Thursday, April 27, 2006
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
A MESSAGE WITHOUT SEASON
Have the teachings of the Scriptures become seasonal for us? I'm not asking or even suggesting that our church celebrations have become secularized. I'm wondering, do we confine our study of certain Scriptures to certain times of the year? It seems out of place to hear Christmas Carols in July, so do we only concentrate on the teaching of the virgin birth of the Savior in November and December? Do we think about Jesus' Humiliation during the Lenten Season? Is Justification by faith a theme we only discuss during our Reformation celebration? Shall we confine our thoughts of the Resurrection to Easter Sunday and a few weeks afterward? Should we? NO! Take the example of the Apostle Paul.
When the Apostle Paul went from place to place on his missionary journeys, the Resurrection of Jesus was at the heart of his preaching no matter what time of the year. When Paul came to Athens, the book of Acts shows that he proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus. It also shows the Athenian's reaction to the Resurrection. Paul said (Acts 17:31-33): "'[God] has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.' And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, 'We will hear you again on this matter.' So Paul departed from among them."
When Paul came to Corinth, he proclaimed that Jesus was not dead, but had been raised by God as proof of His redemptive work. He encouraged the Corinthians to trust in Jesus because He was and is the Christ, the chosen Savior of God and the Resurrection proved it. In the first verses of the 15th Chapter, Paul reminded the Corinthians (and us) about what our faith rests upon -- a risen and living Jesus.
Christ is risen from the dead. So let's not live or talk as if Jesus were dead. May the Spirit of God move us to look for every opportunity to serve Christ by proclaiming His death AND RESURRECTION -- no matter what time of the year it happens to be!
