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What About the Verse That Says “Unless You Believed in Vain” ?
​

It is actually impossible to believe Christ in vain, and this question overall generally arises because of a common misinterpretation of verses 1 and 2 of 1Cor 15:

1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; 2By which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1Cor 15:1-4

The key to understanding this issue is actually found a few Scriptures later in verses 12-14:

12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 1Cor 15:12-14

Believing in vain actually refers to a hypothetical situation: if Christ had not risen then our faith would be in vain, (and of course we know that Christ has risen). The context of believing in vain is only in reference to if Jesus had not risen from the dead and then yes, all who believe in Him would  be wasting their time. They would be believing in vain because the Gospel would not be true. But thank God Jesus has risen and so the Gospel is true!

The underlying Greek word for "in vain" refers to something that is empty or that is done without cause or reason. The promise of salvation would be empty and so there would not be any justifiable cause or reason to believe the Gospel if Christ had not risen. Further, "in vain" can also refer to meaning “without success” or “to no avail”, without any benefit. And belief in the Gospel would certainly be to no avail if Christ had not risen from the dead. It is also important to note that the underlying Greek makes no mention of anything in connection with "intensity" of belief, sin, repentance of sin or any kind of performance-related issue that might be absent. So no, from both the context and the underlying Greek, we see that believing in vain does not mean failing to believe hard enough, and It does not mean failing to produce good works or failing to stay clean enough through repentance of sin.

In fact, there's actually no such thing as degrees of saving faith. Saving faith is either “on or off” just like a light switch. There are no fine gradations of intensity like a dimmer switch. So there is no such thing as believing harder or lesser when it comes to trusting Christ. Either you trust Him or you don't. There is no in-between. So the question, "Did I believe hard enough?" is invalid from the very start.

The bottom line is it IMPOSSIBLE to believe Jesus Christ in vain (meaning truly believing, trusting and relying on Him for salvation to no avail, with no results and with no benefit). Faith in Christ always produces eternal life, an enormous benefit, and so that is hardly believing in vain.



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​© 2006-2019 ChristiansFree.com - All Scriptures quoted are from the KJV Bible with Old English words updated to modern English and with word definitions in brackets as needed. These updates do not affect the meaning of the verses, but simply make them easier to read and understand. Old English is not spoken in our modern society and it is shortsighted to believe that God's Word is trapped in any language and therefore cannot be updated or translated into other languages for other cultures. For information on why the King-James-Only position is in error, click here.
  • Home
  • True Salvation
    • What It Means To Really Believe: Faith (Trust) Alone In Christ Alone
    • WHOSOEVER Believes
    • Eternal Life is a FREE Gift
    • But What About....? >
      • What About James Chapter 2, Doesn't It Teach Salvation By Faith + Works? No!
      • What About the Verse That Says “Unless You Believed in Vain” ?
      • What About Repentance? >
        • Introduction: Understanding Repentance
        • Don't Make The Mistake of Repenting of The Wrong Thing
        • Check Your Focus - Are You Asking Yourself Any Of These Questions?
        • A Changed Lifestyle Is Not Proof of Salvation
    • Beware the False "Free Gift" That "Costs You Everything"
    • Is Belief Really Enough? Don't Even The Devils Believe?
    • More ... >
      • Different People Come To Christ Under Different Circumstances
      • Doubting Thomas or Due Diligence?
      • The Anathema Curse Upon Preaching a False Gospel
      • A Curious Encounter With a “Self-Made” Man
  • The Real Christian Life
    • For The New Christian
    • General Articles >
      • You Have A Ministry
      • What A True Church Looks Like
      • Are Churches Supposed To Be Large or Small?
      • The Blindness of the Pampered - Why Churchmen Don't Usually Question The Status Quo
      • Conversations With God?
      • Response To Question - Should I Leave My Church?
      • Forsaking All and Dying To Self Are Spiritual Goals Not Physical Requirements
    • Problems To Avoid >
      • Don't Fall Victim to a Cult-Like Business Disguised as a Church
      • Church Buildings – A Monumental Waste of Money
      • Some Churches Aren't Just a Business, They're a DREAM Business in Disguise
      • Are Christians Supposed To Tithe? No!
      • Nice Guys With Good Intentions?
      • Beware of Ministries Disguised As Churches
      • Is Staying in a Bad Church Ever the Lesser of Two Evils?
      • Beware The "Faithful Givers" Manipulation
      • The King James Only Error
      • Beware of the Spiritual Serial Killers
  • Audio
  • More Information
    • Archive >
      • Is There A Good Church in Your Area?
      • The Error of Spontaneous Pastoral Authority
      • Is Tithing Biblical?
      • Exposing the Tithing Error
      • Answering the Question: Should I Confront My Pastor?
      • But God Is Working Through Our Church
    • About >
      • About This Site
      • Am I Against Pastors and Elders? No! Only False Pastors and Elders!
      • By What Authority Do I Teach?
    • Legal / Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy