MONDAY February 19th
1 Corinthians 15:32–34
‘What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.’
My few days looking at 1 Corinthians 15 have now taken us into a third week, but hey, it is my favourite chapter, so I’m enjoying myself!
In our verses today Paul makes a quick reference back to the subject of ‘if the dead are not raised’ suggesting that if that is the case, he has fought with beasts for no reason! And he could have made this a much longer chapter by adding everything else that he had suffered for the gospel. ‘Why would I have done all these things if the dead are not raised’.
But he has a reason for mentioning it again, for he uses it to call the Corinthian believers to get serious, to wake up, he wants to give them a good shaking, he would say to them, ‘the dead will be raised, therefore stop messing about and get serious about the things of God. It is eternity that matters not your getting involved with trivial and temporal matters.’
He says, ‘If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.’ In other words ‘if the dead are not raised, do whatever you like’, but the fact that the dead are raised, means that we do not spend our time eating and drinking, we do not spend our time doing whatever we like, for even though we will die, because there will also be a resurrection, we will have to face the judgement seat of Christ.
He obviously has heard or maybe even witnessed among the Corinthian believers those who were half-hearted in their faith, those who were trying to live in the world, possibly involved in immoral behaviour (he tackles this throughout his letters to Corinth) while trying to identify with the Church and Paul says this should not be so, ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’.
Wake up he says, do not go on sinning. In his letter to Ephesus, Paul says to them ‘Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is’ (5:15-17)
May we stay awake and be alert to the tactics of the devil who would love to detract us and to divert us from the things that really matter, our walk with God, our being instructed from his word and of our being in regular prayer and fellowship with other believers.
We need to ensure that we stay away from corrupt company and spend time with those who walk the same road that we are walking, the road that yes, is narrow, but at least it leads to life everlasting.
‘Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night’ Psalm 1:1-2.