1 Corinthians 15:1-5 (ESV)

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Explanation:

There is a common icebreaker activity that is played in group settings called “Two Truths and a Lie.” You probably have played it yourself. Each person in a group comes up with two truths about their lives and one lie. They tell them all to the group at the same time, and the group tries to decide which ones are the truths and which one is the lie. It can be loads of fun and a good way to get to know someone better.

I think there is a part of us, if we are honest with ourselves, that would say we can at times approach God’s word and His commands in our lives with this same mentality. We find ourselves questioning the validity of the words that we hear or read about in Scripture. In fact, Scripture can be very foreign to us, almost as if we are trying to interpret an entirely different language. It is this foreignness that can lead us to question at times.

The truth is that this type of grappling with God’s word is not unique to just us. We are not alone in it. The Apostle Paul finds himself speaking to a group of individuals in Corinth who were feeling a bit of that tension, too…unsure of what maybe they fully believed and why they believed it to begin with. However, Paul ministers to them and reminds them of the power that lies behind the message of the Gospel. Paul speaks as one who is confident in what he believes, because he probably spent a good deal of time wrestling with these tensions himself.

Remember, Paul was a man in opposition to Jesus at one time. I cannot imagine it was a quick turnaround for him to instantaneously believe the Gospel message. Maybe it was. All we know is that faith taught Paul that what Jesus said and what Jesus did was true. This was birthed out of putting God’s word into practice. This is precisely the message Paul is preaching to the church in Corinth. It is not a surprise to God when we find ourselves wrestling with His truths. However, it presents us with an opportunity to, like Paul, keep holding fast in faith to the life-changing message of the Gospel that we first fell in love with. The message that saved our lives.

Application:

1. Why did you first believe in the message of the Gospel?

2. In what ways do you find yourself wrestling with the truths of God’s word?

3. Why do you think Paul was so confident in the message of the Gospel?

4. What are some practical steps you can take each day to shore up your faith in the truths of God?

Prayer:

Jesus, restore to me my hope and love for You and Your message. It truly is the message of salvation, and I want to hold fast to the power that it provides for my life. You are the Good Shepherd, and You guide in each season of my faith. Continue to guide me even when I have a hard time seeing the truth of Your word.