If You Hold Fast to The Truth

[Christsfreeservant]

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 ESV

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”​

The Two Opposing Gospels

The Apostle Paul penned thirteen to fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And the gospel message that Paul preached, not just in this passage of Scripture, but all throughout his teachings in the New Testament, is not the same as the popular gospel message of today which is permeating the American church.

Both gospels are called “the gospel of Jesus Christ,” but only one is the true gospel and the other is a counterfeit. So, it is critical that we know the difference so that we don’t buy into the counterfeit gospel thinking we have accepted the true gospel and then end up finding out that we believed in vain and therefore we don’t have the hope of eternal life with God.

People believe in Jesus, or they are thinking that they are believing in Jesus, because they want a better life for themselves than what they have. Some believe in Jesus because they want to die with Christ to sin and they want to live to him and to his righteousness, in his power. Others believe because they want to escape the guilt and the punishment of sin and they want to have the hope of heaven as their eternal destiny, but nothing else.

Only belief centered in Jesus Christ is true belief, though. For, we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, and even the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, is divinely persuaded, and is gifted to us by God. And Jesus is the author and the perfecter of that faith. So such faith will submit to Christ as Lord, forsake sin, and walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands.

[Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 2 Pet 1:1; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23]

The Counterfeit Gospel

Now this counterfeit gospel is being presented as though it is the true gospel but it is a fake substitute. For, it delivers no one from his bondage to sin, and it gives a false hope of salvation and eternal life with God based on a lie which neutralizes or reduces the true gospel message and which turns it into something which actually opposes the truth of the gospel Paul taught.

So, when people believe in this gospel of salvation they don’t die with Christ to sin because they are taught they don’t have to stop living in sin, that they don’t have to forsake their sins. And they are also taught that they don’t have to obey the Lord and his commands, because they call that works-based salvation. And so they don’t have to submit to Christ as Lord, either.

So, the result of that is that those who believe in this gospel end up continuing in deliberate and habitual sin, only now they feel they can do so without guilt or punishment for they believe all their sins are forgiven – past, present, and future, and that God can no longer see when they sin, for they are being told that all he can see is Jesus when he looks at them.

And so we have church gatherings filled with the ungodly who are still living for themselves and not for the Lord, who are still lord of their own lives, who are still living for self-pleasure, who are addicted to sin, and are living in addictive sin cycles, engaged in all manner of evil, in particular sexual immorality, who are having their guilty consciences soothed by this cheap grace gospel (the supplanter) so that they can keep on sinning.

And this is purposeful. This didn’t just happen. This was planned over many years, and it was slowly introduced into the church in small portions so that little by little they began to embrace the lies in place of the truth. And this began with people in high up positions in the government and in church denominations who then passed it down to their people and their Bible colleges, and then their pastors passed it down to their people.

And the intention was to destroy human lives, to obliterate the true gospel of salvation, and to send people to hell on the fake promise of heaven. And this is because this comes from Satan and his anti-Christ teaching of an anti-Christ gospel message which obstructs people from coming to true faith and true deliverance from their bondage to sin and from true salvation and true freedom in Christ. And far too many people are buying into it.

The True Gospel

Both gospels tell the same story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, his ascension back to heaven, his sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe in Jesus, and his coming again one day to judge and to take his bride to be with him. And they both teach about hell as the destiny for all who do not believe in Jesus, but their definition of “belief” is not the same.

Let’s begin with Paul’s words here in 1 Corinthians 15 where he speaks of the gospel that he preached to them. Notice that there is a condition attached to this salvation, and it isn’t just “belief.” And notice the verb tense regarding that salvation. We are being saved and our salvation won’t be complete until Jesus returns for us his bride and he takes us to be with him forever. Our salvation is in process, not a one-time deal.

For us to receive that salvation at the end and to have eternal life with God we have to hold fast to the word Paul preached, and this includes all that Paul preached on the subject of salvation from sin and eternal life with God, and what constitutes true salvation and what must take place in our lives in that process of salvation for us to have eternal life at the end.

So, what all did Paul teach? He taught that belief in Jesus involves us dying with Christ to sin so that we no longer live in that sin, so that we are now free from our slavery to sin so we can now live as slaves of God and of his righteousness. And he taught that we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness and to sanctification and which ends in eternal life (see Rom 6:1-23; cf. Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58).

And he taught that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For, if we live according to the flesh, in sin, we will die, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the body (the flesh), we will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (see Rom 8:1-17).

And he taught that we are not to live like the ungodly, giving ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. For that is not the way we should have learned Christ. For the truth in Christ says “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (see Eph 4:17-24)

And he and the other apostles taught that those who make sin their practice, who deliberately and habitually sin against the Lord, who walk in the darkness and not in the light, who walk according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, and who sow to please the flesh and not the Spirit, that they do not have eternal life with God but they will face the wrath of God instead. So, please take this to heart.

Please believe the true gospel, the biblical gospel message, and please reject the gospel that tells you that all you have to do is just ‘believe’ in Jesus and that nothing else is required of you. For belief in Jesus Christ is not just a confession of him as Savior. Our salvation from sin and our eternal life with God are both conditional upon us forsaking our lives of sin and us following our Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands.

[1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Matt 7:21-23; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18]

The Prayer

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.

I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.

Caution: This link may contain ads
P.S. This is not an endorsement of the singers other than as musicians

 

[Hark]

@Christsfreeservant

Not every new believer will study His words in being fruitful as His disciples and so life gets in the way whereby they can go astray, sowing to the works of the flesh in reaping corruption.

Yea, some will err from the truth and have their faith overthrown as per 2 Timothy 2:18-21 and yet they are still called to depart from iniquity because that foundation is sure as that seal of adoption is per Ephesians 4:30 for why we are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

Confirmation that believers can go astray and by being engaged in a work of iniquity which any iniquity is denying Him per Titus 1:16, they can be denied by Jesus Christ and not just for verbally denying Him per that faithful saying in verse 12 of 2 Timothy 2:11-13 and yet even if they believe not any more, Jesus still abides per verse 13 for why former believers are still called to depart from iniquity.

If you consider a professing believer going astray and living a life of sin, as some believe fornication only applies to prostitution. There is no point preaching the gospel to him or her when they already know it. So the necessity is correcting the errant believer by the scripture.

1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 7:1Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

So fornication is any sex before marriage. Just sharing scripture alone may not be enough as Jesus taught to bring about 2 or 3 witnesses to confirm the word to that errant brother.

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

It is possible for a believer to go astray not heeding the warnings in scripture.

2 Peter 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

That is why God will judge His House first at the pre great tribulation rapture event 1 Peter 4:17 whereby what we built on that foundation shall be judged; 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 and those who do not look to Jesus Christ for help to depart from iniquity before the Bridegroom comes, risks being left behind to die but their spirits will be saved; with the Lord in Heaven, awaiting their resurrection after the great tribulation as vessels unto dishonor; vessels of wood and earth in serving the King of kings.

There is no mistake that a church can be left behind if they do not repent; Revelation 2:18-25

It is an act of excommunication by the Lord Jesus Christ for not abiding in Him to attend the Marriage Supper above since churches are not to hold fellowship with professing believers living in sin, not even to eat, then God will do the same in Heaven for why many will be left behind in the latter days where faith is hard to find. 1 Corinthians 5:4-11

So erring believers that know the gospel but living in sin are saved but at risk of being left behind for not abiding in Him as His disciples to bear fruit so as to be ready to go when the Bridegroom comes.

I do not believe it should be considered a false gospel, but a false message as a heresy for thinking they can live in sin when Jesus has given plenty of warnings to believers to be ready or else..

Luke 12:40-49 John 15:1-8

So it is more of a lack of discipleship rather than a false gospel, especially since they know the gospel but a heresy is messing up their walk in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son.

1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.