"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:" - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Paul preached to the Corinthians the gospel - the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says they received the
gospel. They stood in the gospel. AND they were SAVED by the gospel. UNLESS
they believed IN VAIN.
The word “vain” means “without success or effect” (Thayer’s
Greek Lexicon).
If we believe but do not OBEY the gospel, the gospel will
not EFFECT our life. Without obeying the gospel, we will not be changed – we will
still be servants to sin and lost.
The first step is to BELIEVE. The next step is to OBEY!
How do we OBEY the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ?
We obey Jesus’ death by becoming “dead to sin” by
repentance, His burial by being “buried with Him” by water baptism in Jesus
name, and His resurrection by being “raised up” by His glory by the baptism of
His Holy Ghost.
The Bible explains this:
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that
grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein? Know ye not, that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life.
“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:" - Romans
6:1-5 (See: Romans 6:1-13)
Paul explains that we obey Christ’s death, burial, and
resurrection by crucifying our sinful nature by repentance and becoming dead to
a sinful life; by burying our sinful nature with Jesus by water baptism in
Jesus name; by rising to walk a new life in Jesus by the infilling of His
Spirit, the Holy Ghost.
When we obey the gospel by repentance and baptism in Jesus name, Jesus forgives and washes away all our sins. We become truly alive when He fills us with His Spirit.
What does the Bible say about those that do NOT obey the gospel?
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ:" - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 (See also: Romans10:16,
1Peter 4:17)
What exactly do we do to obey the gospel so that we are
saved?
On the Day of Pentecost, when God poured out His Spirit,
Peter preached the gospel to the multitude that came together.
Peter preached to them Jesus’ death, burial, and
resurrection.
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
- Acts 2:36
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do?" - Acts 2:37
Then Peter told the people what they must do - how to OBEY
the gospel.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and
to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with
many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this
untoward generation.
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." - Acts 2:39-42
No comments:
Post a Comment