What Part Did You Play In Obtaining Your Salvation?

What is the Good News of the Gospel?

The Gospel is NOT that "God Loves You."  It's NOT that "He has a wonderful plan for your life."  It's NOT that "He is standing and knocking at the door of your heart hoping that you might invite Him in.

Here is a good exposition of the Gospel (the Good News) by Joe Thorn as reproduced by Trevin Wax on May 30, 2011, in Gospel Definitions. 

“At its core, the Gospel is Jesus as the substitute for sinners. We could summarize the whole by saying that, in His life, Jesus lives in perfect submission to the will of God and He fulfills God's righteous standard (the law).  In His death on the cross, He quenches God’s wrath against sin, satisfying the sovereign demand for justice.  In his resurrection, He is victorious over sin and death.  All of this is done on behalf of sinners in need of redemption and offered to all who believe.  This is therefore very ‘good news.’

Jesus’ life is Good News, for His obedience to the Father and fulfillment of the law is for us.  While we, as sinners, fail to keep the law, Jesus was perfectly faithful. 

Jesus’ death is Good News because His death was (the) payment for our sin and by it, we are cleansed from our guilt and released from condemnation.  

Jesus’ resurrection is Good News because His victory over death is ours and through it, we look forward to a resurrection of our own.”  

Joe Thorn  

The focal point of this is that Jesus is the "substitute" in every aspect of our salvation.  

He lived a perfect, sinless life of obedience to His Father for us.

He died a horrible death on the cross and endured the wrath of His Father for us.

He was victorious over sin and death for us.

So the question is, What part did you have in your salvation?  What did you do to merit your forgiveness and eternal life?  What good have you done that God should show you favor?

The answer is NOTHING.  We were depraved.  We were destitute.  We were DEAD.  There is nothing any of us can do to merit God's favor.  There is no good that we can do to satisfy Him. 

The whole transaction was decreed by God the Father before we were created.  It was secured by God, the Son, who is our SUBSTITUTE while we were yet dead in sin.  And then God imputed His righteousness to our account and gave us new life through no merit of our own but because His Son paid the penalty for us.   

God's justice is satisfied.  That really is GOOD NEWS!