The gospel is not, as most believe, that Jesus is going to take us to heaven.  Instead, the "good news" that Jesus preached is... the coming of God's kingdom to the earth. 

The Bible declares that "... all have sinned (broken God's law)" (I John 3:4)The penalty for sin is death.  Jesus became a sin offering, and died for our sins.  To receive eternal life we are commanded to believe the gospel of Jesus (Mark 1:15),  repent, get baptized in the name of Jesus, and keep God's commandments. ..."if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:17) Many believe keeping God's commandments is not necessary to get eternal life.  However, in the last chapter of the Bible we read "blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life." (Revelation 22:14)