On this new day that the Lord has made we get to move away from the rules and regulations for church services and move into a portion of Scripture that lays out for us the foundation of the gospel. No amount of reverence in worship, and no amount of good works, means anything if we forget what the Christian religion is founded upon: the resurrection of Christ. If Christ did not rise from the dead, there is no gospel. If Christ did not rise from the dead as He said He would, then He is not who He says He is. And if Christ did not rise from the dead, the Christian religion has no more meaning than any pagan religion.
"Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) It is not Paul who saved the believers at Corinth, but it was their acceptance of the gospel message that saved them. If they do not believe in the foundation of the gospel (that Jesus rose from the dead) they are believing in vain. They are believing in something that is incomplete and untrue. If they are going to believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, they must believe that He also rose from the dead.
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." (1 Corinthians 15:3-7) Paul is saying, "My testimony and the testimonies of the others who saw the risen Christ can be trusted. Look how many reliable witnesses saw and interacted with Jesus after He rose from the dead! Most of them are still alive, so don't just take my word for it; ask them yourselves. Do you think intelligent and completely sane men like the Apostle Peter and the Lord's brother James only imagined they saw the risen Christ? Do you think those who ate and drank with Him following the resurrection were just suffering from hallucinations? And what about the five hundred witnesses who saw Him at once? How can you explain such a thing if it is not true? The resurrection is a fact, and there are more witnesses to it than there have ever been in any courtroom. You would accept the testimony of two or three people who testified to the same thing in court. Why not accept the testimonies of hundreds of people who saw Jesus in the flesh after His death?"
Why does Paul refer to his conversion experience in the way he does? He says, "Last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." He uses the Greek word "ektroma", which is a word that would be used if a person said, "I had a miscarriage", or, "My baby was stillborn." This word indicates a sudden and unexpected outcome. I think Paul refers to himself this way because he appeared on the scene suddenly and unexpectedly. The disciples who were with Jesus during the years of His ministry had been brought to birth in the Christian faith through a gradual process. Like a baby growing in the womb for the whole nine months, these men grew in their faith in Jesus throughout His years of ministry. They witnessed His life, His words, and His miracles. They witnessed His arrest, death, and burial. Then they witnessed Him alive and well following the resurrection. But Paul had never been a disciple of Jesus. He had not gone through the process of learning about Him during His earthly ministry. So Paul came to the faith, suddenly and unexpectedly, on the road to Damascus when he was confronted with the risen Christ.
What was Paul doing when Jesus Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus? He was on his way to arrest Christians and drag them to Jerusalem in chains. He hated Christians and actively persecuted them. Even to this day, while he is writing his first letter to the church he planted in Corinth, Paul still can't quite understand why the Lord sought him. He is still utterly amazed that Christ appeared to him and made him into a new person. "For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." (1 Corinthians 15:9) Haven't we all wondered why Christ wanted us? Why did He love us so much? Why was He willing to die for us? We know the sins that were in our past, and we know that we still have to battle against the sinful desires that lurk in our hearts, so we remain amazed that Christ wanted to come into our lives and redeem us.
While we may never understand such a great mystery while we live on the earth in the flesh, we must never let His sacrifice on our behalf be in vain. We don't know why Christ wanted us so much, but that shouldn't stop us from doing all we can for Him. This is what Paul determined to do with the new life Christ gave him. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them---yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10) Paul proclaims, "It is only by the grace of God that I'm an apostle! I don't deserve it. I didn't do anything to earn it. But since He chose me, I'm choosing to put Him above everything else in my life. Since He gave Himself for me, I will work hard for Him."
If the gospel message is altered in any way it is not the gospel. Paul reminds his readers of this fact and he reminds them that the foundation of the gospel (the resurrection of Christ) is what all the churches believe and teach. "Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed." (1 Corinthians 15:11)
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, who gave His life for our sins, and who rose from the dead. There is no other gospel. There is no other message with the power to save.
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