Proof-Texting The Gospel?

This is an adaptation of what I thought would be a good reply to a question regarding the validity of saying that 1 Cor 15:1-11 fully defines the Gospel as it is in whole, indivisible, irreducible, and missing no part.

The question was actually a number of statements but they really all dove-tail into one distinct question or statement, which the author actually ended up posing in clear writing. Is saying that “The Gospel” is represented in it’s entirety with no extra information included beyond the scope of the actual “Gospel” that must be received to be Eternally Saved actually just Proof-Texting? Well, “Proof-Texting” which is a real concern of mine, and it affects almost every theological “system.” If you’ve read any amount of my writing you should know that I detest the practice.

I know it’s Wikipedia that I’m linking to but I really like the short description they have of Proof-Texting

…the practice of using decontextualised quotations from a document to establish a proposition rhetorically an appeal to authority. Critics of the technique note that often the document, when read as a whole, may not in fact support the proposition.

So the two questions I need to answer are these – is using anything less than the whole of Scripture to define something always Proof-Texting, and if it is not then does THIS instance of using a portion (instead of the whole) to define something actually Proof-Texting. To answer these I will test this instance against the definition I have just quoted above.

How do we know that God created the Heavens and the Earth? Because in Gen 1:1 it says In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There is a multitude of information in the Bible about Creation and all of God’s purposes in it. But we can define that Creation was Created by God from this one verse. It is a declaration of a fact. The context is not abused, and the remainder of Scripture does not change the context of that single verse being used in isolation. In short this being true is not dependent on other Scriptures, but other Scriptures are absolutely dependent on it being true. This may seem like an overly simplified example but it actually matches our topic completely (at least as completely as I can see at this moment).

So I have established that something can be defined, or declared, by just a portion of Scripture without it being Proof-Texting. So we must now move on to question if defining The Gospel by 1 Cor 15:1-11 is Proof-Texting or not.

At this moment I feel prompted to make this comment. I am not mocking anyone who has thought these thoughts, or questioned this way at all. This is a valuable question that has been asked by many people in various ways. I have not answered it, and I have not seen it answered to date. I've decided to make this an article so that everyone can be exposed to it. I think it's a very valuable conversation to have.

The Apostle Paul spent much of his ministry defending his Apostleship. He said that his Gospel, and the entirety of the “revelation of the mystery” was given to him directly from the Risen Christ. Gal 1:11-12; Eph 3:1-7 Scripture declares Paul’s authority and his ministry to the Church. It would take up needed time and space to defend this at this point. I will assume your agreement as I go forward and I will lean on the fact of his confirmed authority and his fidelity in preaching the Message received directly from Christ Himself.

1 Cor 15:1-2 in the NKJV reads as the following.

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

There is a TON to cover in these two verses that relates to our discussion. Forgive me if I fail to encompass it all.

Paul says he’s going to declare the Gospel which he had preached to them in the past. He is going to “define” it to them again with great knowledge and understanding. They had come to question parts of it. His purpose in defining it to them again was to bring them out of their questioning and back into proper fellowship – their Sanctification was his purpose as he declared to them again how they were Justified.

He reminds them that they had received this message. They had “obeyed the Gospel” because they believed it, they received this Truth and accepted it as such. Rom 10:16 2 Thes 1:8

He then assures them that it is in this message that they are caused to stand. It is this message that provides their standing before God.

He then declares that it is by this message that they are saved now this is an important word for a number of issues. This word, in the declaration of the purpose and effect of The Gospel provides undisputable proof of Eternal Security and at the same time shows that the Apostle is declaring a message of Eternal Salvation and not Temporal (or Progressive) Sanctification. If we look at the “form” of the word in the Greek we can see the following at Blueletterbible.org.

The Tense is Present The Voice is Passive and the Mood is Indicative

This tells us that Paul is making a statement of absolute truth, a statement of fact, of their condition right now of something they have received – not achieved, or arrived at. By this we know Paul is speaking of Eternal Salvation and not progressive Sanctification which can only be absolutely true (complete) when we are in resurrected in Glory. Philippians 3:12

Paul then returns to his purpose in declaring these this Truth, their holding to it and being Sanctified (separated from the World) by saying “if you hold fast what I preached to you” Not that their salvation is conditional on “holding fast” but that he is looking for their return to agreement with this thing he has stated as fact. This interpretation is confirmed with his next words – “unless you have believed in vain.” He defines vain belief in 1 Cor 15:12-19, it is not a failure to “really believe” , it’s a belief in something that isn’t true. If the Gospel is not true then we are all the most pitiful of men. Further indication that while his purpose is to return these believers to full fellowship (Sanctification) he is actually declaring the message that saves Eternally is found in that same section of Scripture 1 Cor 15:19. The hope (assurance that something is actually going to happen because God said so) is beyond this present life.

Paul then goes on to give the details of The Gospel of Jesus Christ in 1 Cor 15:3-8 Finally he closes the doctrine as a complete message in verse 11

Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

This is what was preached by the Apostles, this is what Paul received, this is what Believers receive.

So far I have shown that Paul is making a declaration based on in-depth knowledge and in full authority. And that reception of this message results in a secure Eternal Salvation. And, since I have defined what Paul is doing, now I must determine if using only this declaration to define the content of “The Gospel” qualifies as Proof-Texting or not. This is no small task. I have to admit that from my own point of view I think that it’s clearly not, since the Apostle himself is declaring it.. would Paul be doing something akin to proof-texting himself? But my point of view is not what is needed.

First is the content exhaustive? Does it cover everything that any and all other Scriptures having to do with attaining Eternal Salvation require. It would be well beyond my time constraints to list and examine every verse that deals with this. I’m sure as the conversation progresses through comments that most, and maybe even all of them, will be discussed and what I write here can be vetted against them. For my defence of how exhaustive Paul’s Gospel declaration is I offer part of a document I prepared for TCC. This was entitled “A Semi-Detailed View Of The Gospel” it is not intended to cover every bit of what is contained but it ought to server for our purposes of showing the scope of what Paul wrote in these few verses.

Verse 1:
“In which you stand” We are held by He who is able to keep us from
stumbling. Jude verse 24.

Verse 2:
This is the "Gospel" (Good News) that saves.

“If you hold fast” Paul is re-explaining the Resurrection of Christ to the Corinthians. We see in verse 1 that they “received” this teaching from him. He's saying you know we stand in this if you still believe what I told you before. Not that we are only saved as long as we “hold fast”.

“unless you believed in vain” if we don't “stand” in this, if it doesn't save then we have all believed in vain. If the Gospel is powerless to save then we are the most pitiable men (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Verse 3: 
“First of all” the Gospel is what makes a person a Christian. It is what we bring first. It is of “first importance” but it is also the first thing we talk about.

“Christ” - God's Anointed because God gave Him for this purpose and God Himself because all of Creation was cursed to suffer death so the person who died for all sins legally could not have already been under a sentence of death (Genesis 3:14-19; Romans 8:20-22).

“died for our sins” we are each sinners. The righteous requirement to satisfy God for our sins is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:22). This did satisfy God (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14) and is provision for forgiveness for all persons. Anyone can have this forgiveness applied to them (1 John 2:2).

“according to the Scriptures”, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 are prophecies of this and, it happened exactly when God said it would (Daniel 9).

Verse 4:
“buried” means He was really dead.

“rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (Psalm 16:9-11). Corruption starts on the fourth day (such as with Lazarus John 11:39). We are risen up in Christ's rising (Pauline Epistles) so Hosea 6:2 is also prophecy of this. Then the Sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:38-40; Jonah 1:17)

Verses 5-10: 
He was seen alive after His resurrection in the flesh by real people. Over five hundred on some twelve occasions. At the time of the writing of this
letter most of these people were still alive.

Verse 11: 
“so we preached, so you believed.” Paul closes the Gospel with the
statement that no matter which of the Apostles preached to them (the Corinthians were torn between the Apostles in their loyalties), this is the Gospel they preached and this is what Christians have believed. This along with Verses 1& 2 closes the doctrine of the Gospel. Nothing can be added or taken away from this message detailed in these few verses.

For a much more exhaustive look at the contents of these 11 verses I suggest a reading of Free Grace Free Speech’s articles on the content of the Gospel. I hope this will not be seen as an “appeal to authority” I’m not looking for those articles to prove my point but simply to complete the information that I can not provide here but that the more noble minded reader would use to aid his or her examination of the subject.

We find in various areas of the NT that belief that Jesus is “The Christ” brings Salvation. That believing He is the Son of God brings Salvation. That belief that Jesus is God brings Salvation. We read that obeying – believing – the Gospel brings Salvation. I think of sections like John 20:30-31 Rom 10:8-13 Rom 10:16 2 Thes 1:8 I don’t want to get to deep into repentance in this post, but let it suffice that Repentance Unto Salvation is a requirement, it is the change from disbelief to belief. It is “afterthought” or a “change of mind.” You hear the Word of God and you repent from unbelief to belief. Rom 10:17 Eph 1:13 come to mind.

We read much about the testimony of Christ in the NT. This is here to prove to the Jew and the Gentile Who He is. These proofs are not part of The Gospel, they are things that demonstrate Christ’s qualification to carry out the work of the Gospel. John 20:30-31

So… given all of this does citing 1 Cor 15:1-11 as the definition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ qualify as Proof-Texting? I will remind you of our working definition of this practice.

…the practice of using decontextualised quotations from a document to establish a proposition rhetorically an appeal to authority. Critics of the technique note that often the document, when read as a whole, may not in fact support the proposition.

The quotation of 1 Cor 15:1-11 as The Gospel does not abuse the context, it echoes the Apostle’s own words.

It does not attempt to establish a proposition rhetorically through an appeal to authority. Mainly because the authority in this case gives the direction. This quotation is not in support of my idea, my idea is driven only by the Apostle’s declaration. Just exactly the same way that my idea of God being the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth is not supported by Gen 1:1, it is driven by it.

Finally, the rest of the Document (the Bible) confirms there is no other content required to know and that each of the points in 1 Cor 15:1-11 is required for belief. It identifies the person, character, qualification, and completion that is in Christ Jesus. There are many things in Scripture which are dependant on this section being The Gospel, but other than the statements actually being true (unless our belief is in vain) The Gospel is completely true independent of the rest of the NT. If one only had the Gospel and they believed it they would be saved.

Therefore after all of this I submit that quoting 1 Cor 15:1-11 does not qualify as Proof-Texting and is self-evidently, and also established by God given authority, to be The Gospel that saves eternally.