This is not the Gospel!!!
The Gospel is not merely that Jesus came to die for our sins and grant us eternal life if we trust in Him and obey His commandments and teachings. That is part of it, but the atonement is not actually the Gospel. The true Gospel is much simpler. So what is the Gospel?
Twenty-eight verses in Scripture declare, "the Gospel of ..." Twenty-five of those twenty-eight verses explicitly refer to the Good News that God has anointed Jesus as King: the Gospel of Christ (11 times), the Gospel of God (8 times), and the Gospel of the Kingdom (6 times). The other three occurrences refer to the Gospel "of salvation," "of grace," and "of peace." These are not different Gospels; they describe the one Gospel.
The very first words out of Jesus' mouth concerning the Gospel are defined for us in Mark 1:14-15: "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Gospel.'" In other words, "Believe in the Gospel of God concerning the Kingdom of God."
Matthew 4:17 records, "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'" Six verses later, we read, "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom..." (4:23). Six chapters later, He instructed His followers, "As you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'" (Matt. 10:7). Luke recorded the same pattern of preaching in 9:60 and 10:9-11. (By the way, "preaching" is for the lost only. The Greek word euaggelizo means "to evangelize." [The other word translated "preach" is kerusso, which means "to proclaim."] Believers have no need of being evangelized. "Preaching" is not for the Body of Christ!)
In the final week of Jesus' life, He explicitly stated in Matthew 24:14, "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world..." Hours before His death, Jesus still claimed to be King and to rule a Kingdom which was "not of this world" (John 18:36). When Jesus rose from the dead, Acts 1:3 states that Jesus taught His disciples over the course of forty days "the things concerning the Kingdom of God." Acts 8:12 records for us, "They believed Philip preaching the Good News (the Gospel) about the Kingdom of God..." The book of Acts ends by stating, "[Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus the King with all openness, unhindered" (28:30-31).
Jesus is God's Anointed. The Hebrew word Meshiach (Messiah) and the Greek word Christos (Christ) both mean "Anointed." The New Testament use of "Christ" hearkens back to Psalm 2, which meant the King whom God had anointed to rule the world. The apostles' use of "the Christ, the Son of God" also hearkens back to Psalm 2, demonstrating that they were proclaiming, "Jesus is King!" This is why their enemies said in Acts 17:7, "they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus!" The Gospel is that the King has come and inaugurated His Kingdom.
Observe Peter's words in Acts 2:36: "God has made Him (Jesus) both Lord and King—this Jesus whom you crucified." Acts 5:31 records, "[Jesus] is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Ruler and a Liberator." A few verses later, "every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the King" (2:42).
The Gospel is: Jesus is KING!!!
If we are truly Sola Scriptura, as many of us claim to be, then please explain how in defining the Gospel we have skipped right over every single definition that King Jesus and His apostles gave, such as Mark 1:14-15. Sadly, despite our claims to the contrary, many of us do not have a clue what Sola Scriptura actually means (or how to perform it). Most of us are actually Sola Traditio (Tradition Alone) while making false claims of Sola Scriptura.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God finds its fullest definition based on Daniel 2:31-45 and Psalm 2:1-12, and on the authority of John 3:3-5 and 1 John 4:15-5:1: The reign of God's Anointed King which begins with the indwelling Holy Spirit and destroys the rulers and authorities of the world. A ruler named Sin and an authority named Death.
Numerous people believe the Evangelical message of Jesus' dying for their sins but do not have Jesus as their King. If Jesus is not your King, then the ruler of this world is your ruler, which means your sin (for which you believe Jesus died) still governs you. Either you want King Jesus to rule over you, and you submit to His authority and rule, obeying His every command and teaching, or you do not. There is no option to be liberated, have your sins forgiven, and go to Heaven and yet Jesus not be there. Either you want Jesus and Jesus alone, or you want none of it. Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my family, we will serve King Jesus!