heart of the Gospel revolves around the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
The theme of the Gospel is mankind’s salvation. Through Jesus Christ, salvation is available to every sinner. However, salvation is not universally enjoyed by men because accepting salvation on divine terms is not compulsory. Due to freewill, men and women can opt to obey the Gospel (Acts 5:22; Romans 6:17; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:22) or refuse to obey the Gospel (Romans 2:8; Galatians 3:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17). Summarized, man’s part of the plan of salvation includes faith (John 8:24; Romans 10:17), repentance (Luke 13:3), professing Jesus to be the Christ (Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10) and immersion in water or baptism (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Baptism is the point at which one is saved (1 Peter 3:21) from past sins (Romans 3:25). Baptism is the point at which one’s sins are washed by the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5) as we in the process of baptism imitate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord (Romans 6:3-5). The theme of the Gospel is mankind’s salvation.
