Yes — a deliberate, wholehearted faith in the gospel is essential, because salvation comes only through genuine belief that Christ died, was buried, and rose again, not through mere mental assent.
Paul defines the gospel as the message that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and calls it the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Les Feldick stresses that believing this must be a Holy Spirit-driven conviction that Christ died for you personally, not head knowledge. When you believe the gospel with all your heart, God promises "thou shalt be saved" and seals you with the Holy Spirit of promise.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 — This passage gives the most explicit definition of the gospel that saves: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Romans 1:16 — It declares the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, tying saving power directly to faith in the gospel.
Ephesians 1:13 — It shows that after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and believing, believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
The gospel is plainly defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 as the message Paul preached — that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Paul says believers received this gospel, stand in it, and are saved by it. Romans 1:16 likewise declares that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Scripture also connects salvation to genuine heart belief. Romans 10:9-10 promises, "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," and adds that "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Ephesians 1:13 records that after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believing, believers "were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." 1 Thessalonians 4:14 likewise makes believing that Jesus died and rose again the condition of the believer's hope.
Les Feldick teaches that a concerted faith in the gospel is a genuine, Holy Spirit-driven belief — not mere mental assent to historical facts. He draws a sharp line between believing in God and believing God: when you believe God, you do what He has said and rest on it. God has said the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and when you believe it with all your heart, the promise is "thou shalt be saved." True believers, Les says, know that when Christ died, He died for them personally. Les points to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 as the most explicit definition of the gospel in the whole Bible: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. He calls this "the finished work of the cross" — the body of truth by which a person is saved. When a person hears the gospel and believes, God seals that believer with the Holy Spirit of promise, with no other requirements added. Les also warns against spurning so great a salvation. Because terrible days are coming on the earth, he asks why anyone would be foolish enough to reject the salvation freely offered by God, and he notes that fear of what is coming may prompt someone to seek God's saving grace and escape the horrors ahead.
The gospel, as Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Les Feldick calls this passage the most explicit definition of the gospel in the whole Bible and summarizes it as "the finished work of the cross." This is the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, which a person hears and believes (Ephesians 1:13).
Les Feldick is clear that the faith which saves is not mental assent — simply agreeing that Jesus lived and was crucified. He describes saving faith as a genuine, Holy Spirit-driven belief that my eternal destiny is based on what Christ did for me on the cross. Head knowledge about the crucifixion and resurrection is not enough; true believers know that when Christ died, He died for them, and when He was buried, they were buried with Him.
Scripture promises that if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved (Romans 10:9). Les Feldick stresses that this is not an "if, maybe, or hope so" — God promised it as a fact, and He expects believers to rest on His promises rather than doubt them. Paul adds in Ephesians 1:13 that after hearing the gospel and believing, believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Les Feldick observes that Scripture makes it plain that awful, terrible days are coming on the earth, and that people can escape them by simply partaking of God's salvation. He asks why anyone would be foolish enough to spurn so great a salvation only to end up in the horrors that are coming, and he acknowledges that fear might prompt someone to seek God's saving grace.
The Gospel Defined in 1 Corinthians 15
Les calls 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 the most explicit definition of the gospel in the Bible — the message by which believers are saved — and warns that spurning so great a salvation leads to the horrors coming on the earth.
Genuine, Holy Spirit-Driven Belief
Les rejects mental assent as saving faith, explaining that the genuine belief required is Holy Spirit-driven, based on the fact that my eternal destiny rests on what Christ did for me on the cross.
Sealed Upon Believing
Les shows from Ephesians 1:13 that after hearing the gospel of your salvation and believing, God seals the believer with the Holy Spirit of promise — with nothing else added.
Believing God vs. Believing in God
Les distinguishes believing in God from believing God, explaining that believing God means being a person of faith who rests on what God has said — namely, that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
The Gospel According to Paul
Les emphasizes 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day — as the gospel itself, the means by which we get right with God.
Not Head Knowledge but Personal Faith
Les teaches that believing the gospel carries the promise "thou shalt be saved," yet it is not head knowledge about history — true believers know Christ died for them and that they were buried with Him.
Resting on God's Promise
Les stresses that believing with all your heart that Christ died, was buried, and rose again makes "thou shalt be saved" a fact, not a hope, and that believers are to rest on that promise and hold God accountable to it.
The Finished Work of the Cross
Les summarizes the gospel as the body of truth that Christ was crucified, buried, and rose again — the finished work of the cross — and says by this gospel you are saved, with the shed blood implied in His death.
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:
This is the Bible's most explicit definition of the gospel — the message by which believers are saved if they believe it.
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
It links the gospel directly to salvation for everyone who believes.
Ephesians 1:13: 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,
After hearing and believing the gospel, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Romans 10:9-10: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Salvation is promised to heart belief that God raised Jesus from the dead — not mere head knowledge.
1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
The condition stated for the believer's hope is believing that Jesus died and rose again.
No. Les Feldick teaches there is a big difference between believing in God and believing God. When you believe God, you become a person of faith and rest on what He has said — here, the gospel as the power of God unto salvation.
The gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Les calls this the finished work of the cross — the good news of your salvation.
No. Les Feldick teaches that head knowledge about Jesus living, being crucified, and possibly being raised is not saving faith. Salvation requires a genuine, Holy Spirit-driven belief that your eternal destiny is based on what Christ did for you on the cross.
God promises "thou shalt be saved" and, as Paul writes in Ephesians 1:13, seals you with the Holy Spirit of promise after you believe. Les teaches that this is a fact to rest on rather than a hope to wonder about.
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