Chapter 1: The nature of forgiveness
At the cross, the sins of all men were forgiven. But what sins? That’s the question. For the kingdom saints at the cross is where they were forgiven of their old sin (2 Peter 1:9). That’s why Ananias and Sapphira paid for their sins of blasphemy with their lives. See, because the mechanics of forgiveness weren’t the same for the gospel of the kingdom saints, but for us, we were forgiven of all sins (Colossians 2:13).
Some have a hard time understanding this dispensational news. What should be basic mid-Acts grace understanding seems to be quite the conundrum for some. This should be fundamental to those who claim to understand the distinct nature of Paul’s dispensation of grace.
Another day on the Truth Time app. Glad you’re here. Hey, if you haven’t already, go ahead and tell somebody about us. Have them download the app, and they too can enjoy rightly divided grace teachings and songs that line up with the doctrine of the dispensation of the grace of God.
Chapter 2: Preaching the gospel
Okay, grab a cup of coffee or your beverage of choice and let’s discuss 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and how it can be preached two different ways. One is the right way, and one is the wrong way. One is in time past and prophecy for Israel. The other is for “but now” and the mystery for you and me.
Unfortunately, with poor preaching, what some end up missing is that when the atonement was accepted, the world’s sin account was settled. See, the Father didn’t need anything from anyone to do that. It was done on the basis of what his Son accomplished all by himself. The atonement never brought salvation to anyone. Having your sins paid for is not synonymous with salvation—without personal belief in the gospel of Christ.
If you’ve yet to believe on him, you’re not saved. Now, I don’t pretend to know what’s in your heart. Only the Lord knows that. But I’m just going on what you say, your testimony, what your words reveal about you. Speech reveals what’s in the heart (Matthew 12:37).
Salvation isn’t just saying, “I believe the death, burial, and resurrection.” All brick-and-mortar Christian churches believe that. They believe the death, burial, and resurrection. But what do they believe about it? What do they believe it accomplished for them?
I grew up believing the death, burial, and resurrection. My wife grew up believing the death, burial, and resurrection. But we’re not ashamed to admit that we were both as lost as loss can be. As lost as Hogan’s goat, on our way to hell. Because where 1 Corinthians 15:3 says Christ died for our sins, we didn’t realize that meant all of them.
That is the heart of the gospel. So if you don’t believe that, that means you think there are some sins you need to pay for, which is what most churchgoers believe. That’s how they believe 1 Corinthians 15:3. And that’s why they feel the need to add something to the gospel: sin confessing, water baptism, the sinner’s prayer, and so forth. Anyone who says they believe verse three, yet participates in any actionable works, clearly hasn’t trusted that what Christ did was enough all by itself. They don’t believe and are not saved by grace through faith alone.
Chapter 3: Rightly dividing scripture
This is where you and I come in. This is why we shouldn’t recite 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 to someone and say, “Do you believe that?” They say, “Yeah, okay. You’re saved. Next.” Oh, no. That’s not how we’re to preach the gospel. Note that Paul said, “Moreover, brethren, I declared unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.” That’s past tense. He’s already been there. He’s already preached the gospel to them before writing 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Then next he said, “Which also ye have received and wherein ye stand.” They were already standing in what he had previously preached to them.
Listen, Peter believed Jesus died for his sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. He was with him for 40 days after he did so. Jesus even cooked breakfast for Peter at the Sea of Galilee. But what did Peter believe about the cross? As per his instructions, the gospel of the kingdom—what did it accomplish for him? The death of Christ for him is not the same as for you and me. And the majority of churchgoers today believe 1 Corinthians 15:3 the same way Peter did. And where verse three says Christ died for our sins, they believe that means some sins, part of my sins. Oh, he died for some, Trey. But I have to do something about the rest. That’s not Paul’s gospel. And it’s our job to make sure they know that.
Hey, I’d rather get to heaven and see someone who I didn’t think would be there than get there and not see someone I thought would. Let’s make it plain. Let’s articulate this thing right, guys.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 is not a mystery. The death, the burial, and the resurrection is part of Israel’s Old Testament prophecy. But the mystery- the mystery of how the death, burial, and resurrection would include us without having to (John 4:22) go through Israel, and the mystery of how God had predestined a plan to forgive the world and stop imputing their sins (2 Corinthians 5:19)—that was kept secret. It was kept secret, hidden in God until being revealed to Paul. And the reason the majority of churchgoers believe 1 Corinthians 15:3 the same way Peter did is because they do not rightly divide Peter from Paul. They do not believe that Peter had the gospel of the circumcision and Paul had the gospel of the uncircumcision, even though Galatians chapter 2 proves it—they don’t believe it. Notice what Peter says even after the death, burial, and resurrection. Acts chapter 3 verse 19. Get that? Write it down. Put it to heart. Put it to memory. Acts chapter 3 verse 19. Now listen. There’s supposed to be only one gospel in the Bible.
Chapter 4: The context of Peter and Paul
Okay, here we go. Repent ye therefore. This is Peter speaking. “Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out.” Now think. Peter, who was an eyewitness to Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, goes on to say that sins—this is after the cross—sins may be blotted out when he goes on to let his audience know that when they’re reunited with their Messiah, he will blot out their sins. Now, isn’t that something? How can anyone think there’s only one gospel in the Bible when that is not? If you’re looking for a match, that’s not a match with the Apostle Paul. Oh no.
An eyewitness—here’s Peter now—an eyewitness to the death, burial, and resurrection. And watch what else he goes on to write. “But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off.” Now listen closely. Listen to what he said next: “and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old—OLD—his old sins.” That’s 2 Peter 1:9. This all sounds familiar, right? I mean, this is why churches require you to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins before joining their church. They believe 1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4, don’t they? But they believe it the way Peter believed it. You can preach it two different ways. If Peter had not been one of the 12 kingdom apostles and he were here with us today believing what he believed, question: would he be saved? Absolutely not. And sadly, neither are most members of the brick-and-mortar church buildings today because they believe 1 Corinthians 15:3 the same way Peter believed it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a faithful member of your church for 30 years. You’re a preacher, a Sunday school teacher, song leader, deacon—it doesn’t matter. Hey, you may be able to quote 1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4 forward and backward while riding a unicycle. But if you think Jesus left out even one sin that you need to take care of, if you think he left out one sin after shedding his blood on Calvary’s Hill, then by your own testimony, you’re not saved. And I don’t apologize for telling you.
Chapter 5: Defining the word of truth
What most won’t tell you is that there are two ways to believe 1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4 because there’s more than one group in scripture that’s being spoken of. Both groups knew about the death, the burial, and the resurrection. But there’s a time past way of believing it, and there’s a but now way to believe it. The reason most don’t believe 1 Corinthians 15:3, the but now way, the way that Paul preached it, is their lack of understanding of Colossians 2:13 and 2 Corinthians 5:19. And for some, it’s not about understanding because they haven’t even heard it yet.
So the next time, listen, the next time you’re tempted to cite 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and tell someone to just believe that and you’re saved, you need to remember there is more than one way people see and believe those verses. So you need to be clear. What you need to do is you need to make sure and you need to be clear that they know that Paul is not talking about only their old sins. He’s not telling anyone to hold out, endure until the end, and wait for Jesus to return to blot their sins out. Because according to 2 Corinthians 5:19, there are no sins to blot out. Old or new, sins aren’t even being imputed. Come on. This confusion is why the ministry of reconciliation is so vital, so important. It solves the debate of what Christ accomplished for us on the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4: “time past” is different from 1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4 “but now.” Peter preached the death, burial, and resurrection. But what did he say about it? He preached it, but the why of the cross is different here in Acts chapter 2. Let me get this here in Acts chapter 2, verse 22. Watch. “Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by the miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” There’s the cross. “Whom God hath raised up.” There’s the resurrection. And in 1 Peter 3:18, Peter wrote these words: “For Christ also hath suffered for sins”—there’s 1 Corinthians 15:3—“the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit.” Ah, there’s 1 Corinthians 15:4—quickened by the spirit. That’s the resurrection. So, here we have Peter preaching Christ’s death for sins and his resurrection in one verse. So, the question isn’t: did Peter preach it? Yes, he did. The question is how did he preach it and what did he preach about it?
Chapter 6: The importance of context
This is why—listen—this is evidence. This is the objective evidence. And it is why Truth Time is always stressing context. When Peter said Christ suffered for sins, he was speaking of old sins. But when Paul said Christ died for our sins, he’s speaking of all sins (Colossians 2:13). Same death on the cross, same burial, same resurrection. Yet it was preached two separate ways. This is why Paul had to tell us to rightly divide the word of truth.
Allow me to share some rudimentary information. If the Bible only presented one way to preach the cross, hey, there would be no need to rightly divide the word of truth. No need whatsoever. Did you know that? What is the word of truth? It is the gospel of your salvation (Ephesians 1:13). Here Paul defines it with great plainness of speech, but most miss it. He wrote, “In whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Absolutely amazing. Here we’re given the definition of the word of truth as being the gospel of your salvation. So, if we’re to rightly divide the gospel of our salvation, that by default means there is more than one gospel found in the Bible. If there wasn’t, we’d have no need to rightly divide anything. It would just all be one big gospel.
Isn’t this outstanding? When we agree with God and not man, the dots begin to connect. The Bible, this book, is an amazing book. It’s actually books within a book. But it’s so amazing, and it can awaken us out of our slumber when we move over and just get self out of the way. God’s word is axiomatic, self-evident. When we compare scripture with scripture, we see the internal consistency of the word of God. Not much consistency with men, but here it is right here laid out for us in the perfectly preserved word of God as we have it here in our King James Bible. Again, context, guys. Context. Without it, we walk in a state of confusion. Standing in context will bring clarity and will pierce biblical ignorance. Ignoring the surrounding text will lead to misapplication. To quote Miles Coverdale, who famously said, “It shall greatly help you to understand the scriptures if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before, and what followeth after.” Very sober advice. The word of the Lord is outstanding, a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119). Every word of God is pure. He is the shield unto them that put their trust in him (Proverbs 30:5).
Chapter 7: The mystery of reconciliation
All right. Listen, guys. It’s not that no one knew of the death, burial, and resurrection prior to Paul, but it’s what they knew about it. It’s about the application. No one knew that God was going to (2 Corinthians 5:19) stop imputing sins to the entire world. That’s the mystery part of it. Even Satan knew about the death, burial, and resurrection. But the result being that God would stop charging sins to the world was kept secret. It was hidden from him. This is confirmed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Satan is one of the princes Paul’s speaking of here. In Ephesians 2, he calls him the prince of the power of the air. Isaiah 14 described old Lucifer as being so prideful that he thought he would exalt his throne above the stars of God. See, he thought he had all knowledge and knew everything and that there was no secret that could be kept from him. But little did he know that God Almighty had kept a secret. He kept the result of the cross hidden from him. And that secret that was kept from Satan has had him madder than a woodpecker with a headache ever since.
And what he has done with that anger is that he has built various religious systems. He’s done it for centuries. Built various systems that are responsible for perverting the gospel of grace. So listen, as faithful ambassadors with the gospel of reconciliation that was hidden from Satan, let’s all remember that when we’re preaching the gospel, let us not forget to articulate it with clarity. Study to show yourself approved and learn to preach grace so clear that they’ll accuse you of preaching a license to sin. And while we’re not teaching anything of the sort, not even close, that doesn’t stop the legalist from making the false accusation. As a matter of fact, we’ve always stated that God hates sin. The Father hates sin so much that he required his Son’s blood and life for it.
The Apostle Paul also had to address false accusations that his preaching of grace gave others permission to sin. Romans 3:8: Paul wrote, “And not rather, as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, ‘Let us do evil, that good may come’? whose damnation is just.” And in Galatians 2:17, he wrote, “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.” Paul, when answering his accusers, was spot on. And look at Romans 5:20. I love this one: “Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
Preaching the word of reconciliation rocks boats, but as ambassadors, it’s our duty to stick to the assignment. The truth is, if you’re not being accused of preaching too much grace or a license to sin, as they say, you most likely aren’t communicating Paul’s gospel very well. God stopped imputing sins to the world because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Salvation is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone, without any works of any kind at any time. And no one can perform good enough to save themselves. I’m going to continue to stand on that. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). Grace and peace.
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