Salvation of Mankind

"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." (I Cor. 15:1-2)

The saints at the church of Corinth received (past tense) and were standing (present tense) in the gospel which Paul preached unto them. Paul told the saints they were saved by the gospel if they kept in memory what he preached. Does this mean the Corinthian saints would be eternally damned if they didn't keep in memory what Paul preached unto them? Perish the thought! The saints at Corinth had already received and were standing in the word which is evidence of eternal life.

I am guessing you believe in the absolute predestination of all things. The subject of predestination only occurs four times in the Bible, and it's always used in the context of the saints' eternal destiny. Never is the word used to speak of anything else.

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12)

There's no such thing as working out your eternal salvation because "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Rom. 9:16) Jesus Christ and He alone is the author of eternal salvation. (Heb. 5:9)

 

"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." (1 Cor. 15:1-2)

You believe that if you don't hear the gospel you cannot be saved. The written gospel doesn't save anyone. The Living Gospel, Jesus Christ, is where people find salvation. Whether one hears the gospel or not, does it change the fact that Jesus died for them? The written gospel is only the account of what Jesus did. If I deposited $100.00 in your bank account, and you never knew about it, does it change the fact that I deposited $100.00? My question: What happens if one doesn't keep the gospel in memory? God's people are saved by the gospel only if they keep it in memory.

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Cor. 5:19)

Jesus did the same thing for His people. He imputed His righteousness to them instead of their trespasses. If His people never hear about it, does it change the fact of what Jesus did? Jesus committed the word of reconciliation (the gospel) to the apostles. The word of reconciliation is only the account of what Jesus did and was not intended to be used for a substitute. The gospel is simply the good news of what Jesus did. The gospel is primarily for the sheep; to comfort, edify, educate, exhort, and strengthen them.

"Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?" (Jer. 7:8-10)

There goes your absolute predestination. If you believe all the elect will hear the gospel, you have to believe the absolute predestination of all things. If not, then how do you know the elect will hear the gospel?

 

"The key to this text is found in the study of the Bible Subject of SEED. By rightly dividing the word of truth (2nd Tim. 2;15) on this subject we find THREE (3) distinct categories therein. 1. Jesus Himself is THE Seed. - Gen. 3:15; Gal. 3:16; 2. Then there is the NEW BIRTH Seed - 1st Peter 1:23; 1st John 3:9; and, 3. There is a Gospel Seed - N.T. Church - John the Baptist - all found in Matt. 13:31-32; Luke 8:11. This word "word" in the Luke text is in the Greek = Rhemas - meaning printed or written; whereas the Greek word in the word "word" in 1st Peter 1:23 is totally different. It is - Logos = meaning the very out-breathing of God Himself, which is implemented by the Voice of the Son of God - John
5:25; 6:63. There is NO WAY that a person can honestly interpret - 1st Peter 1:23 as being "Gospel Regeneration." --Elder Hulan Bass

If what you are saying is true then Paul's whole discourse to the Corinthian saints has no purpose. I guess he was just writing to waste time.

"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." (1 Cor. 15:1-2)

If you look at all the problems facing the church at Corinth you would easily see they were not keeping in memory that which Paul had preached unto them. However, Paul still addressed them as the church of God, as being sanctified, and called saints. (1 Cor. 1:2)

So much for those saints who get Alzheimer's or some other serious illness. What do you think about this verse?

"If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. 2:13)

Contrary to your view, not all God's saints are faithful.

God's people were reconciled to Him when Jesus died on the cross.

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Rom. 5:10)

"The verb is not active but passive. He does not call upon them to change themselves for he has already established that it is God who has done the reconciling (v. 18)." --King James Bible Commentary

There are three types of justification:

1. by grace - "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Rom. 3:24) From eternity's standpoint, God's people are only justified by grace ALONE. This is based solely on Christ's finished work on Calvary.

2. by faith - "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" (Rom. 5:1) From the believer's standpoint, he or she can be justified by faith. Faith contributes to our time salvation, that is, the salvation we are working out here in time. It is through faith we can have "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

3. by works - "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (Jas. 2:24) Obviously one cannot be justified by grace, faith, and works. There is only one requirement for eternal salvation, and that is the finished work of Christ on Calvary. Christians are justified by works before men. Just like Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 5:16)

 

They [Reformed Baptists] tell us that we are justified, not when Christ died for us and satisfied the justice of God, but when we appropriate the work of Christ to ourselves by the instrument of faith.

The Westminster Confession states that "Faith, receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification."

When the Word of God declares that we are justified by faith, it does not make faith a condition or instrument of justification, but the mere recipient. Our justification was accomplished and finished when the Son of God paid our debt and satisfied the justice of God for us at Calvary (Rom. 3:24; 4:25; 5:8-11; Heb. 10:10-14).

Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

Romans 4:25 "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

Romans 5:8-11 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

Hebrews 10:10-14 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (13) From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." --Don Fortner

I believe Brother Fortner is a Sovereign Grace Baptist, but I always love the truth regardless.

 

"What is faith, and how does our faith make us righteous? God considers faith righteousness (Rom 4:3). If your faith wavers, have you lost your righteousness? If that is the case, then you have lost your salvation and regained it a thousand times! If your faith has wavered for 30 years, you are no less justified than one whose faith has wavered for 30 seconds. Righteousness does come through faith, but your faith is not your righteousness. Jesus is your righteousness and your faith isn’t what keeps Jesus rightly related to the Father. The moment you put your faith in Jesus’ righteousness, you were forever credited with God’s favorable opinion that you neither earned nor deserved." --Henry Allan Ironside

So you're saying we were justified at the cross, then, of necessity, we're justified again by believing the Gospel. We're justified by faith in our hearts. This enables us to "have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 5:1) This is our time salvation.

 

Those two statements seem to contradict each other. Can I please get clarification?

[ April 23, 2002, 06:14 PM: Message edited by: Christopher ]

 

Wouldn't this be inconsistant with the Old Testament sacrifices, which were a shadow of Christ's atoning death? Where in the Old Testament did anything have to be done by the people in order to benefit from the sacrifice that was made besides the sacrifice itself? (Not arguing, just questioning.)

 

What does this mean to you?

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Rom. 5:8-9)

 

http://www.primitivebaptist.org/writers/crouse%5Fw/chapter%205.asp