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 Tim Duncan and Ludwig Van Beethoven are two of the greatest to ever participate in their respective fields. Duncan is a Hall of Fame basketball player and Beethoven is a world-renowned composer. These two men are separated by nearly 206 years from the date of their births and are in completely different fields, so what is the link between the two? Both men achieved excellence in their fields because they mastered the fundamentals. Without solid fundamentals, the basic building blocks for any skill, success will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. 

So why are we talking about Tim Duncan and Ludwig Van Beethoven? Well, similar to Duncan and Beethoven the Christian faith also relies on fundamental truths. Without these fundamental truths you do not have the biblical God, nor do you have biblical faith. The most fundamental truth to know and hold to is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is upon the foundation of Jesus that the rest of Scripture is understood and one's faith is grown (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6). God's Old Testament promises fulfilled in Jesus provide for us a lens to see and understand His plan for redemption from creation onward. But the question that must be answered is: What is the gospel? This may be one of the simplest, yet most critical questions you can ask when it comes to the Scriptures. Below, I want us to unpack together the answer to this critical question. 

Let's start where the Scriptures do, at creation. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2). This simple verse communicates to us a great deal of information about God. Genesis 1:1-2 tells us that He is eternal (Existing Before Creation), that He is sovereign (He is in Complete Authority), and that He created everything "ex nihilo" (Out of nothing). As you progress through Genesis 1, you see that God created everything good culminating in His creation of Man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). In the Garden of Eden Man has everything needed to not only survive, but to flourish (Genesis 1:29-30). This leads God to conclude in Genesis 1:31, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Before we continue, God gives Adam a covenant, or a promise, in Genesis 2:15-17 saying: 

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This covenant God made with Adam promises provision, but with the consequence of death for disobedience. There is one restriction in the Garden: Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sets the stage for us at the next truth of the gospel, the Fall. 

We do not have to go far in Scripture to see where we have corrupted God's "very good" creation. Genesis 3 opens with a crafty serpent who sneaks his way into the Garden of Eden (3:1). This serpent is not a cute snake (Honestly, what snake is cute?), but Satan himself who has come to attempt to undermine God's creation (Revelation 12:9, 20:2). He goes to the woman, Eve, undermining God's created order and asks her a question undermining God's provision, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’ (Genesis 3:1)? Eve's answer adds to God's original command in Genesis 2:15-17, showing fertile ground for Satan to continue to sow and water his seeds of discord in her heart (3:2-5). This leads to Adam and Eve eating the fruit, thus plunging humanity into sin and creating a wedge between God and Man (Genesis 3:6-7). God comes to meet with Adam and Eve in the Garden and question them about what they have just done. After each of them pass the mantle of responsibility (Genesis 3:10-13), God turns to the serpent to begin His cursing of the three of them. It is here in the curse, that we find hope for redemption.

Amid His cursing of the serpent, we find hope. That may sound odd, finding hope in a curse, but it's true. Genesis 3:15 tells us, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15). The hope of all the Scriptures we see begins here with these words from our God. But who is this offspring? Well, the Bible does not come out and say, "Hey! This offspring is going to be Jesus who is born in Bethlehem to Joseph and Mary," though that would be extremely helpful. Similar to Hansel and Gretel, we find breadcrumbs throughout the Old Testament pointing us to the offspring who is to come. Beginning in Genesis 12:1-3, God promises Abraham that He will make him a great land, a great nation, give him a great name, and make him a blessing to the nations. Those promises are partially fulfilled in the Old Testament, but never completely. Later, we see a promise to one of the offspring of Abraham, Judah, that from him kings will come who will reign over God's people (Genesis 49:10). After the Exodus, God gives the Law to the people of Israel through Moses (Exodus 20:1-21). The Mosaic Law continually exposed their sin and their inability to keep the Law. Now, kings do eventually come from the line of Judah, but it begins not with the first king, but with the second king, David. With David, God makes a covenant that on his throne will come a king from his line whosekingdom will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). The prophet Isaiah prophesies of a Suffering Servant who will be killed for the sins of others (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). He is innocent, yet He bears the transgressions of others complaint because it was God's plan to crush Him so that many will be made righteous. Finally, though there are other important Scriptures we passed over, the prophet Micah tells the people that from the city of Bethlehem will come the "ruler of Israel" who is from the "ancient days" (5:2). These breadcrumbs that have been dropped lead us to the Messiah, the one who was to purchase our salvation. 

The New Testament opens with these words, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1). Now, these words may seem insignificant, however, if you have been paying attention these names have deep significance in God's plan for salvation. From the beginning of the New Testament the claim is made that God's covenants with Abraham and David are fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Matthew 1:2-17 shows that Jesus is descended from the line of David who is of the tribe of Judah whose forefather is Abraham. The Gospel of Matthew shows that Jesus was born from Mary in the hometown of Joseph, which is Bethlehem, the prophesied city of the coming ruler of Israel (Matthew 2:1-6).  Jesus ministers by teaching with authority (Mark 1:22) and performing miracles to display His power and authenticate His ministry (John 20:30-31). Jesus gives us many explicit references to who He is and what His mission is, but none may be clearer than John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" or in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” These two verses tell us what Jesus came to do: To give His life in exchange for sinners restoring the relationship that was lost in the Garden of Eden. This is pictured on the cross, where Jesus, who is wrongly condemned by the religious leaders of the day, is pierced for the transgressions of the people that He came to save (John 19:34, 37). He goes to the cross as one who is innocent from sin (Luke 23:14-16, 22), but knows the will of the Father is to crush Him so that many will be made righteous (Matthew 26:29, 42, 44). Jesus goes to the cross to die the death we deserve for sin, is buried, and then rises again from the dead defeating sin and death (Matthew 28:1-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-34). After His resurrection, He commands all who will follow Him to make disciples of the nations, thus blessing the nations with eternal life in Him (Matthew 28:16-20). The call is for all, whoever comes to Jesus will be saved and not be put to shame (Romans 10:9; 1 Peter 2:6). 

Through faith in Jesus, we are restored to a right relationship with God, but we still long for our eternity with Him when all things will be made new and without sin. Revelation 21:1-8 shows us what we are looking forward to: Our eternity with our Creator in a new heaven and a new earth where sin, death, and pain will be no more. Why? Because the one who is seated on the throne says, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son" (Revelation 21:6-7). Our eternity as Christians is going to be spent in the presence of our Creator God, fulfilling the deepest desires of our created nature. The greatest thing about our future in heaven is that we will be in the very presence of God without measure for the rest of eternity. Let that lead you to worship Him more! He is holy and He is worthy of our praise (Revelation 4:8, 11). 

That is the gospel. The fundamentals of our faith. Duncan may be fun to watch and Beethoven a joy to listen to, but the gospel provides us with a satisfaction of the soul that nothing in this created world can provide. Not your family, not your friends, not your career, not your academics, and not your athletics. These are good things, however, they were never created to fill that God-shaped hole in your soul. Jesus Christ is the only one who satisfies the deepest desires of your soul. Christian, rejoice in these truths of the gospel! They are life-giving. Do not forget them or take them for granted. Instead, grow upon the foundation of the gospel towards maturity in knowledge and obedience to the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 2:2-3). For those who read this article because you were curious about the gospel and what it is, thank you for reading. Maybe you knew the gospel before or maybe you didn't. But now the Bible calls you to respond in repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you come to Him in faith, recognizing your sin, and the reality that He has paid for it on the cross for you? The invitation of His grace is open, so come to Him today in faith.