According to the Scriptures

The Anchor of Our Faith: Guarding the Gospel

There is a growing, dangerous trend among certain theological camps to complicate the simplicity of Christ. In their zeal to appear scholarly or to mandate their own systematic passwords for salvation, they have taken aim at the very anchor of Christianity: the plain text of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

To understand the magnitude of this error, we must execute a verse-by-verse exposition of the Apostle Paul’s definitive Gospel declaration, completely dismantling the man-made hurdles being placed before lost sinners.

Verses 1-2: The Exclusive Saving Message

“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.”

• The Complete Package: Paul does not suggest this is a mere summary or an introductory tract. He forcefully declares it is the Gospel by which a man is saved.

• The Reception: Salvation is framed entirely around reception and standing. The Corinthians “received” this message. They did not pass a systematic theology exam, nor did they dissect the complex mechanics of the Levitical priesthood.

• The Warning: Paul’s warning is clear: straying from the specific parameters he is about to lay out is a recipe for believing “in vain.” If explicit knowledge of the heavenly mercy seat was mandatory to avoid hell, Paul committed absolute spiritual malpractice by leaving it out of this foundational definition.

Verse 3: Substitution, Prophecy, and the Grammar Trap

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”

This verse is the battleground. When Paul writes “how that Christ died,” he is establishing a monumental reality. Yet, this is exactly where false teachers lay their grammatical trap.

Some assert that the word “how” points directly to the physical manner or method of Christ’s death (specifically, the shedding of His blood). Therefore, they argue, the explicit shedding of blood is inherently locked into the first clause of the Gospel, mandating a specific “blood confession” for a sinner to be saved.

This is a complete butchering of biblical English grammar.

• The Idiom Explained: In the King James Bible, the phrase “how that” is a Jewish and English idiom. It operates as a declarative conjunction meaning “as a matter of fact” or “the historical narrative that.” It does not describe the technical details of a process.

• Scriptural Proofs: If we apply their rule, that “how that” demands a mechanical explanation, the rest of the New Testament becomes utter nonsense:

  • Romans 7:1: “…know ye not… how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?” Paul is declaring the fact of the law’s dominion, not explaining its legal mechanics.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:1: “…I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud…” Paul is declaring the historical fact that it happened, not demanding a breakdown of the meteorological mechanics of the cloud.

  • Galatians 1:13: “…ye have heard of my conversation in time past… how that beyond measure I persecuted the church…” Paul is stating the reality of his past, not giving a step-by-step tutorial on his methods of torture.

When Paul says “how that Christ died,” he is declaring the historical, established fact that the Messiah died for our sins. He is not describing the mechanism of Christ’s death, i.e., the shedding of Christ’s blood. Some people insist on calling it “strong meat” and argue that a genuine student of Scripture must understand Levitical sacrifices, the mercy seat, and the application of blood to truly understand what Paul means in this passage. However, this is an unfounded leap that disregards the context of the chapter.

The Error of Forcing Romans 3:25 into 1 Corinthians 15

Because the specific word “blood” is absent from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, proponents of this mandatory password face a theological crisis. To fix what the Holy Ghost wrote, they employ the exact same scripture-twisting tactics as Calvinists: they use eisegesis to force their system onto the text.

• The Calvinist Parallel: Just as a Calvinist inserts “the elect” over the word “world” in John 3:16, these teachers eisegetically insert the vocabulary of Romans 3:25 (“faith in his blood”) directly into 1 Corinthians 15.

• The Category Error: Romans 3:25 is a glorious, deep theological explanation of how God can righteously forgive sins (the basis of the atonement). 1 Corinthians 15 is the evangelistic declaration of what the sinner must trust (the Object of our faith).

• The Imposed Burden: Forcing Romans 3:25 into the Gospel mandate demands that a lost sinner must understand the mechanics of propitiation before they can be saved. It takes the “strong meat” of the Bible and forces it to be the required “milk,” building a wall between the Savior and the lost.

Verse 4: The Cornerstone of Christianity

“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

If you aggressively demand that a sinner must stop verbally at the cross to dissect the blood, you unintentionally obscure the ultimate victory: the empty tomb.

• The Consistent Message: From the moment Christ stepped out of the grave, the bodily resurrection was the cornerstone of the Gospel. In Luke 24:44-46, Jesus pointed back to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms to prove that He must suffer and rise again on the third day.

• The Apostolic Preaching: When Peter preached at Pentecost (Acts 2), he hammered the resurrection using Psalm 16. When Paul stood on Mars Hill (Acts 17), he commanded repentance and preached the resurrected Lord. The burial proved the death was final; the resurrection proved the sacrifice was accepted.

• The Ultimate Justification: The Apostle Paul made it clear that a dead sacrifice cannot save anyone: “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). The blood paid the absolute penalty, but as Romans 4:25 declares, He “was raised again for our justification.”

To emphasize this crucial message, Paul dedicates the entire chapter to discussing the resurrection, including eyewitness accounts, the implications if it did not happen, the cornerstone of our faith, the future resurrection, and the promise of the rapture. Interestingly, Paul does not defend the shedding of blood or emphasize the necessity of faith in it, whereas proponents of the blood gospel often imply it is central. This highlights how some ignore context to prioritize their theological agenda over the plain meaning of Scripture.

The Sufficiency of the Package Deal

The ultimate flaw in demanding a sinner understand all the components of the atonement is that it fundamentally misunderstands how grace works. We do not place our faith in a mechanical process; we place our faith in a living Person.

When a desperate, empty-handed sinner throws themselves upon the mercy of God and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation is a “package deal.”

• The Unknown Benefits: At the exact moment of belief, a massive series of divine operations are instantaneously executed upon the believer—none of which the new convert understands.

• The Spiritual Reality: They undergo a spiritual circumcision made without hands (Col. 2:11). They are immediately baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). They are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13). They are given the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15) and are seated in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

• The Application of the Blood: Most importantly, because they have received the Son, they automatically receive the full payment of His shed blood (Lev. 17:11, 1 John 5:12).

No one demands that a five-year-old child must explicitly articulate the theology of “spiritual circumcision” to be saved. We understand that comes with discipleship and growing in grace. Why, then, do we allow legalists to demand that a sinner must articulate the complex mechanics of Levitical propitiation?

If you trust the Savior who died in your place, was buried, and rose again, you get everything He accomplished. The blood is the payment, but the risen Christ is the Savior. Let us fiercely guard the text of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 exactly as it is written, rejecting the additions of men, and resting in the magnificent simplicity that is in Christ.

The Sad Truth

Proponents of the “faith in his blood” system often impose a false dichotomy when challenged. Not accepting their flawed interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 labels you a “Blood denier,” despite belief in Blood Atonement. Though well-meaning, their tactics are cultic—discrediting dissenters and resorting to name-calling, claiming they deny the blood. This misrepresents the debate, exposing their inability to articulate arguments clearly, often twisting Scripture or inventing terminology to claim they’re the only true gospel preachers. Instead of emphasizing the resurrection and its link to the blood, they incite strife and division among believers.

This is a harmful distraction that causes us to miss the opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Instead, it shifts the focus from Christ Himself, the object of our salvation.

1 John 5:12 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”