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The Daily Word of Righteousness
First Corinthians, Fifteen, #4
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (I Corinthians 15:3-8)
Here is the basis of the Christian Gospel:
The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sin-offering, making an atonement for all who put their trust in Him.
The Lord Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
The Lord Jesus rose bodily from the dead on the third day, in fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of firstfruits (Leviticus 23:10) and the type of Jonah (Jonah 1:17).
After He came forth from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea the Lord Jesus was seen by Peter, then by the other Apostles, then by five hundred disciples, then by James, then by all the Apostles, and finally by the Apostle Paul.
The Christian Gospel presents the Lord Jesus as the sin-bearer and then as the Son of Man who rose from the dead as a flesh-and-bone person. There were many witnesses of Christ's resurrection from the dead.
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39)
When we turn aside from the Law of Moses, or whatever moral code we are following, and place our trust in the blood atonement and the bodily resurrection of Christ, we have entered God's plan of salvation. It is not that such belief is our salvation but that belief in the Person and work of Christ orients us correctly to God's plan of salvation so we may set forth on the pilgrimage that leads finally to the moral image of Christ and to union with the Father through the Son.
Our hope is that if we place our trust in the blood atonement made by Christ we then can press forward in the certain knowledge that the Lord will raise us at His coming just as He Himself was raised, provided we have kept His commandments.
The issue today is that of keeping the Lord's commandments.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
Shall we be saved anyway even though we do not keep the Lord's commandments? How would you answer this question?
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (I Corinthians 15:9)
Throughout his entire life the Apostle Paul never forgot that at one time he had done great harm to Christian families. Some of us also have done things we regret. We may ask the Lord, "Why did you let me do this? Why did You let me sin when you knew my desire was to do Your will?"
We do not always understand the Lord but we trust Him.
We could speculate that God, knowing the awesome responsibility He was assigning to the Apostle Paul concerning the explanation of the transition from Moses to Christ, wanted to make certain that Paul would not become proud of his own righteousness.
To be continued.