What does it mean to really believe the gospel?
Really believing the gospel means believing that Jesus died and rose again, and that belief is a genuine trust through which God imparts salvation. This is the heart of the gospel message. Scripture ties this faith to the promise that those who sleep in Jesus God will bring with Him.
Les explains that 1 Thessalonians 4 is an extension of the revelation of the mystery, which is referred to as being caught up. He notes that some object that the word 'rapture' isn't in the English Bible, but he points out that there are two words that mean the same thing, so it's not a big deal. The key passage says, 'I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who have died physically. They are asleep.' Believers should not sorrow as others who have no hope. The condition is 'if we believe that Jesus died and rose again'—that is the gospel. Les emphasizes that we must really believe it, to the place where God has imparted salvation. Then, even so, those who sleep in Christ or Jesus, who have died, God will bring with Him. Les also notes that this is a Scripture portion where Jesus and God are synonymous—the same God, the same Jesus. So really believing the gospel means trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the basis for salvation, which also assures the resurrection of those who have died in Him.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.