If
you would like to watch the story of this painting go to:
http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnplayer/cbnPlayer.swf?s=/vod/MW131v2_WS
http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnplayer/cbnPlayer.swf?s=/vod/MW131v2_WS
“And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you,
which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. That is the gospel, the
message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it—
unless it was for nothing that you believed.
I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died
for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to
life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; that he appeared to Peter and then to
all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at
once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died. Then he appeared to
James, and afterward to all the apostles” 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 (TEV)
The passage above is considered by virtually all scholars to be the earliest proclamation of the Gospel circulated after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It most likely dates back all the way into the 30’s AD (determined by checking out the chronology of Paul’s life as found in Galatians and elsewhere).
Paul
writes that this Gospel, as articulated in the second paragraph, will “save
you”. The question becomes,
what will this Gospel save you from and what will it save you for?
Just
as God saved Israel from bondage in slavery to the Egyptians oppressors, the
Gospel will save each of us from bondage to all the sinful propensities which
enslave us and prevent us from living a joyful and free life.
This Gospel also frees me from the fear of death because its promise is
that we will be given a free-from-sin life in all its vibrancy when we are
resurrected from the grave. The
Gospel also saves us for a new kind of life today.
We get only glimpses of it now, but those glimpses and the life that
leads us to those glimpses is profound.
But Paul adds an important
caveat, “if you hold firmly to it”.
I
have always struggled trying to understand who’s right about the “security
of my salvation”. Is it
“once saved, always saved”? Is
it Grace without works? It is Grace
and works? Is John Calvin
right or is James Arminius right or is John Wesley right?
Is it predestination or free will or both or is one saved by the cross
but then works must show up or . . . or . . . or . .
.
I
hope that you just read the Bible and let it guide you rather than force fitting
the Bible into one of the many (sometimes/always? artificial ) systematic
theological frameworks which inevitably get shattered by the Bible itself.
Back
to the point. “if you hold
firmly to it”. I like
this a lot. I know, I know,
Grace has no “if’s” otherwise it’s not Grace.
But there it is, “if you hold firmly to it”.
That’s
our challenge on the day after Easter, isn’t it?
To hold firmly to it, to live a resurrection life where pessimism and
negatively have no place in our hearts or speech.
This
week ask yourself each day this question, “Do my attitudes and behaviors
reflect the reality that the new world
of God has burst onto the scene and can never be extinguished and that God’s
new world is available to me right now?
Or are my attitudes and behaviors at any given moment a denial of that
reality?
“Lord, You are making all things new.
I choose to believe that and with your help I will also choose to think
and act in such a way, at any given moment, that my life proclaims that truth.
That kind of life, lord has no place for pessimism or negativity, only
faith, trust, eyes to see, ears to hear, and belief that resurrection,
restoration, and renewal are happening at every moment, and everywhere.
Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.
Amen”
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