PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

What does it mean to believe the gospel?Belief is not easy. Nor is it a one time event. To help us understand, first notice Paul states twice the same fact of what he did (1 Corinthians15:1-2): 
• PAUL (v.1) “Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you”
• PAUL (V.2) “which I preached unto you”
Now having noticed Paul stated twice the same thing concerning what he did; consider he states twice what the Corinthians did and do, the second by summing it up under “believed”:
CORINTHIANS (v.1,2):
• which also you received, 
• wherein also you stand, 
• by which also you are saved, 
• if you hold fast the word 
CORINTHIANS (v.2)
• unless you believed in vain.
The second time Paul sums up everything with a very familiar word – believe. But everything before that also describes belief…unless it is in vain:
• To receive is to believe the gospel unless we reject the truth.
• To stand is to believe the gospel unless we fall from what we stood for and against.
• To be saved is to believe the gospel unless we stop believing. 
• To hold fast is to believe the gospel unless we let go.
The gospel as is evident is more than facts understood, they are facts lived. To further see the impact of Paul’s words, notice this construction:
A,A’ – Paul is clear, but their faith may not be. His preaching was not in vain, but their belief might be.
B,B’ – It is the gospel that was preached. We can’t be saved by anything else, but being saved from the past is not the whole gospel effect! Unless it is in vain!
C – The gospel is more than a nice message which saves us and allows us to “go to heaven”. It is a lived, challenging, experience; or else either it is not the gospel or we fail the gospel making it vain in our lives.
Let’s look once more at these two verses and see again the emphasis the gospel needs to have to not be in vain in us:
A – Now I make known unto you brethren, 
B – the gospel which I preached unto you, 
C – which also you received, wherein also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast 
B’ – the word which I preached unto you, 
A’ – unless you believed in vain.
Reread, relearn, and relive 1 Corinthians 15:1-2. The gospel believed by us is the gospel that lives in us.

Tags: Calvinism, Once Saved Always Saved, Reform Theology, faith only

This entry was posted by PHall on Thursday, July 25th, 2019 at 9:44 am and is filed under I Corinthians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.