The Gospel Defined

1st Corinthians 15:1-6, “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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

I was reading The Strand Study Bible and read this for 1st Corinthians 15 about what the gospel means:

Paul defines and clarifies (i.e., declares) for us the one and only definition of the gospel. The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—plus nothing, minus nothing. The Gospel is not Jesus plus good works, church membership, or baptism. Paul said in I Corinthians 1:17:

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.

According to Paul, baptism is not a part of the Gospel (Mk 16:16). If it were, he would have said so. The Gospel of Christ is not Jesus plus, but Jesus only! Paul's Gospel is the same Gospel that Abraham believed (Gal 3:6-8 and Jn 8:56), Moses and the Israelites believed (Heb 4:1-2, and Isaiah preached (Rom 10:14-16). Interestingly enough, none of these Old Testament saints were ever baptized. That's because only the Gospel (or, the "facts" behind the Gospel) saves. Baptism has absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel. 

Anyone can be saved who accepts the "facts" behind the actual death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (i.e., the Gospel). The "facts" behind the Gospel are: 

1. Christ died (paid) for our sins (vs 3) 

Meaning, man cannot save himself, via his good works (Eph 2:8-9). Only the promised Messiah can pay for man's sin debt. Although many of the O.T. saints were not sure whether the promised Messiah was "bringing" a sacrifice (like the O.T. priests did) or "being" the sacrifice (Jn 1:29 and Heb 11:17-19), what every O.T. saint did understand is that their own sacrifice (i.e., good works) would never be good enough to save them (Rom 4:1-6). While it is true that many O.T. saints may not have understood the crucifixtion (i.e., the cross — Lk 18:34), it is also true that every O.T. saint believed in a coming Messiah who would either "bring" the ultimate sacrifice or "be" the ultimate sacrifice (Gen 22:8a).Which means, they all understood the "fact" behind the point—something or someone other than us would have to be sacrificed in order to secure our salvation.

2. Christ was buried (vs 4) 

Meaning the price for salvation was paid in full. Christ not only died, He was buried. He was (so to speak) dead dead! His death for sinners was complete. Seeing that the wages of sin is death (Gen 2:17 and Rom 6:23), Christ put an exclamation mark on the price that was needed t pay for sin by not only dying on the cross, but by being buried. While it is true that many of the O.T. saints may not have understood the crucifixtion and eventual death and burial of Christ, it is also true that every O.T. saint believed in a coming Messiah who would somehow pay for our redemption in full (Job 19:25 and Lk 2:25, 38). Which means they all understood the "fact" behind the point — salvation would be complete.

3. Christ rose from the dead (vs 4) 

Meaning, Christ is, was, and always will be God, and if God, then able to keep His promise to save us (Rom 10:9-13). According to Rom 1:4, Christ's resurrection proved He is who He said He was —God in the flesh (Jn 5:17-18 & 10:30-33 and I Tim 3:16). Whoever the Messiah would be, or at what period of history He would arise, one thing was for certain, the Messiah would be God in the flesh (Mic 5:2 and Jn 12:34a). While it is true that many of the O.T. saints may not have understood the actual resurrection of Christ (I Pet 1:10a), it is also true that every O.T. saint understood the "fact" that the promised Messiah, when He came, would indeed be God in the flesh, Which means, they all understood the "fact" behind the point —the Messiah would be God our Savior.

NOTE — All a person has to do to be saved is to understand two "facts" concerning the Gospel.

1. There is only one Savior, thus we cannot save ourselves (Acts 4:12 and Eph 2:8-9) 

Someone or something other than us has to be sacrificed in order to secure our salvation (Lev 17:11). Works cannot save us (Titus 3:5), i.e., we cannot save ourselves. 

2. The Savior would be God in flesh (Jere 23:5-6), the promised Messiah (Christ - Jn 1:41 and Eph 2:8-9).*Take Adam and Eve as an example. They may not have fully understood all there was to understand about the actual death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, but they fully understood the two "facts" behind the Gospel. They understood: -that someone or something, other than them, would have to be sacrificed in order to secure their own salvation. They knew that their own "good works" couldn't do it. They even passed that information down to Cain and Abel. Although many of the O.T. saints were not sure whether the promised MESSIAH was "bringing" a sacrifice (like the O.T. priests did) or "becoming" the sacrifice (Jn 1:29 and Heb 11:17-19), what every O.T. saint did understand is that their own sacrifice (i.e., good works) would never be good enough to save them (Rom 4:1-6). 

While it is true that many of the O.T. saints may not have understood the crucifixtion (i.e., cross - Lk 18:34), it is also true that every O.T. believed in a coming Messiah who would either "bring" the ultimate sacrifice or "be" the ultimate sacrifice (Gen 22:8a). Which means, they all understood the "fact" behind the point —that someone or something other than us would have to be sacrificed in order to secure our salvation. 

—They also understood that the promised MESSIAH to come would be God in the flesh (Gen 4:1c). The way the original Hebrew reads in Genesis 4:1 is, “I have gotten a man (eth) even Jehovah.”

SOURCE: The Strand Study Bible, pp. 1903-1904 

Bravo! It refreshes my soul when I hear another preacher get the Gospel correct. It is alarming how many pastors today are WRONG on God's simple plan of salvation. Brother Strand is absolutely right, you don't have to be baptized to get to Heaven, nor do you have to give up your sinning or do good works to be saved. Eternal life is a free gift from God, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ our dear Savior.