The Gospel in two words. Is it possible?
Life changes with two words.
“Will you…?”
“I will…”
“We did…”
Two‑word phrases that change lives.
Now let me introduce you to the gospel in two words—a phrase that appears throughout Scripture and signals God’s direct intervention in human history. These two words are simple, but they carry the weight of eternity:
“But God.”
Consider how powerfully this phrase appears in the story of Joseph.
Joseph endured the hatred of his brothers. He was sold into slavery. He was carried off to Egypt. He was falsely accused and thrown into prison despite his innocence. His life was marked by betrayal, injustice, and suffering. Yet, in his old age—after God raised him to become second in command over all Egypt—Joseph looked back over the long arc of his life and spoke words that reframed everything.
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.[1]
There they are—those two life‑altering words: “But God.”
God redeemed Joseph from every hardship he endured and raised him to an exalted position. The prison cell was dark, but God. The betrayal was deep, but God. The suffering was real, but God. His intervention changed everything.
We see the same pattern in the life of David. Again and again, David was protected because God stepped in. Enemies pursued him, but God preserved him. Saul sought his life, but God shielded him. David’s story is marked by divine interruption—moments when God overturned what seemed inevitable.
14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. [2]
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. [3]
Not only was David protected, but he also gives God the credit for strengthening his heart during the painful seasons. David knew what it meant to be overwhelmed, hunted, betrayed, and exhausted—yet he testified that God upheld him. The same God who steadied David’s heart will strengthen ours as we face the struggles of daily life.
And David doesn’t keep this hope to himself. He extends the promise of “But God” to all who will respond to God’s offer of salvation. The God who intervened for Joseph, who protected and strengthened David, who rescued Israel, and who raised Jesus from the dead—this same God stands ready to intervene in the lives of all who call on Him.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. [4]
God listens when we turn to Him in repentance. We cry out from the pit of desperation, and when we turn back to Him, He hears. The God who intervened for Joseph and David is the same God who bends His ear toward us when we call.
We could search the pages of Scripture and find God’s hand at work in countless places. Even when the exact words “But God” do not appear, His presence and intervention are unmistakable.
So how do we understand the significance of these two words in the context of our greatest problem? We have already established that we are sinners—bound, broken, and guilty because of all we have done. Our situation is hopeless on our own… but God steps in.
“But God” provided for your salvation.
Those two words change everything. They mark the turning point in the story of humanity—and the turning point in the story of your life.
Romans 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[5]
Romans 623 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [6]
We were lost in sin, “But God” stepped in. All of our lives are divided by those two words. On the timeline of your story, everything to the left of “But God” is decay, darkness, and death. Everything to the right is hope, life, and eternity. We deserved death—but God intervened.
The rest of the story, after we encounter grace, is breathtaking. Scripture is unflinchingly honest about the pain of our failures, yet it is equally captivating in its portrayal of God’s mercy. Those two words—But God—carry the message of hope. They are the good news.
In the next three chapters, you will receive an overview of God’s great gift of salvation. These chapters will take a wide-angle view of God’s answer to our deepest need. After that, you will explore Jesus’ work in our lives through the twelve words every Christian should know.
The God of the universe offers you a great exchange. In place of the rags of your sin, He offers you new life. This offer appears throughout Scripture. Let me give you two examples—one from the Old Testament through the pen of Isaiah, and one from the apostle Paul.
Isaiah describes the work of Jesus in bringing our salvation.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, n and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. [7]
Isaiah saw a vision of the Savior who was coming. He spoke of the sacrifice of Jesus—the One who would be despised and rejected by men, the One who would be punished for the wrongs we have done.
Why would He endure such suffering?
Why pay such a heavy price?
For our sins.
For our iniquities.
He paid the ultimate price.
He did not have to bear our guilt. He chose to. He died for our sins. He offered Himself as the complete and final sacrifice for our redemption (see 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 10:12; 1 Peter 3:18).
He did it.
He paid the price.
This was no afterthought. God created humankind in the Garden of Eden knowing that the gift of choice would one day require a Redeemer. The plan of salvation was not improvised—it was established before the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:18–21; Ephesians 1:13–14).
His mission was to become our sin. He was judged guilty for your wrongs and mine. By His act, He judged, pardoned, and defeated all human sinfulness.
Paul picks up this theme in Colossians, chapter two:
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[8]
How rich are those words? Consider just a few of the breathtaking realities of Christ’s work:
- He made you alive. You were dead, but now you live.
- He canceled every charge against you.
- He removed your sin completely.
- He nailed all your sins to the cross.
- He disarmed the powers of darkness.
- He exposed Satan and his forces in open shame.
- He triumphed over them once and for all.
We are guilty—yes. But Jesus stepped into this broken world. He came to seek and to save the lost. Throughout this section, you’ve seen Scripture after Scripture pointing to this truth. Pause and reflect on them. Let the weight of these verses settle into your heart.
Be overwhelmed by the grace of God.
You’ll read more about grace later in this book, but for now understand this: He is not asking you to earn this gift. This is not a call to religion. Religion says, “Do.” Do this action. Perform this ritual. Try harder.
“But God” says, “Done.”
[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 50:20.
[2] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Sa 23:14.
[3] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 73:26.
[4] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 66:18–19.
[5] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ro 5:7–8.
[6] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ro 6:23.
[7] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 53:3–12.
[8] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Col 2:13–15.
