(Contd.)
In verses 14 to 18 Paul makes 4 very crucial points.
A. Denial of the resurrection destroys the essence of the Christian message and the validity of the reality of faith.
B. It also brings into question the truthfulness of Paul and the other apostles preaching the resurrected Christ.
C. Denial of the resurrection also questions the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life.
Dr. David Jeremiah in the Jeremiah study bible puts it this way.
Paul says the resurrection is not merely a doctrine for the future it affects how Christians live in the present. If the message of Christ is for this life only à then life has no purpose.
You know come to think of it ‘what if there was no Easter is not really a hypothetical question.
It is a very critically relevant question and this passage is a very elaborate answer to that question. If there was no Easter we would be living carrying the burden of our sins on ourselves.
If there was no Easter we would be living without any hope for the future.
If there was no Easter the word of God would be irrelevant.
Because, there is an Easter we worship the risen living Christ our sins are forgiven as he paid the price with his death.
Because there is an Easter we have the hope of eternal life because Christ lives we will live with him eternally.
And we celebrate and worship our risen lord not just on resurrection Sunday but on every Sunday.
Why did Paul address this question with such urgency and you can hear that urgency in his words.
It was because some false teachers in Corinth were preaching that there was no resurrection of the dead. They were of the view that once you die that was the end. The reason for this line of thinking is that some people treat god’s word arbitrarily. They take parts that they like and reject others that they don’t. And mind you some preachers do that even today.
But if God’s word is the authority then all of it must believed even if there are some parts which may be difficult to understand.
It was because some false teachers in Corinth were preaching that there was no resurrection of the dead. They were of the view that once you die that was the end. The reason for this line of thinking is that some people treat god’s word arbitrarily. They take parts that they like and reject others that they don’t. And mind you some preachers do that even today.
But if God’s word is the authority then all of it must believed even if there are some parts which may be difficult to understand.
Paul’s message to the Corinthians and to us is that to deny our own resurrection is to deny Christ’s rising from the dead. And denying the resurrection of Christ destroys the very essence of the Christian faith which is eternal life through the risen and ever-living Jesus Christ.
In verses 14 to 18 Paul makes 4 very crucial points.
A. Denial of the resurrection destroys the essence of the Christian message and the validity of the reality of faith.
B. It also brings into question the truthfulness of Paul and the other apostles preaching the resurrected Christ.
C. Denial of the resurrection also questions the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life.
Dr. David Jeremiah in the Jeremiah study bible puts it this way.
Paul says the resurrection is not merely a doctrine for the future it affects how Christians live in the present. If the message of Christ is for this life only à then life has no purpose.
You know come to think of it ‘what if there was no Easter is not really a hypothetical question.
It is a very critically relevant question and this passage is a very elaborate answer to that question. If there was no Easter we would be living carrying the burden of our sins on ourselves.
If there was no Easter we would be living without any hope for the future.
If there was no Easter the word of God would be irrelevant.
Because, there is an Easter we worship the risen living Christ our sins are forgiven as he paid the price with his death.
Because there is an Easter we have the hope of eternal life because Christ lives we will live with him eternally.
And we celebrate and worship our risen lord not just on resurrection Sunday but on every Sunday.
Comments
Post a Comment