How to be saved?

1 Corinthians 15:1–11, 2 Corinthians 5:14–21

Today let us learn how to be saved and the meaning of the Gospel.

How to be saved

In 1 Corinthians 15:1, Paul expressed that he wanted to remind Corinthian church of the gospel that they have taken their stand.

See verse 2.

² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Paul declared “By this gospel, you are saved”.

But Paul attaches “if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.”

Then, what is the gospel? See verse 3 – 8.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

The gospel consists of 3 components:

1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
2. He was buried
3. He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

Paul continues in verse 5 – 8 that Jesus appeared to many people including Paul himself.

⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Jesus appeared to me, too. Over past 2000 years until now, people have been testifying that Jesus had appeared to them.

The meaning of the gospel

Some helpful interpretation on the gospel is found in 2 Corinthians 5: 14 – 21.

See v15.

¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

If Christ dies for your sins, you should no longer live for yourself but for Christ.

See v17.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!

When you believe the gospel, you are a new creation because your life is changed. Verse 21, Paul described us in Christ as “the righteousness of God”.

Let us read verse 18 – 21.

¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As shown in verse 19,

¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

 now we know that this is about reconciliation. We know what the gospel does.

When we are living for Christ, we are doing the ministry of reconciliation (18) and we are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (20).

“We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.”

References

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Anglicised Edition, 2011). (2011). (Revised and updated edition.). London: Hodder & Stoughton.