"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel... By which also ye are saved... 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" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

Dear friends of “According to the Scriptures”, above all, be sure you and your family are saved. The Philippian jailer asked the apostle Paul, “what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:30-31). Salvation is a free gift (Romans 6:23) that cannot be merited in any way, by anything that you can or must do, or any promises you might make for the future. Salvation comes NOT by any works of righteousness that you may have done (Titus 3:5). It comes totally by God's GRACE (unmerited favor) apart from works on your part (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation comes by FAITH ALONE (Galatians 3:11), when you believe the GOSPEL (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and trust in Jesus Christ to save you from your sin (Matthew 1:21).

The Bible says, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5) The Bible says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18) We are under the condemnation of sin, not because we have not done enough good deeds, but because we have NOT BELIEVED.

Salvation is God's free gift of eternal life to all those who will believe on Jesus Christ to save them from their sin. We have all sinned, but God will put to our account His righteousness through FAITH ALONE when we believe the Gospel, thereby, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Romans 3:22-25, 26).

Paul told the Church at Ephesus how they were saved. “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” (Ephesians 1:13). Paul told the Church at Rome, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is God's power for salvation to all those who do nothing more, nor less than believe the gospel and Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5) to save them from sin (Matthew 1:21), death (the penalty of sin; Romans 6:23, Hebrews 2:14-15) and Hell (the prison for all those who reject Gods only way of salvation; Revelation 20:12-15; 21:8). And the Apostle Paul clearly spells out the GOSPEL for us in his letter to the Church at Corinth:

“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” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

And might I sound this warning, many are trying to corrupt the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, by adding such things to the GOSPEL that YOU HAVE TO DO, such as “turning from your sins”, “surrendering to God”, “forsaking sin”, “turning over a new leaf”, "Hanging on”, “holding fast”, "enduring to the end”, "being baptised", "keeping sacraments", "keeping the 10 Commandments", "promise to do good in the future", and a host of other things. While all of these things may sound good and pious and spiritual, they have nothing to do with salvation and the free gift of eternal life that God offers to the whole world by Faith Alone in Christ Jesus (John 5:24).

To couple the Glorious Gospel of God to anything that we have to do other than believe it is a damnable heresy. Many try to slip these ideas in under their definition of “repentance”. DON'T believe it! Repentance is simply a “change of mind”. Whatever is keeping you back from believing the gospel, you need to "repent" of that, you need to "change your mind" about that. So when you see you are under God's condemnation because of sin, you can "change your mind" and believe the Gospel, trusting ONLY in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, and you shall be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Jesus ALONE is the Savior! Today, not only will He save you from your sins, He will KEEP you saved. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24) Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:28-29) Our salvation is not based on our future performance, but on His faithfulness (2 Timothy 2:13, Psalm 37:23-24; 56:13, Jude 1:24-25; 2 Timothy 1:12, Hebrews 7:25, John 6:39; 1 Peter 1:5)

There are so many warnings in the Scriptures about corrupting the gospel, the simplicity of Christ, and God's Word. “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6) “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

The devil and so many others are trying to corrupt the gospel and blind the minds of those who have not yet believed. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

I pray you keep this in mind as the Last Days are characterized by false prophets, false Christs (Matthew 24:11, 24), false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-2) and deception (Matthew 24:4; 2 Timothy 3:13), so, remember this watchword, that salvation comes ONLY BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE, IN CHRIST ALONE when you believe the gospel. I pray you trust Him TODAY (2 Corinthians 6:2), and make Him your very own Savior, if you have not yet done so.