IS IT REASONABLE TO BE A CHRISTIAN? (1 Cor 15:1-8)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2015
We humans pride ourselves in being the most intelligent species on the planet. Then something happens to test that assumption.
Just before going away to college, I met a Jewish believer in Jesus who challenged me to review several doctrinal issues (e.g., Shabbat), which is what I did during my freshman and sophomore years. He has no idea what he started, because as I dug deeper, I realized that some of what I believed rested on uncertain supports. That is, if someone had asked me to justify elements of my belief system, I would have been hard-pressed to comply. I had no problem with the existence of God—my experiences had confirmed that—or even with possibility of the miraculous; but I began seriously to ask about an item I had previously accepted without question: Is Christianity right?
A woman mentioned to me once that the reason she did not give Christianity serious consideration until she was an adult was because while she was growing up, the prevailing opinion of those around her was that intelligent people are not Christians. My upbringing was just the opposite, since both my parents were Christians. So for me, it was not until adulthood that I asked the question: Is It Reasonable to Be a Christian?
I had to know. Having left New York to attend Bible college so that I could eventually teach in this area, it was not something I could put off; and the whole point of being in school was to think about such things. So I dismantled my theological system and sifted through the pieces, searching for some reliable core around which I could reformulate my beliefs. I knew that I would have to be honest with my findings, no matter where they led me; but I must admit that I approached the process with some apprehension.
Systematically, I discarded one option after another. It seemed that my understanding of Christianity would have to begin with the New Testament, but how could I be sure what I read in the New Testament was true? Then I discovered a little book by F.F. Bruce (former Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary) entitled, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Here was the place to start. Bruce showed how these writings demonstrated their historical dependability in several ways. It was just what I needed, because once I could accept the credibility of the New Testament, I could proceed to the one event that stands at the heart of Christianity: the resurrection of Jesus. At this point, I found that I could identify with the Apostle Paul, because he also understood that it all boils down to this single event, as he writes to the church at Corinth in the text of our message this morning. There, Paul affirms the credibility of the gospel by detailing two major and inseparable supports for Jesus' resurrection: its personal influence and its historical evidence.
Please turn to chapter 15 of 1 Cor, which Paul begins by stating how...
I. The personal influence of the gospel supports its credibility (1 Cor 15:1-2).
Paul opens this chapter of his letter to the church by appealing to his own experience, like his actual meeting the risen Lord on the way to Damascus. From that point on, Paul became a fervent promoter of the good news. So, he says here...
After appealing to his own experience, Paul continues in the second part of v. 1 by appealing to their experience. It is...
Yet mere reception of the gospel is not enough; so Paul identifies it further in the third part of v. 1 as that good news...
This dual response—receiving it and living it—leads to something else.
The Christian's belief is not a nebulous, amorphous concept—a vague notion of God as a powerful force that exists out there (somewhere). It is something one should be able to articulate and communicate. Jude exhorts the readers of his epistle "to contend for the faith" (Jude 3). So, if someone were to ask you "to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet 3:15), what would you say? ...Would you hem and haw, shuffle your feet uncomfortably and mumble something, or are you prepared to do more than that? If not, then you may miss the opportunities God provides to direct others to Him.
You may find daunting the prospect of talking to someone about God: "What do I say? Where do I begin?" A good place to start is often with your own experience, how knowing God has made a difference in your life. Do not wait until the occasion arises, though, before you begin to think about what you might say. Start assembling your reasons today, this afternoon. What has God done for you that He could do for anyone (e.g., provide purpose, peace, power, pardon)?
In addition to your own testimony, you should also be ready to explain how a person—perhaps that person—can know God, too. Here, you will probably need to do more preparation, but there are several summaries that can help (e.g., The Four Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosion). One such summary is "The Roman Road," a series of passages from Paul's letter to the church in Rome that trace the steps one must take to become a child of God.
The point is, there are tools available to help you relate the gospel. Choose one or develop your own, but get ready, because God will bring people across your path who need to hear the same good news you have heard, and you may be the best one, perhaps the only one, who will ever tell them.
In the opening verses of 1 Cor 15, Paul explains the first aspect of the truth of the good news. The personal influence of the gospel supports its credibility.
In my quest for firm supports, I knew that experience alone was insufficient grounds for belief, no matter how sincerely held. I needed something more, something tangible. Apparently Paul saw this same deficiency, because at the end of v. 2 he says, "Otherwise, you have believed in vain."5
The functional phrase is "in vain", without good reason. In other words, the Corinthians can only be certain of the saving effect of the gospel if there is sufficient evidence for the gospel, otherwise they may just be fooling themselves. After all, a lot of people have experiences. They might as well believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. Here, Paul prepares them for the next part of his argument, that....
II. The historical evidence for the gospel supports its credibility (1 Cor 15:3-8).
Paul begins this second section similarly to the way he began the first, by reminding them that this is his message.
I do not know if you have ever thought about it before, but you are also in this tradition of transmitting the gospel. You received it from someone and have an obligation now to pass it on, to keep the process going... but not in a mechanical way. You have received a lot of things, and not all of them are of equal significance. This means that you have to think, evaluate: What, of the things you have received, are the most important to pass on? Paul states here that the content of the gospel—what you need to tell others—consists of historical evidence for the gospel.
The first element of gospel content or evidence is the simple fact that...
The second element of gospel content or evidence is that...
The third element of content or evidence is the apex of the gospel, the event upon which Christianity rests.
In the second half of 1 Cor, Paul is answering questions posed by some in the church, and the question in chapter 15 is: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?10 According to Paul, the answer is "yes": Jesus rose, and he did so bodily, not simply in the imaginations of the disciples. Paul would not accept a spiritual rather than a physical resurrection for at least three reasons:
First, it would contradict his point.
The fourth element of gospel content or evidence, which repudiates the suggestion that the disciples made it up, is...
Two millennia have passed since that great event, and no one here was around then to see it. Does your not having witnessed Jesus' resurrection make your faith less significant? Did you miss out, because you were not one of those who saw the resurrected Jesus? Does that place you at a spiritual disadvantage? ...Not at all. In fact, Jesus accords special benefit to Christians who did not witness his resurrection.13 Thomas, one of the disciples, hearing that Jesus was alive, said,
disciple made his confession of faith.
This, then, is the second aspect of the truth of the good news. The historical evidence for the gospel supports its credibility.
A Lutheran group in Madison (WI) ran an ad in the campus newspaper that caught my attention, because it sums up this issue. It had one of the traditional pictures of Jesus and this headline: "He came to take away your sins not your mind," the point being that it is reasonable to be a Christian.
A man went to visit a friend and was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watched the game in astonishment for a while. "I can hardly believe my eyes!" he exclaimed. "That's the smartest dog I've ever seen." "Nah, he's not so smart," the friend replied.... "I've beaten him three games out of five."We humans pride ourselves in being the most intelligent species on the planet. Be that as it may, it is important to base our beliefs on what accords with reason. So, Is It Reasonable to Be a Christian?
Just before going away to college, I met a Jewish believer in Jesus who challenged me to review several doctrinal issues (e.g., Shabbat), which is what I did during my freshman and sophomore years. He has no idea what he started, because as I dug deeper, I realized that some of what I believed rested on uncertain supports. That is, if someone had asked me to justify elements of my belief system, I would have been hard-pressed to comply. I had no problem with the existence of God—my experiences had confirmed that—or even with possibility of the miraculous; but I began seriously to ask about an item I had previously accepted without question: Is Christianity right?
A woman mentioned to me once that the reason she did not give Christianity serious consideration until she was an adult was because while she was growing up, the prevailing opinion of those around her was that intelligent people are not Christians. My upbringing was just the opposite, since both my parents were Christians. So for me, it was not until adulthood that I asked the question: Is It Reasonable to Be a Christian?
I had to know. Having left New York to attend Bible college so that I could eventually teach in this area, it was not something I could put off; and the whole point of being in school was to think about such things. So I dismantled my theological system and sifted through the pieces, searching for some reliable core around which I could reformulate my beliefs. I knew that I would have to be honest with my findings, no matter where they led me; but I must admit that I approached the process with some apprehension.
Systematically, I discarded one option after another. It seemed that my understanding of Christianity would have to begin with the New Testament, but how could I be sure what I read in the New Testament was true? Then I discovered a little book by F.F. Bruce (former Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary) entitled, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Here was the place to start. Bruce showed how these writings demonstrated their historical dependability in several ways. It was just what I needed, because once I could accept the credibility of the New Testament, I could proceed to the one event that stands at the heart of Christianity: the resurrection of Jesus. At this point, I found that I could identify with the Apostle Paul, because he also understood that it all boils down to this single event, as he writes to the church at Corinth in the text of our message this morning. There, Paul affirms the credibility of the gospel by detailing two major and inseparable supports for Jesus' resurrection: its personal influence and its historical evidence.
Please turn to chapter 15 of 1 Cor, which Paul begins by stating how...
I. The personal influence of the gospel supports its credibility (1 Cor 15:1-2).
Paul opens this chapter of his letter to the church by appealing to his own experience, like his actual meeting the risen Lord on the way to Damascus. From that point on, Paul became a fervent promoter of the good news. So, he says here...
1 Cor 15:1a Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you...The first personal affect or influence of the gospel is that...
Paul is saying that he has found the gospel to be of such importance that it is too good to be private, too good to keep to himself; he must tell others about it.1A. People (like the apostle) proclaim it.
After appealing to his own experience, Paul continues in the second part of v. 1 by appealing to their experience. It is...
1 Cor 15:1b ...the gospel...which you received...Here is the second personal affect or influence...
B. People (like the Corinthians) receive it.The gospel is not neutral, like news about the weather or the winner of the Super Bowl. The gospel demands a response of either affirmation or repudiation, of acceptance or denial, and these Corinthians have not rejected it but have received it.
Yet mere reception of the gospel is not enough; so Paul identifies it further in the third part of v. 1 as that good news...
1 Cor 15:1c ...on [or "in"] which you have taken your stand.The third personal affect or influence of the gospel is that...
C. People live it.In other words, they order their lives with the conviction that it is true,2 by making God's program their priority.
This dual response—receiving it and living it—leads to something else.
1 Cor 15:2a By this gospel you are saved...By far, this fourth affect or influence of the gospel is the most amazing....
D. People are saved by it.As Paul states in another letter,3
Rom 1:16a [I]t is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.4Notice, however, that the benefits of salvation are conditional. Here in v. 2, Paul says they are effective...
1 Cor 15:2a ...if you hold firmly to the word I preached to youSalvation is not a result of initial profession alone (cf. v. ic). A Christian evinces biblical faith by an abiding commitment to God (e.g., through a lifestyle of increasing righteousness). Notice also that this allegiance has specific, knowable content, which Paul refers to here as "the word."
The Christian's belief is not a nebulous, amorphous concept—a vague notion of God as a powerful force that exists out there (somewhere). It is something one should be able to articulate and communicate. Jude exhorts the readers of his epistle "to contend for the faith" (Jude 3). So, if someone were to ask you "to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet 3:15), what would you say? ...Would you hem and haw, shuffle your feet uncomfortably and mumble something, or are you prepared to do more than that? If not, then you may miss the opportunities God provides to direct others to Him.
You may find daunting the prospect of talking to someone about God: "What do I say? Where do I begin?" A good place to start is often with your own experience, how knowing God has made a difference in your life. Do not wait until the occasion arises, though, before you begin to think about what you might say. Start assembling your reasons today, this afternoon. What has God done for you that He could do for anyone (e.g., provide purpose, peace, power, pardon)?
In addition to your own testimony, you should also be ready to explain how a person—perhaps that person—can know God, too. Here, you will probably need to do more preparation, but there are several summaries that can help (e.g., The Four Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosion). One such summary is "The Roman Road," a series of passages from Paul's letter to the church in Rome that trace the steps one must take to become a child of God.
The point is, there are tools available to help you relate the gospel. Choose one or develop your own, but get ready, because God will bring people across your path who need to hear the same good news you have heard, and you may be the best one, perhaps the only one, who will ever tell them.
In the opening verses of 1 Cor 15, Paul explains the first aspect of the truth of the good news. The personal influence of the gospel supports its credibility.
- People proclaim it.
- People receive it.
- People live it.
- People are saved by it.
In my quest for firm supports, I knew that experience alone was insufficient grounds for belief, no matter how sincerely held. I needed something more, something tangible. Apparently Paul saw this same deficiency, because at the end of v. 2 he says, "Otherwise, you have believed in vain."5
The functional phrase is "in vain", without good reason. In other words, the Corinthians can only be certain of the saving effect of the gospel if there is sufficient evidence for the gospel, otherwise they may just be fooling themselves. After all, a lot of people have experiences. They might as well believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. Here, Paul prepares them for the next part of his argument, that....
II. The historical evidence for the gospel supports its credibility (1 Cor 15:3-8).
Paul begins this second section similarly to the way he began the first, by reminding them that this is his message.
1 Cor 15:3a For what I received I passed on to you as of first importanceHe also places himself in the transmission process—Paul received it, then passed it on—and he reiterates the fact that the gospel has specific, knowable content. Yet Paul does something else as well. He indicates that all information about religious matters is not of the same importance. On the contrary, some material is of significantly greater consequence than other material.
I do not know if you have ever thought about it before, but you are also in this tradition of transmitting the gospel. You received it from someone and have an obligation now to pass it on, to keep the process going... but not in a mechanical way. You have received a lot of things, and not all of them are of equal significance. This means that you have to think, evaluate: What, of the things you have received, are the most important to pass on? Paul states here that the content of the gospel—what you need to tell others—consists of historical evidence for the gospel.
The first element of gospel content or evidence is the simple fact that...
A. Jesus died.Look at the latter half of v. 3...
1 Cor 15:3b ...Christ died for our sins according to the ScripturesPaul states that Jesus' death was on account of "our sins." It was not, as some have suggested, to demonstrate the depth of his devotion to God but to compensate for our lack of devotion to God. Jesus died for our failing-to-hit-the-mark of God's perfect standard. Furthermore, Jesus' death was "according to the Scriptures." It was not, as Moon's Unification Church suggests, a last minute substitute—a Plan B—when Jesus failed to achieve man's physical salvation. Rather, his death was in absolute conformity to God's foreordained purpose. As Isaiah prophesies, the messiah "was cut off...for the transgression of my people" (Isa 53:8).6
The second element of gospel content or evidence is that...
B. Jesus was buried.That is what Paul says in...
1 Cor 15:4a ...he was buried...It seems strange that Paul would include such an apparently minor detail. What does it matter where they laid Jesus' body after he died? The important thing was his atoning sacrifice, right? ...As one commentator remarks (Robertson 1911:334),
[T]he burial is carefully recorded in all four Gospels, and was evidently regarded as of importance. The importance there and here is that the burial is evidence of a bodily resurrection. The body was laid in the tomb, and the tomb was afterwards found to be empty.This is precisely Paul's next point.
The third element of content or evidence is the apex of the gospel, the event upon which Christianity rests.
C. Jesus was raised.7Here, Paul repeats the phrase he used earlier, to describe Jesus' death, stating in the latter half of...
1 Cor 15:4b that he was raised on the third day according to the ScripturesLike Jesus' atoning death, his resurrection was "according to the Scriptures." passages like....8
Isa 53:10b ...though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will... prolong his days.... 11a After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life...Does it really matter that Jesus rose physically from dead? A few years ago, the cover article in Newsweek was entitled, "Rethinking the Resurrection: A New Debate about the Risen Christ." A national symposium of scholars met for several days to discuss this topic. It may have been a new debate, but they were asking the same old question: "Must a Christian believe in Jesus' bodily resurrection?" Many would say, "No," advocating "that belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a burden to the Christian faith and deflects attention from his role as social reformer" According to one New Testament authority, "the Resurrection is 'an empty formula' that must be rejected by anyone holding a 'scientific world view".9 Is he right? Is the physical resurrection a myth, perhaps even something the disciples imagined, that somehow attached itself to the real story about Jesus?
In the second half of 1 Cor, Paul is answering questions posed by some in the church, and the question in chapter 15 is: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?10 According to Paul, the answer is "yes": Jesus rose, and he did so bodily, not simply in the imaginations of the disciples. Paul would not accept a spiritual rather than a physical resurrection for at least three reasons:
First, it would contradict his point.
- Paul's combination in this creed of "buried" and "raised on the third day" "emphasizes the resurrection of a dead corpse, not the 'spiritual' renewal of life after death".11 Only a physical resurrection would confirm Paul's point.
- Paul is trying to establish the credibility of the gospel, and without a physical resurrection, the Corinthians' faith rests solely on some mystical experience, a close encounter of the intangible kind. Only a physical resurrection would under-gird Paul's purpose.
- Paul says in 1 Cor 15:14-15 that "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified...that he raised Christ from the dead." Only a physical resurrection would validate Paul's ministry.
The fourth element of gospel content or evidence, which repudiates the suggestion that the disciples made it up, is...
1 Cor 15:5a ...that he appeared...The resurrection was not a secret event. Jesus had a series of post-resurrection encounters with several witnesses.
D. Jesus was seen.He appeared both to individuals and to groups. Look at...
1 Cor 15:5a to Peter...to the Twelve. 6 ...to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living ["Don't take my word alone," Paul says, "check it out with some of those who saw him, including] 7 ...James...all the apostles12 8 and...me....This last point brings us full circle, because Paul's final bit of historical evidence is his own personal experience.
Two millennia have passed since that great event, and no one here was around then to see it. Does your not having witnessed Jesus' resurrection make your faith less significant? Did you miss out, because you were not one of those who saw the resurrected Jesus? Does that place you at a spiritual disadvantage? ...Not at all. In fact, Jesus accords special benefit to Christians who did not witness his resurrection.13 Thomas, one of the disciples, hearing that Jesus was alive, said,
John 20:25b "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."A week later, when Jesus appeared to him and had him touch the wounds, that
disciple made his confession of faith.
John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."Although you may wish you had been among those who saw the resurrected Lord, not having that opportunity in no way diminishes your status or places you at a disadvantage before God.14 On the contrary, God accords your faith great significance because you did not see Jesus "and yet have believed."
This, then, is the second aspect of the truth of the good news. The historical evidence for the gospel supports its credibility.
- Jesus died.
- Jesus was buried.
- Jesus was raised.
- Jesus was seen.
A Lutheran group in Madison (WI) ran an ad in the campus newspaper that caught my attention, because it sums up this issue. It had one of the traditional pictures of Jesus and this headline: "He came to take away your sins not your mind," the point being that it is reasonable to be a Christian.
For a pdf including Bibliography and Endnotes see here.
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Jim Skaggs