Series: Not of Works – A Series on the Gospel of Grace

Anchor Text: 1 Corinthians 15:1–4

When everything is so confusing—when “faith plus fruit”—being good, and doing good is preached as grace and obedience is elevated as the evidence of salvation—we must return to the source:

What is the gospel that saves?

Not what tradition says.
Not what any preacher says.
What does the Bible say?

📜 The Gospel According to Paul

“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…”
—1 Corinthians 15:1–2

Paul says this is the gospel by which we are saved:

“…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…”
—1 Corinthians 15:3–4

No steps. No striving.
Just believe that this is true—and that it was done for you.

🩸 The Power Is in the Blood

Salvation is not an invitation to behave better.
It is the good news that Jesus Christ paid your sin debt with His own blood.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins…”
—Ephesians 1:7

He died in your place, satisfying God’s justice.
He was buried.
And He rose again—proving the debt was fully paid.

This is the gospel.
Believe it—and you are saved.

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

—Romans 10:9

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

—Romans 10:10

👑By this Gospel All Mankind will Be Judged

The apostle Paul makes it graphically clear that all mankind will be judged by his gospel. The gospel that was revealed to Paul alone many years after Pentecost.

in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

—Romans 2:16

❌ Do Not Add to It

“If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
—Galatians 1:9

Don’t add fruit.
Don’t add endurance.
Don’t add holiness.
Don’t add anything.

🗝️ Key Takeaway

The gospel is not “Christ + something.”
It is Christ alone.

You are saved by grace through faith—nothing more, nothing less.