Does the Gospel Paul preached save you, and must you know what you believe?
Yes, the Gospel Paul preached saves, and believers must know what they believe. Paul says by this Gospel he preached they are saved, yet they must know what they believe, remembering his message unless they believed in vain. That Gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
Les explains that Paul is speaking of that which prepares believers for eternity, saying that by this Gospel he is preaching, you are saved, but you have got to know what you believe. Paul then says, if you remember what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain, and here comes the Gospel. Les stresses this is the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins when He hung on that cross according to the Scriptures. It was not an accident; God had already planned it in the eons of pre-eternal existence, that He would create mankind, man would sin, and He would bring about a plan of redemption. It was all in the foreknowledge and counsel of God according to Peter in Acts chapter 2. Les also notes that John 3:16 does not have this part of the Gospel, so it must be used in conjunction with John 3:16 to make sense today.
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Is being saved by the Gospel conditional?
Yes, it is conditional. The Gospel saves those who believe and understand it, so they do not believe in vain. That Gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and by it believers stand.
Whose gospel were the Corinthians saved by — Paul's or Peter and the twelve's?
The Corinthians were saved by the gospel Paul preached to them, not by what Peter and the twelve in Jerusalem had. Paul declares, 'by this Gospel ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,' referring to Christ's death, burial, and resurrection according to the Scriptures.
More Questions
Does the gospel that saved people in Corinth still save people today?
This same gospel saves lost people in every place and every era — whether in Corinth or anywhere else, in 50 AD or the present day.