There is one pillar that makes Christianity different from all other faith groups. Without this pillar, Christianity is nothing other than a litany of morals and ethics. Take this pillar away and we are forced to call Jesus a liar. It was not just that he was resurrected. In compliance with many prophecies of the Old Testament, he foretold frequently that he would be murdered and after three days be resurrected.
Take away the fact that Jesus is alive at this very minute, we have invested ourselves in a poor choice. Paul said we would be most miserable. Each of us try to conform to the teachings of Jesus. Sometimes we fail and sometimes we succeed. The strength of our belief rests on the resurrection. If Jesus did not come out of the grave, there really is no reason to serve God. Without the resurrection, we would not be able to trust the multitude of promises our Lord has made to us.
Because Jesus was resurrected, we can console ourselves that our departed loved ones are safe and secure in a heavenly realm. It is our privilege to latch on to the kind of faith that reassures us death will have no permanent rule over our existence. For the believer, death is a better doorway to another room. All that is eternal about us will go on in the company of God. Follow the scarlet thread all through the Bible. There is the common theme that God is unveiling our future all the way to the end of the book of Revelation in which there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The Bible says that we will reign with him. The Bible says that there will be no death, no illness, no pain, and no tears.
Jesus came to earth for two reasons. He came to destroy the works of the devil. Whatever is evil, unkind is of him. Jesus would have none of that for his children. He wanted to deliver us from the harassment and persecution from Satan.(1 John 3:8) Jesus also came to heal the breach between mankind and God. (Titus 2:14) The tragedy is that without the resurrection of Jesus, that which we call faith is useless and we are still in our sins. The consolation we have of knowing that our loved ones has gone on to be with Jesus would then become empty. It would be of no account. Oh, what turmoil this presents to us that our loved ones we thought fell asleep in the arms of Jesus have perished.
Paul presents us with irony. He spoke of hope in Christ, but what hope is it that leaves us in a state of misery and despair. Such hope is misplaced in a Savior that could not save if this were true that Christ was not resurrected! We are left only playing religion. It is questionable whether hope has any purpose. Hope is that which is to be realized. If there is nothing to realize after death, hope has no value. It offers no joy or comfort.
Unfortunately, it is too easy to be absorbed with religion. It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that motivated the disciples and the apostle Paul. They saw him. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Christ. Paul saw him on the road to Damascus. If only we could claim that same empowerment in our own lives today. A deep conviction for the resurrection of Christ would give us a new purpose in life. It would motivate us. It would be a means by which we overcome life’s daily chores, disappointments, and hurts. Our attention has been too much attached to what is happening in the world while ignoring the power of the resurrection that will someday be ours.
In verse 32 Paul shares with us that he actually fought beasts at Ephesus. He raises the rhetorical question for why he should do this if Christ is not resurrected. He willingly stood in the presence of creatures that would eat his very flesh. With that same power for the resurrection of Christ he was enabled to conquer the beasts so that he might live. My friends, do not just think about the resurrection of Jesus. Let that reality be absorbed in every cell of our body. Let us be so immersed in such a reality that the things of this world are trivial. The resurrection of Jesus is a source of power for us. It is a motivating factor for victory in life. It is the vehicle for how we experience this world. Be excited! Every day be excited!! Let the resurrection of Christ be so real that it is our main obsession.
Christian Writer 