Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The reason for our faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus not be raised, our faith is in vain. It is safe to say that all people have faith in something. However, misplaced faith is no help at all. In fact, it can hurt.
Our faith must be in Christ alone!
I whom or it what have you placed your faith?
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IS OUR FAITH IN VAIN?
The Energized Life
“and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;” 1 Corinthians 15:5-6 (NASB)
Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor was a character that the comedian Tim Allen played on the show “Tool Time” back in the 90’s. He worked for a tool company as a salesman. He eventually got a TV show on which he would demonstrate the tools his company made. An underlying theme of the show was Tim’s obsession with “more power”. He would “beef-up” tools with more power thinking he could get the job done faster. However, as it works out in the different episodes, it would always get him into trouble. This seems to be a great analogy for the Christian life, except in reverse. There are too many professing Christians living with the power of the Holy Spirit!
Dr. Larry Petton makes the following observation:
“One of the curious questions I have always had concerns the people who actually saw Christ after His resurrection. I would love to have been part of that group to see Jesus in His glorified, resurrected body!
But, for some reason, that incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience didn’t seem to make a difference in many of those people. Paul says in I Corinthians 15 that over 500 hundred saw Christ after His resurrection. Jesus told them to go and wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:8-11). They were to worship and wait for 40 days.
The problem here is……..only 120 were in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came in power. The question I have is: where were the other 380 plus believers who saw the resurrected Christ personally? Those believers had been with Christ to the Cross…….they had experienced His resurrection power……..but they were not partakers of Pentecost!
How many believers today have been to the Cross…….they know Christ as their Risen Savior………..but they have not been endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. They are like the Israelites in the Wilderness —- they were brought OUT of Egypt, but they have not been brought INTO the Promised Land of victory.”
It is so obvious to see the power of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles. Many of them were used to write the New Testament. All of them died as martyrs for the proclamation of the Gospel except for John and he lived his remaining years in exile. However, all lived in the power of the Spirit. The question for today is “Are you living in the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you content just knowing about Jesus or do you have a relationship with Him?
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus by way of the cross. Help me to live each day by Your grace trust You for all that I need. Please help me to share with others the glorious message of the Gospel. In Jesus Name, Amen.
IS OUR FAITH IN VAIN?
Half the Story
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 (NASB)
I love to travel. It probably started when I was just a kid and my family would go on vacation. We would usually go camping at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. After encountering a severe nor’easter, we struck camp and finished the camping trip at North Bend Park at Kerr Lake in Virginia. It was always a special time of being with family, making new friends and exploring this beautiful land that God created. Even though fifty years have passed, I still like to travel. I enjoy learning the history of an area or people.
As I travel through the pages of history in the Bible, I am struck by the “salvation history” found throughout the text. This history is seen as God uses Noah to save a remnant of people through the flood or as Moses leads the Israelites to the “Promise Land”. This history climaxes in the person of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death on the cross is an incredible story of courageous selfless love in action. This is a story worth telling over and over. However, it is only half the story…
D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of the nineteenth century, assigned some ministerial students to conduct evangelistic tent meetings throughout the city of Chicago. The students were to preach nightly sermons as a means of winning souls for Christ and to practice their preaching. Dr. Moody personally showed up one night unannounced at one of the meeting places to hear one of his fledgling young ministers preach the gospel. The young man did quite well expounding on the death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world. At the close of the service, he announced that everyone should come back the next night when he would “preach on the resurrection of Christ.” After the people left, Moody said, “Young man, many of these people will not be back tomorrow night and consequently have only heard half the gospel!” (Source unknown).
The other half of the story is the resurrection! Without the resurrection, the story even though thrilling, is not worth the telling. God raised Jesus from death and the grave! From this salvation history, an incredible hope springs forth enabling us to live life to the fullest extent.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the salvation history that shows You at work in every situation. The hope I gain from knowing You gives me the courage to live life with abandon. Help me to live it all the more! Please give me the courage to share with others in a real way this hope that is only found in You! I offer this prayer in matchless name of Jesus, Amen.
Is Our Faith In Vain?
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14 (NASB)
The question I want to ask you to consider today, “Is our faith in vain?” Since you cannot answer for anyone else, let me rephrase it to ask “Is your faith in vain?” George W. J. Shearer has a great response. Please give it some thought.
“The Date for Easter moves around each year. In the year 2018 (and in 2029) it will land right on April 1st –April Fool’s Day. A lot of us have played April Fool’s jokes on others, or have had these jokes played on us. But what if history’s worst joke turned out to be that we were counting on a salvation that didn’t exist?
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul raises the “Bad News”:
If the dead aren’t raised, then neither is Christ. (v. 16)
If Christ isn’t raised, then we are still in sin. (v. 17)
If we die in sin, then we are lost. (v. 18)
If we are lost, then we are to be pitied. (v. 19)
(In other words, we’d be the victims of history’s cruelest April Fool’s joke!) But, fortunately, he also goes on with the “Good News”:
Christ is raised from the dead. (v. 20)
Our resurrection comes through Him. (v. 21)
We are made alive in Him. (v. 22)
The world is full of religions whose spiritual leaders have all died and are now buried. Only Christianity follows a Messiah who left behind an empty tomb. Our Savior Lives! So, rather than being victims of a terrible joke, we are blessed with a living Lord, who now offers that same resurrection and eternal life to each one of us.
Now, all we have to do is go out and tell the rest of the world…”
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for posing the tough questions because sometimes they are too hard to ask. Moreover, thank You for answering them. I suspect every one of us has at one time or another in our life doubted some aspect of the Christian faith. There is certainly no doubt more crucial than the resurrection of Christ from the dead and it must be answered. Thank You for the answer: He’s alive! In Jesus Name, Amen.
