Devotional for the Week

Devotional For The Week – 2 March 2009

Sermon Title: Denying The Resurrection
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Symbols are often used to represent the inner thoughts of a person. In the Christian faith, the cross and the first fruits are two common symbols. The cross symbolizes God’s sacrificial love for us, how God reconciled man to Himself. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, we were created beautiful and had direct communion with God.

However, man sinned and since then, we have been separated from God and experience both spiritual and physical death. Out of His great love for us, God restored this brokenness through the sacrifice of Christ at the cross. Therefore today, whenever we see the cross, we are reminded of Christ’s finished work, that we now have victory over death. The cross points to the greater reality that we can now face God face to face.

In the early Corinthian church, some people claimed that there is no such thing as the resurrection of Christ. In response, Paul cited the many eye witnesses who testified that they saw and spoke with Jesus. Some then claimed that the Christians made this story up. However, Josephus who was a great historian and not part of the church, kept detailed records of the time and records Jesus’ resurrection. The apostles did not receive payment for their work and all but John, died horribly defending the resurrection. 300 years later, Christians continued to be persecuted even to the point of death and the Christians continued to defend the resurrection. Even after ten generations of Christians were killed, Christianity thrived and more so where persecution is the strongest. Why is this so? God hears the cry of His people and He will work where His people are suffering for His sake.

Paul reasons that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, our faith is futile; we are false witnesses, and our faith is not trustworthy. Listening to sermons will be useless; there will be no comfort when we die. In fact, the martyrs will have died in vain and our missionaries are wasting their time and money. If there is no resurrection of Christ, we as Christians are all hypocrites; this is a dog-eat-dog world, all that we do is meaningless and there is no hope for the future.

Jesus is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. His resurrection is our hope. The first fruits symbolize something incomplete and hopeful. The Bible tells us that one of the seven great feasts of the Old Testament is that of the festival of the first fruits. During this ceremony, the farmers would cut a golden sheaf and the priest would wave it in thanksgiving. This would signal the start of the harvest (Leviticus 23:10-11). This ceremony would normally take place on the day after the Sabbath.

Christ is our first fruit and this guarantees a full harvest of those who believe (Matthew 27:52-53). When Christ said “it is finished” on the cross, those of us who are spiritually dead have been given a chance to receive a new lease of life. This was the first wave of the sheaf. We can now celebrate the Lord’s Day meaningfully. The second stage will come with the Lord’s coming.

Romans 10:9 tells us what is needed for salvation and that is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. So speak boldly about the resurrection. Live a life of hope and don’t be beaten down by the pressures of the world. Money lost can be earned back but the soul once lost cannot be reclaimed.

Christ will come again - this is what the Bible promises us. What will you do while waiting for Christ’s return? Invest yourself in doing God’s work; equip yourselves as disciples and work to transform other people’s lives.

To conclude, many have said that Christians look younger than their peers. If we look younger, this is because of the hope we have in Christ that brightens up our countenance. We can trust Him and be able to look beyond our current circumstances. Are you ready to meet your Lord?

Prayer Response

Dear Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for providing a way for me to be saved. I pray that while waiting for Christ’s return, I will invest my time wisely. Show me the good work You have prepared for me to do. Guide me to those who need Your transforming love and help me to reach out to them in Your strength. I pray that You will help me be disciplined and spend time reading and digesting Your Word. Help me to trust that You will provide for all my needs and that my future is secure in Your hands. Amen.

Devotional based on a message by Rev Fred Tan

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