what does 1 Cor 15:2 mean about believing in vain?
1 Corinthians 15
15 Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and
wherein ye stand;
2 By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
this is paul
speaking to a church
in this church there are many who have heard the truth
those who STAND in it are saved (brothers)
those who turn from it
are not
their "belief" was not genuine
paul cannot see their hearts
but he is addressing brothers
as well as the goats mixed in with the sheep <- belief lacking in faith (no trust... doesnt endure... no confidence.... no trust ... not born again... no new heart ... no quickened spirit)
those who believe in vain are of this sort
1 John 2:19
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
or this sort
Romans 1:28
“And even as they did not like to retain God in
their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
but we (brothers) are not of them
Hebrews 10:39
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.