I Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
The apostle Paul repeats the message that he had been preaching all along to the church at Corinth. Before explaining the content of the Gospel message, he reminds them that it is by this message that they were saved.
Now the word “saved” is necessary to look at for a minute. People need to get saved because they are lost, and because they are lost, they are going to Hell to pay for their sins (“the wages of sin is death” – referring to spiritual and eternal death in Hell – Romans 6:23). When someone gets saved it means that they are no longer going to Hell because their sins have been forgiven. That person has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and He washed their sins away and gave them eternal life.
Paul repeats to them the Gospel message. Note that Paul says the Gospel consists of three things:
- The death of Jesus
- The burial of Jesus
- The resurrection of Jesus
Let me remind you that Paul said – by inspiration of the Holy Spirit – that these three things are what saves the believer. There is no mention of keeping the Ten Commandments, getting baptized, joining a church, or doing good works. While those things are expected after salvation, they have nothing to do with actually getting saved.
The Bible repeatedly says that no one is saved by good works – no matter how good they are or how great the works. God wants everyone to be saved so He made the ground level at the foot of the Cross. We all are sinners and we all need to be saved. This means that if you recognize that you are a sinner that needs to be saved – He wants to save you.
Can you honestly say that you are only trusting in what Jesus did for you on the Cross to get you in Heaven – or do you still believe you must work for it? Thank God, there is only one Biblical Gospel and believing that only for salvation is all that is necessary to be saved.