If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
1 Corinthians 15:32-34
The world suggests that there is no afterlife, and no God to whom we will give an account. Thus they suggest that we live it up while we can. ‘Party hearty! Tomorrow life will all be over, so enjoy it to the full!’ they say.
When God is removed from our thoughts, how meaningless life becomes. The only purpose for existence is to have a good time.
So when tragedy strikes, and their hopes are dashed, they have nothing left. No wonder they despair when their dreams are shattered. That’s all they had to live for.
But for God’s people who enjoy ‘the knowledge of God,’ life is vastly different. We live to bring pleasure to our Creator, for Revelation 4:11 says, ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.’
We who are saved know that God owns us, and therefore we live our lives in obedience to His revealed will. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ The price He paid to purchase us is the blood of the Lord Jesus which atones for our sins.
Christianity answers the three big questions of life:
- How did I get here?
- Why am I here?
- Where am I going when I die?
We know how we got here. Scripture says clearly God made us.
We know why we are here. To please the God who twice owns us (by creation and by salvation).
We know that when we die, we will live forever with Him. 1 John 5:11-13 says, ‘And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’
In today’s Scripture passage, the Lord urges sinners to wake up! Know God through His Word. Find out what life is really all about. We were not put here to abundantly sin, but to be abundantly righteous. Why? Because there IS a resurrection. There IS an afterlife. There IS a God to stand before and give an account.
As the songwriter put it:
Father, help me tell this news! Cause my unsaved friends to see their great need of salvation available only through the blood of Your Son, the precious Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.