“The Gospel is Simple”
New Era, July 2010, 3; “The gospel is so very simple when we understand it properly. It is always right, it is always good, it is always uplifting. Obedience to gospel principles brings forth joy and happiness. Disobedience has a day of reckoning and will only bring forth heartache, misery, strife, and unhappiness.” – L. Tom Perry, “What Should We Do on the Sabbath?”
1 Corinthians 15:1-4; “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
The first four verses of the famous resurrection chapter of the New Testament is a classic definition of the word “gospel”. However, what is meant by the words of Paul when he said “if ye keep in memory of what I preached unto you”?
Let’s look at a couple of other passages describing the gospel when Paul wrote some of his prison epistles.
Romans 1:16; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Ephesians 1:13-14; “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Colossians 1:22-23; “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”
From these other examples we’re able to see that the gospel is something that is done for us by God. In other words we are not the cause of what takes place, nor are we able to help it in any fashion.
Gospel means good news. If there’s good news then why what was the reason for delivering this to mankind? Reason tells us there must be some reason or something going on that wasn’t good. It’s a message of deliverance.
It is the power of God for our salvation after we heard and believed we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…it is the news that Jesus will present us holy and blameless before God!
Where in all these verses do you see any “ordinance” or “principle” going on? For the Christian there are only two “ordinances” to observe and neither are conditional for our salvation. It is baptism and communion. Both of these things are a manifestation of our present salvation we live in after we have already believed and accepted with assurance that we are saved.
Moreover, the term “ordinance” isn’t found in the New Testament.
“nor are we able to help it in any fashion.”
So, if it is all the power of God, and nothing we do can affect it, why are not all men saved?
Also, for those whom God chooses not to save, how can the gospel be “Good News?” Wouldn’t the angel have been lying when he said “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
The good news of the gospel is that Christ has defeated death and hell, and has thus enabled us to become partakers of salvation. It is truly to all men, for the choice is ours to make, not one that is made for us.
For this to be understood and received we much first know what Christ did, which is why Paul states it was the first thing he taught to the Corinthians (1 Co. 15: 3)
Once we understand what he did we may know the power of God that leads to salvation as is stated in Romans 1: 16.
Knowing this we are enabled to have faith, as is stated in Ephesians; but we must continue in the faith, or be obedient that we be not moved, as we are warned in Colossians.
It is all very simple: Believe in Christ and be faithful to him and he will exercise his power to bring us to salvation. Isn’t it beautiful.
“It is all very simple: Believe in Christ and be faithful to him and he will exercise his power to bring us to salvation. Isn’t it beautiful.”
But that’s not what Mormonism teaches. For one to be “saved” which is what Mormonism defines as exaltation they must first accept J.Smith and the Book of Mormon, become a member of your religion, and then participate in temple rituals. In other words you do your best and then Jesus does the rest. It’s a works righteous system that’s not part of the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ, and it’s hardly “simple” or “beautiful”. – Melissa Grimes
That is exactly what we teach. To be faithful is not merely to believe, but to have such a faith that you obey.
dictionary.com
Faith
confidence or trust in a person or thing
Faithful
strict or thorough in the performance of duty
I choose my wording carefully, and I what I have said is the LDS doctrine. Believe in Christ, or have faith; be faithful to him, or obey his commands; and then he will exercise his power to bring us to salvation.
Note that it is his power that saves, not our faith or our works; but he extends this power only to the obedience.
It is simple and it is beautiful, and it is exactly what the Bible teaches.