The first thing I
did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the
Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried;
that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture
says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers,
and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most
of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time
with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he
finally presented himself alive to me.
It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that
inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my
best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.
But because God
was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his
grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the
others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me
the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from
me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you
entrusted your lives.Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. – The Message -
* * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *
As Paul concludes his letter he leaves
his friends one final reminder— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own;
this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved
is precisely the same message that God so emphatically gave Paul. Remember
the Road to Damascus?And…?
· That the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it;
· That he was buried;
· That he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says;
· That he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around
· That he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and
· That he finally presented himself alive to me.
So, with respect to all the bad behavior evident in the Corinthian church,
Paul asks this final question: If you
became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive,
risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a
resurrection?
I should point out he didn’t ask “how can you say there is no such thing as a resurrection?”
This is more than just academic. This goes to the heart of our faith. Do we
believe the truth we claim is applicable to our neighbor? Well, why would we
allow our neighbor to redact the most critical element of our faith claims?
When we do this we are effectively saying their eternal welfare is of no concern
to us.
It’s unbelievable we would be so callous but....
It’s not difficult to follow the logical consequences. If there’s no
resurrection, Christ did not rise from the dead. If Christ did not rise from
the dead there is no eternal life. If there is no eternal life our faith in
Christ is meaningless.
Which explains why most people in our communities no longer have any
interest in religious things…they’re meaningless. All Christ is able to do, in
this case, is offer a little solace or diversion while we struggle through
life. Buddha does that. Gandhi does that. Hollywood does that. I guess I’d
prefer a source that doesn’t demand so much of me if that’s all I get out of
it.
A
pretty sorry lot…
All because we let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection.
But, of course, the truth is… Christ has
been raised up. Don’t let people say
otherwise.
Live boldly out there today…
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