By Grace, Through Faith, For Good Works

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These are some of the most-quoted verses in all the New Testament—and that fact reflects how important this short text is to the Christian message—and especially how vital these truths are in the ministry of the gospel. This is one of a handful of places in the New Testament where the gospel is given in summary form so clearly and in such plain, uncomplicated language that it is almost impossible to miss. There are only three possible responses to a passage as simple and clear as this one: you can believe it; you can twist it or misinterpret it and thereby explain it away; or you can simply ignore it. But once you have been exposed to the truth of this text, you won't be able to stand before God in the judgment and claim you never heard the gospel. This is the pure, distilled, and undiluted essence of the gospel.

This passage ranks up there with John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21, and a handful of principle New Testament texts where a perfect synopsis of the gospel is set forth in condensed and concentrated fashion. Each of those passages has a slightly different emphasis, but they all do the same thing: they present the gospel in capsule form as plainly and simply as language can express such profound truth. As a matter of fact, if you asked me to name off the top of my head three or four places in the Bible where the gospel is most powerfully summed up in the fewest possible words, those are probably the first texts I would name...