Yes — the Bible defines the gospel clearly: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.
Paul states this plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Les Feldick calls this singular gospel "the gospel" and says it is the message by which people are saved. There is no other plan of salvation.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 — This is the passage where Paul — and Les Feldick — defines the gospel that saves: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.
Paul opens 1 Corinthians 15 by declaring, "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). This is the gospel Scripture presents as the message by which believers are saved. It is to be received and remembered, and its essential facts are Christ's death for our sins, His burial, and His bodily resurrection on the third day, all according to the Scriptures.
Les Feldick teaches that the gospel is not a vague concept but one specific message: the gospel Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Over and over he tells his students that the gospel is simply that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. He calls it the finished work of the cross and includes the shed blood as implied in that death. The gospel is singular — "the gospel," not "a gospel" — and there is no other plan of salvation. Les emphasizes that this gospel is the same today as it was in Corinth in 50 AD. A person is saved by believing this message; once that happens, God begins to open the Scriptures and make them come alive. Les also stresses that faith is not blind: you have to know what you believe, because Paul says the gospel saves "if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain."
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel..." Les points to this passage as the clearest place in the whole Bible where the gospel is presented in full. He says it is plainer and simpler than any other statement of the gospel and that whenever Paul refers to the gospel in his epistles, he is pointing back to this message.
Les makes a point of the definite article: Paul says "the gospel," not "a gospel." This shows there is only one. He identifies it with Paul's gospel, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of God, and the gospel of Christ. The one gospel is the three-pronged fact that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day; there is no other way of salvation.
Scripture says, "By which also ye are saved" (1 Corinthians 15:2). Les explains that when a person believes the gospel — that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again — God does the saving. He imputes righteousness, forgives, cleanses, and baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. The believer knows this happened not by feelings or sight but by faith, because the Book says so.
Les is clear that salvation is not just something glib. While no one needs to know the Bible from cover to cover, a person does have to know what the Book says and what God requires. He points to Paul's warning, "lest ye have believed in vain," as evidence that faith is not blind — you must understand the gospel you are believing.
Les says, "I've got nothing against John 3:16" — but by itself it is not the gospel. The gospel that must be believed for salvation is laid out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. John 3:16 tells of God's love and His Son, but the full gospel message is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for our sins.
The clearest gospel passage
Les directs readers to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 as the plainest, fullest statement of the gospel in the whole Bible and says believing this gospel is what begins to open the Scriptures to a person.
The finished work of the cross
Les defines the gospel as Christ's death on the cross — with His shed blood implied — His burial, and His resurrection, calling it the finished work of the cross.
One gospel, not many
Les stresses the definite article in "the gospel" — it is singular — and warns that salvation is not glib; believers must know what they believe.
Christ died for your sins
Les declares that the gospel is one thing: Christ died for our sins, paid our penalty, was buried, and rose victorious, and believing this makes Him your personal Savior.
Learning to present the gospel
Les urges believers to be skilled in Scripture so they can present the gospel to others, reminding them that faith is not blind and we must know what we believe.
Saved by the gospel
Les teaches that if you want eternal life and entrance into God's heaven, you must believe the gospel of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, because it is by this gospel that you are saved.
The gospel of grace
Les identifies the gospel as Paul's gospel, the gospel of grace and of Christ — the three-pronged fact of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection — and says there is no other plan of salvation.
Knowing salvation by faith
Les teaches that God does everything needed when we believe — imputing righteousness, forgiving, cleansing, baptizing us into the body — and we know it by faith, not by feelings, because the Book says so.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: 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:
Paul states plainly the content of the gospel that saves: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.
The gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). It is the good news by which believers are saved.
Les Feldick says he has nothing against John 3:16, but by itself it is not the gospel. The gospel is laid out clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 — Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Les teaches that faith is not blind; a person must know what he or she believes. The gospel is simple enough for anyone to believe, but it must be understood — otherwise, as Paul says, you may have believed in vain.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Gospel Is Hidden From Some People — 2 Corinthians 4:1-4