Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
The Gospel literally means "Good news". Before we hear the good news though we need to hear to bad news.
The Bad News
The bad news is that because of Adam's choice to disobey God's only rule, every person alive is born in sin. Sin is anything that is opposed to God's nature and as Romans 3:23 states "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ". The 10 commandments constitute the perfect test to see if you are guilty of breaking God's law or not (trust me you are). Exodus 20:1-17. A few quick examples would be whether you have ever told a lie, taken God's name in vain, ever looked at someone with lust, or stolen something even if it's small... I have, which now makes me a lier, thief, blasphemer, and adulterer.
Also in James 2:10 it says,
James 2:10 "For whoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
So even if you were guilty of only one sin you have broken the whole law.
How God Views Sin
God views sin with anger as well as disgust and will not tolerate it forever. Because God is completely just He has to punish sin. That means you, me and the rest of the world are in big trouble. The price for one sin is death and eternal hell. We can try hiding and denying our sin but it's still there. Doing righteous deeds or good works will not erase it either.
The Good News
God being perfectly loving came down as a man, Jesus Christ, lived the perfect SINLESS life and willingly died and resurrected on the cross for the sins of those who believe.
Romans 10:9 "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
1 Corinthians 1:21 "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."
What You Need To Do
You must turn to Christ in the hope and assurance of His payment on the cross for your sins. You need to repent of your sins which means to do a 180 in your life and learn to hate sin and stop sinning. This does not mean perfection but you will now be against sin in your life.
Luke 13:5"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Mark 1:15 " and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Acts 20:21 "testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
There is no other way you can be in good terms with God except through Christ.
John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
He will send the HolySpirit to help you in your new found life in your battle against sin and teach you to learn to be in utter dependence of His word.(The Bible)
If your faith is in Christ's finished work on the cross, congratulations! Welcome to the war against sin. Many blessing and trials await you but know in the end that those who trust in Christ's work are on the winning side. Not because of what we do but because what Christ has done. If you would like more information on the subject there is a fantastic book on the subject that is a very easy read: What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert. CLICK HERE if you would like to order it from Amazon.
JMS
"We believe, that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith, is not an act of man's free will and power, but of the mighty, efficacious and irresistable grace of God." - Charles H. Spurgeon