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#DailyDevotion If There Is No Resurrection Eat, Drink & Be Merry

#DailyDevotion If There Is No Resurrection Eat, Drink & Be Merry

1Co 15:30-34  Why are we in danger every hour?  (31)  I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!  (32)  What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  (33)  Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”  (34)  Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Dying and going to heaven is not a Christian shtick. If there is no resurrection of the body from the dead then our whole living out our Christian faith is for nothing. So Paul is trying to point this out to those who deny the resurrection in the Corinthian congregation. Why did he put up with danger? Why did I bother fighting wild beasts in Ephesus? If there is no resurrection then there is nothing, so “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  Seriously, we need to remember the resurrection. It is a key article of faith we confess in the ecumenical creeds. There are a lot of evangelical churches that don’t have creeds so it’s understandable to hear them not emphasize the resurrection. But even historical churches have plenty of members who probably through movies, TV shows and supermarket news rags have completely forgotten this most important doctrine. As Paul has said earlier in the chapter, “If there is not resurrection of the body, your faith is in vain. You are still in your sins.” Seriously, if there is no resurrection from the dead, sin to your heart’s desire. Do whatever makes you feel good now. Because there is nothing after this if there is no resurrection of the dead bodily.

But if there is a resurrection of the body then there is a Judgment Day and there is the resurrection to eternal life and a resurrection to eternal perdition. So watch out who you hang out with. Paul is not talking about non-Christians in particular here, though non-Christian company should be handled with care. No, in particular he is talking about Christians who deny the resurrection, who have lost their faith. These are the people to watch out for. They are the ones who will kill your faith. They may still talk like Christians but their teaching and their actions will prove who they are.

Since there is a resurrection and therefore a judgment we should make sure we are awake in our faith and not a drunken stupor, figuratively and literally. For such a false faith will go on sinning with impunity. Make sure you are not one of them. While our sins are forgiven in Christ and we have been justified by faith, we should live as people who are going to be judged. Indeed we will be judged by Christ in our flesh for what we have done with our faith in our bodies now. As Paul said in chapter three, some will be there like a man who just escaped a burning building with just the his clothes on (the righteousness of Christ). As it is, we must daily repent of our sins and trust in Jesus.

“For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” Oh the importance of active listening when we hear a sermon: especially if we don’t go to a bible study as well! The devil would have to sitting there in church in a daze. Work hard at listening. God is trying to teach you. It is ignorance of the Christian faith that Paul is accusing the Corinthians of having. Didn’t they learn it from Paul? Haven’t they been listening to the pastor Paul placed there? It is to your shame if you’ve been in Sunday services all year and you don’t know about the resurrection of the dead. But now you have read this. Now you know. Your Christian hope is to rise bodily just as Jesus rose from the dead.

Heavenly Father, grant us the gift of repentance, that we may always turn from our sins and look to your Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of those sins and the resurrection of the body to eternal life on the day of his return. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

One Comment

  1. Great conversation. God bless you

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