DEVOTION – DAY 136

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Most Important Message”

 

1 Cor.15:3-4 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to Scriptures.”

 

The above verses were written by Paul to the church in Corinth. Paul wanted to pass on what He knew about Jesus Christ to the people of Corinth. He based it on eyewitness accounts about Jesus, the Messiah and based on what Scriptures had been written about the Messiah. What Paul wanted to share was a summary of the gospel message. It is the good news that Jesus Christ died for “our sins” – Paul’s sins, the Corinthians’ sins, your sins and my sins. Jesus Christ came to die for our sins. The fact that the Messiah would die for the sins of all believers was prophesied about in Scriptures. The gospel message also tells us that Jesus died physically and that He was buried. The Bible tells us that the penalty for sin is death and so, Jesus, the Messiah must die. The Bible also tells us that the Messiah would be raised on the third day. Jesus was resurrected just as the Scriptures had prophesied. This means that God, the Father has accepted Jesus’ sacrificial death as full payment for the sins of all believers in Him as Lord and Savior. This also mean that all believers will also not end in death but will also be raised to a new life in Christ.

Paul regarded the gospel message as the message of first importance that he wants to give to everyone. In the same way, this message remains the most important message we can give to others today. We recently pointed someone to these verses. He had become a Christian when he was in his teens. All he could remember was that he wanted to be part of God’s family. He wanted a relationship with God whom he believed would be his help throughout his life. When asked how he entered into a relationship with God, he was unsure. That was why we pointed him to read the above verses that summarized the gospel message and stressed the importance of believing in his heart and confessing in his mouth that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. We sometimes come across the same lack of understanding of the gospel message particularly amongst people who grew up in a Christian household. They have heard the gospel message many times but had not taken it as their own. Until they personally understand its meaning that Christ died for their own sins, and their own need for Jesus as their Savior, they would be in danger of just “head knowledge” about the gospel. They would never really own the gospel message in their hearts, and confessing it with their mouths.

Let us pray: Dear Father, there is indeed power in the gospel message to convict the hardest hearts. Please help us to boldly and clearly share the gospel message to a world that desperately need to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We pray these things in the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. What is the gospel message? Share.
  2. Why is the gospel message of first importance to you?
  3. If the gospel message is of first importance to you, do your actions show that you treat it as first importance when you meet others? Share.
  4. Who can you share the gospel message with?