1 Corinthians 15
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
Paul outlines the Gospel according to Jesus very carefully in 1 Corinthians 15.
Here are the facts, the Gospel.
Christ died.
Implication 1.1: Christ was (and is) a God-man who could die.
Implication 1.2: Christ did not swoon or faint or merely appear to die.
Implication 1.3: Christ laid down his life; he was not killed against his will.
Christ died for our sins.
Implication 2.1: Christ died for a purpose, not by accident.
Implication 2.2: We are sinners deserving death.
Implication 2.3: Christ did not die for his own sins.
Implication 2.4: Christ had no sins.
Implication 2.5: Christ died in our place; he bore the punishment we deserve.
Implication 2.6: Christ was an acceptable substitute for us.
Implication 2.7: We are free from the punishment we deserve.
Implication 2.8: Christ did not die for the sins of every man, but only for our sins.
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
Implication 3.1: Christ is the Messiah prophesied by the Old Testament.
Implication 3.2: Christ’s death was neither an accident nor Plan B, but part of the one eternal plan of God for the salvation of his people.
Implication 3.3 Christ fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Christ was buried and rose again the third day.
Implication 4.1: Christ’s burial and resurrection are historical events.
Implication 4.2: Christ is not dead, but living.
Implication 4.3: Death has been conquered and has lost its power over Christ and his people.
Christ was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Implication 5.1: Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection were prophesied by the Old Testament.
Implication 5.2: Christ’s death and resurrection were parts of God’s eternal plan.
This is Paul’s outline of the Gospel. The phrase “according to the Scriptures” implies other ideas not explicitly mentioned in the outline.
Modern evangelists deny many parts of the Gospel: Some say we are not sinners; we have free will. Some say there is no eternal, unchangeable plan of God; that God is not sovereign.
Some say that Christ died for all men without exception. And some deny that salvation is by grace through faith alone.
But Paul wrote: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you.”
That is the Gospel according to Jesus. Anything else is something else.
Postscript
On October 31, 2000, Phillip R. Johnson, aide and ghostwriter for John MacArthur, posted this notice to a small discussion group on the Internet:
”Several years ago I [John MacArthur] made some inaccurate statements that have unfortunately confused people about where I stand on the doctrine of justification by faith. While teaching a series on this crucial issue, I made the point that God does not justify anyone whom He does not also sanctify. That is true. Unfortunately, however, I also implied that God’s sanctifying work in us may in part provide the ground on which He declares us righteous. That is not true. I also suggested that God’s righteousness is infused into believers in a way that makes their justification something more than a forensic declaration. That is emphatically not true.
”This error was confined to a single series preached several years ago. But some of the misstatements were published in a study guide and in the first edition of my Romans commentary. When I realized my error, I withdrew the study guide from publication. It is no longer available. Furthermore, I immediately corrected the Romans commentary. Only a few relatively minor changes were necessary, and those revisions appear in later printings of the book.
”For the record, I have never believed that we can be justified because of anything good in us (Phil. 3:9). Scripture clearly teaches that God accepts us and declares us righteous only because of Christ’s perfect righteousness, which is imputed to us by faith alone (Rom. 4:1-6). God’s ongoing work of making us righteous is properly labeled sanctification--and should be carefully distinguished from justification. I hereby retract any earlier statements I ever made to the contrary.
John MacArthur”
Although Mr. MacArthur does not mention “The Gospel According to Jesus” or other works criticized in this Review, nor has this statement ever been published in any of his books (at least MacArthur’s aide Phillip Johnson failed to provide us with a citation after repeated questioning), we are glad that MacArthur has made at least some attempt to acknowledge and correct the false ideas on justification he taught in tens of thousands of copies of “The Gospel According to Jesus,” his commentary on Romans, and other books and tapes. We only wish he had published this closet retraction as widely as he had published his errors.
John Robbins
Knowing God through His Word