“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2).

The basic stance of churches of Christ is that believers may not participate in human denominations, but must serve God in local congregations of the church that Jesus built, guided solely by the word of God.

To be a church of Christ we must “stand” in the gospel: we must believe, obey and preach the gospel of Christ, “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Anyone who preaches “a different gospel” is accursed (Galatians 1:6-9).

When the church was established, “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

By definition, the church consists of the saved. Thus, to be that same church today, we must be able to correctly identify “those who are being saved.”

From the Scriptures we learn that God’s plan of salvation involves the problem of man’s lost state because of sin, God’s offer of salvation by grace and man’s acceptance by faith. Salvation is presented by God as a gift for acceptance or rejection.

We are lost because of our sins.

Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2). We “are all under sin” (Romans 3:9), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

And what are the consequences of sin? “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

God offers salvation through the sacrifice of His Son.

The preceding quotations, showing man’s need for salvation, are excerpts from passages explaining God’s solution!

Since we cannot save ourselves by keeping the law, God has made righteousness available to all who believe. “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:22-26).

God is righteous. He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Because He loves us, He sent His Son to bear the penalty for our sins so we might be saved.

Because He is just, this redemption is offered to all. Anyone can be justified on the basis of a living, obedient faith.

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9). God cleanses us by the blood of Christ on condition that we confess our sins and walk in the light.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Through the sacrifice of His Son, God has provided a means of salvation for sinful man. “This is the true grace of God in which you stand” (1 Peter 5:12).

Man must believe the gospel to be saved.

There is broad agreement in Christendom that man is lost and that believers can be saved only by the grace of God.

There is much confusion, however, with regard to man’s required response. Since “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33), this confusion is not caused by a lack of clarity in His word.

When Paul spoke of the saving power of the gospel, a condition was included, “by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:2).

To be a church of Christ we must preach the same gospel preached by the apostles. To be saved we must believe and obey that gospel in the same way it was believed and obeyed by “those who were being saved” and who were “added to the church” by the Lord on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:47).

The response God demands of man is clearly defined in the New Testament, and in the Book of Acts examples of conversion are given.

The gospel must be obeyed.

Paul writes: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel” (Romans 10:16). When Christ returns it will be “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

How do we obey the gospel?

We must believe. Through Christ “we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2).

We must believe in God.

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

We must believe God. Many people who believe in God, do not believe God! They reject portions of His word. “He who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10).

We must believe in Christ. We must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 11:27) and “that God has raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9).

We must repent. Jesus said: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Peter preached: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Paul preached that God “now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

Repentance is remorse for past sinful conduct accompanied by a determination to turn away from sin and to serve God.

We must confess Christ. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Paul charged Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12).

We must be baptized. Paul wrote: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3, 4).

Baptism for the forgiveness of sins was preached when the church was established. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins’” (Acts 2:38). “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Thus, those who believe and obey the gospel are saved and are added to the church by the Lord.

They must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. They must repent of their sins and confess their faith in Christ. To have a part in His redeeming sacrifice, they must be baptized into the death of Christ that they might rise to walk in newness of life.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2).

We stand in the gospel of our salvation!

By definition, the church of Christ today believes, obeys and preaches the same gospel of salvation that was preached, obeyed and believed by the church in the New Testament.

Amen.
Roy Davison