“…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
This may be a good time for us to remind ourselves of the value of faith. Faith is a loyalty and commitment to another. You can be a faithful to any number of things – faithful to God, your friends, your principles… you can even be faithful to your Crossfit workout plan.
Faith is not necessarily a good thing. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily. You can put your faith in the wrong type of people. You can faithfully continue in your bad habits. You can be faithfully loyal to the lies you tell yourself. Faith is just a commitment – commit to the wrong thing and you are sunk.
If Jesus isn’t raised from the dead, our faith is worthless. Our faith is in an event (the resurrection) and in a Person (Jesus, the Son of God). Make no mistake. Christianity is more than a philosophy. Christian faith is based upon facts. There is an empty tomb, and that changes everything.
It isn’t enough to just be faithful. Ask yourself – where is my faith placed?
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Questions to ask:
- How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
- What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
- How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
- What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
- How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
This year, #Biblebites are following the life and writings of Paul. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2023-vision