We have defined the gospel as “the good news” of the Christian faith. It is not a good news among many, but the good news. This naturally raises a vital question: What are we saved from? Was there a real danger? Was there actual bad news threatening us? Yes! And it is far worse than most people realize.
God’s Judgment
To understand salvation, we must first understand the holy justice of God. The Bible teaches that all of God’s attributes exist in perfect harmony. His holiness, goodness, love, mercy, and justice are never in conflict. Because God is perfectly holy and just, He must judge the guilty and cannot leave sin unpunished. If He did, He would not be the good God that Scripture declares Him to be.
Although God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23), warnings of His judgment fill the Bible. The psalmist declares:
“Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him… He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people.” (Psalm 50:3-4)
“God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day…” (Psalm 7:11-13)
“For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness.” (Psalm 96:13)
The prophet Ezekiel also warns: “A sword is sharpened and also polished, sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter…” (Ezekiel 21:9-10).
God’s Wrath
Many today imagine that God is never angry because of all the evil in the world. But the opposite is true. The very presence of widespread depravity is itself a sign of God’s wrath already at work. The Apostle Paul writes:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Romans 1:18)
Because humanity knew God yet refused to glorify Him, God gave them over to uncleanness and the lusts of their hearts (Romans 1:24-25). A day has been appointed when God will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has ordained (Acts 17:31). The Lord Jesus Himself warned: “Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell” (Luke 12:5).
It is indeed “a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
With all this in mind, what is salvation about? It is about being saved from God Himself, the righteous Judge — with whom we stand guilty, condemned, and under holy wrath. The wages of sin is death, both physical and eternal (Romans 6:23). We cannot face God on our own and live. We desperately need a merciful Savior.
No Compromise!
Some have rebuked me for mentioning God’s judgment and hell when preaching the gospel. They say it is unloving. But dear Christians, how can the gospel be good news if we hide the bad news? How can we call people to be saved if we never tell them what they need to be saved from?
Christ Himself spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture. We are commanded to call sinners to repent and flee from the wrath to come. Watering down the truth is not love, it is unfaithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
