You should pay attention to every word of God. Now the Gospel is hid to thm that are lost. One has to be saved to believe the Gospel. The Gospel doesn't save people, it enlightens the saved.
You are in error and don't see it.
“One has to be saved to believe the Gospel.”
Response: One must believe the gospel to be saved, not the reverse.
Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…”
1 Corinthians 1:21
“It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe”
Ephesians 1:13
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”
In every instance, belief precedes salvation—salvation is the result, not the prerequisite, of believing the gospel.
3. Claim: “The Gospel doesn’t save people, it enlightens the saved.”
Response: The gospel is the very means by which God saves people.
1 Corinthians 15:1–2
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel... by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you…”
Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”
2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel…”
The gospel is not post-salvific instruction—
it is the message that brings salvation to the lost.
It is not merely illumination for the regenerate, but a summons to repentance and faith for the unregenerate.
4. Final Summary in Pauline Language:
Romans 10:9–10
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness…”
Paul never teaches that one must be regenerated or “saved” prior to faith.
Instead, faith in the gospel precedes and leads to salvation, as the ordinary and universal order of divine calling and justification.
By which also ye are saved - On which your salvation depends; the belief of which is indispensable to your salvation; see the note on Mrk_16:16. The apostle thus shows the “importance” of the doctrine. In every respect it demanded their attention. It was that which was first preached among them; that which they had solemnly professed; that by which they had been built up;
and that which was connected with their salvation.
It does not mean simply that by this they were brought into a salvable state (Clarke, Macknight, Whitby, Bloomfield, etc.), but it means that their hopes of eternal life rested on this; and by this they were then “in fact” saved from the condemnation of sin, and were in the possession of the hope of eternal life.
If ye keep in memory - Margin, as in the Greek,
“if ye hold fast.” The idea is, that they were saved by this, or would be, if they faithfully retained or held the doctrine as he delivered it; if they observed it, and still believed it, notwithstanding all the efforts of their enemies, and all the arts of false teaching to wrest it from them. There is a doubt delicately suggested here, whether they did in fact still adhere to his doctrine, or whether they had not abandoned it in part for the opposite.
Unless ye have believed in vain - You will be saved by it, if you adhere to it, unless it shall turn out that it was vain to believe, and that the doctrine was false. That it was “not” false, he proceeds to demonstrate. Unless all your trials, discouragements, and hopes were to no purpose, and all have been the result of imposture; and unless all your profession is false and hollow, you will be saved by this great doctrine which I first preached to you.
Barnes.
"the gospel" Paul parallels the concept of "gospel" with "the word I preached to you" (1Co_15:2).
In Hebrew thought there was a power to the divine word (e.g., Gen_1:3; Gen_1:6; Gen_1:9; Gen_1:11; Gen_1:14; Gen_1:20; Gen_1:24; Psa_33:6; Psa_33:9; Isa_55:11; Joh_1:1).
This then is a metaphor for the content of Paul's preaching, not simply a way of referring to vocalization.
This verse has a cognate accusative, literally
"the gospel which I gospeled to you."
"With Mark probably being the first written Gospel, this is the first use of the term euangelion (cf. Mar_1:14-15; Mar_8:35; Mar_10:29; Mar_13:10; Mar_14:9) by a Gospel writer (Paul's use in Gal_2:2 and 1Th_2:9 would be chronologically earlier). It is literally "the good news" or "the good message." This obviously reflects Isa_61:1 and possibly Isa_40:9; Isa_52:7.
Its grammatical form can be understood as (1) the message given by Jesus or (2) the message about Jesus. Number 2 is probably the intended meaning. However, the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, published by IVP, says "The genitive ('of') is probably both subjective and objective: Jesus proclaims the gospel and it proclaims his story" (p. 285). The Jerome Biblical Commentary says "Mark's use of the word 'gospel' is akin to that in Paul where it can mean either the act of proclaiming or the content of what is proclaimed."
"which also you received" This term is used by the Jews of "passed on traditions" (cf. 1Co_15:3; 1Co_11:23; 1Co_15:3; Mar_7:4; Php_4:9; 1Th_4:10; 2Th_3:6). Paul was passing on what he received (i.e., the gospel, cf. 1Co_15:3) from Christ (cf. Gal_1:12; Gal_1:16; Act_9:1-22; Act_22:3-16; Act_26:7-18).
Before Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, he was a receiver of the gospel himself.
This is an aorist active indicative. Although Jesus died for all human sin, it is obvious from this passage and others (cf. Joh_1:12; Joh_3:16; Rom_10:9-13) that each person must personally receive God's free offer (cf. 1Co_15:11) of salvation.
The gospel involves (1) the welcoming of a person; (2) believing truths about that person; and (3) living a life in emulation of that person.
"in which also you stand" This is a perfect active indicative, which denotes completed action in past time that has become a permanent state. It speaks of the necessity of perseverance-
1Co_15:2
"you are saved" This is the present passive indicative, "being saved" (cf. 1Co_1:18; 2Co_2:15; 1Pe_3:21; 1Pe_4:18). Salvation is a process toward Christlikeness.
"if" This is a First class conditional sentence, which implies that they would "hold fast" to the truth of the gospel, which he preached to them, but it adds a note of contingency by a second "ei" (i.e., unless). This seems to parallel Jesus' Parable of the Soils (cf. Matthew 13) and John's discussion in 1Jn_2:19 of those who were in the fellowship, but left.
There were those factions in Corinth who by their actions, attitudes, and theology showed they were never believers! They rejected (1) Paul's gospel; (2) Paul's apostolic authority; and (3) merged the gospel into Roman culture, whereby the culture became dominant! Cultural Christianity is always weak and sometimes not Christian!
However, please note that contextually Paul is asserting his confidence that he has that the Corinthian believers are true believers.
1. Aorist tense, 1Co_15:1, "received"
2. Perfect tense, 1Co_15:1, "in which also you stand"
3. First class conditional sentence, 1Co_15:2, "since you hold fast"
"unless you believed in vain" "If you hold fast. . .in vain." The word "vain" (eikç) means "to no purpose" (cf. Gal_3:4; Gal_4:11). It is obvious from Mat_13:1-9; Mat_13:18-23, and Joh_8:31-59 that false professions are a reality of religious life . This phrase forms the fourth in a series which describes necessary elements of the Christian life: acceptance, position, progress, and continuance. Salvation is a process which involves repentance, faith, obedience (both initially and ongoing), as well as perseverance.
Utley.
The gospel "unable" to save? How do you read the Scriptures
@brightfame52?
J.
