Skip to main content

Seven “Ifs” and a BIG “but”!

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain (1 Corinthians 15.14)

LAD“Is there life after death?” I tossed this question to twin teen girls just yesterday. Surprisingly they had different answers. These twins are the most identical I have ever seen. They do everything together and even “feel” when the other is sick or in pain! However, they had dissimilar responses to my question.

The banter between the two went something like this, “Some believe that there is and some don’t.” “How can we know?” “Well, somebody has to die and then communicate with us so that we’ll all know! You go first!” said Lara. “Not me! You go!!” said her sister Larissa with a giggle.

The Corinthian believers apparently had a similar question about life after death because Paul responded with an amazing paragraph (1 Corinthians 15.12-19). It contains seven “ifs”. Note them:

  1. if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
  2. if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen
  3. if Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
  4. if so be that the dead rise not (we are found false witnesses of God)
  5. if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised
  6. if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
  7. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

My translation summary, “If Christ hasn’t risen from the dead then we are all TOAST!

However, at this very moment Paul burst from this desperate line of thinking with a huge “BUT”. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept (20).

Folks! Take a deep breath and rest easy. There IS hope because Christ really DID raise from the dead! There IS life after death. 

Once again the Bible makes stuff easy. It eliminates our “LAD" (Life After Death) doubts. We can know without having to send a scout on ahead of us as Lara (or was it Larissa?) suggested.

However, this brings in another horrible thought. Since we know that there is LAD then there must be DAD (Death After Death)! Eternal death is as sure as eternal life.

I left the girls thinking about this one. If you have never confronted these two questions be sure that they both exist whether or not you believe in them. Come to terms with what the Bible says and make your choice. Choose life not death! It is a “No-Brainer” really. BUT the choice is yours!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daughter and dog...

About six months ago we discovered that Ann was pregnant and were very excited for she and Jackson. We will have babies on this side and that of the Atlantic. We weren't prepared for that news and we we were even less prepared for the news that our little dog is pregnant. To date we have spent more on the dog than on Annie (don't tell her... Ann that is). Ann has yet to discover whether her baby is a boy or girl. Both ultrasound images were inconclusive. Though I did some further investigation of my own and was startled with what I found. to me it looks as if the baby is definitely a boy and has some resemblance from both sides of the family. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.
3 comments
Read more

God’s Orchestration

I love to see the Lord work His Salvation miracles. His works are Master Pieces of sweet music. They are arrangements that only He can make happen. Two weeks ago I began my second attempt at cello lessons. I had tried the instrument about five years ago and found my fingers so rusty and decrepit that I had given up after just a few months. So, why my second go? Here’s one short and sweet story. There is a youg man that works with Alexandre at school. He teaches music and is a musical genius. At sixteen he began a city wide music program to train young musicians in Sorocaba. Recently he has worked with two deaf children and has been able to teach them to play violin using a method that he developed. There doesn’t seem to be an instrument that he cannot play. His seventeen year old wife also plays the flute and is studying nursing. They are a very young but very sharp couple. In a conversation after the recent Recital Junior convinced me that it would be a good idea for me to take up...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abs of Steel with Glasses

Have you ever wondered why Clark Kent always took his glasses off before he turned into Superman? I hadn’t ever thought about it either until this last Saturday when I almost got sucker-punched. Wellington, one of my spunky Juniors, wanted to wrestle. He feigned a punch to my gut and I said, “Go ahead. I have abs of steel!” I think that my gym visits might be going to my head because my abs of steel are buried under a healthy layer of blubber. I have improved my six-pack but it is far from chiseled. It looks more like a quarter of a keg. Anyway, quick as a wink and with near lightening speed Wellington said, “Yeah but up here is made of glass!” as his poke went within a hair’s breadth of my glasses! I belly-laughed. His rapid reflexes and wit had caught me by surprise. And what he said was so true and funny. It was an excellent though brief lesson. I often prepare for an oncoming fray. I get ready, set and then “BLAM”! The proverbial punch comes from a totally different direction. ...
Post a Comment
Read more