What Is the Gospel?

What Is the Gospel? offers a concise introduction to the content, origin, and authority of the Christian gospel, exploring why a clear understanding of this message matters for every believer.

Dr. R.C. Sproul guides readers through the central affirmations of the gospel as presented in Scripture, drawing on the evangelical statement “The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration” as a framework. Across twelve chapters, Sproul examines the divine authorship of the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the nature of His atoning sacrifice, and the significance of His resurrection for the justification of sinners.

The book gives careful attention to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, explaining how Christ’s righteousness is imputed to believers and distinguishing the Protestant understanding of imputation from alternative views. Sproul also addresses the uniqueness of Christ as Savior, the relationship between doctrine and faithful Christian living, and the call to proclaim the gospel through both word and deed.

Written for a broad audience, this booklet emphasizes that doctrinal clarity about the gospel is not an academic exercise but a matter of urgent pastoral concern. Sproul connects each element of the gospel’s content—Christ’s sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection—to the believer’s standing before God, showing how these truths form the foundation of Christian hope.

Key Themes

• The divine origin and authority of the gospel as God’s own message
• Justification by faith alone and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness
• The person and work of Christ as the content of the gospel
• The inseparability of sound doctrine and faithful Christian practice
• The necessity of verbal proclamation in communicating the gospel

Featured Quotes

“God bears witness that He has been satisfied by the work of His Son by raising Him from the dead.”

“God declares us just, remits our sins, and adopts us as his children, by his grace alone, and through faith alone, because of Christ alone, while we are still sinners.”