Working for Truth

1 Corinthians 15:29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day – I mean that, brothers – just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
 
PAUL continued to defend Jesus’ resurrection through the intense efforts made to bring people into faith.
   The reference those who are baptized for the dead refers to the definition of baptism Jesus spoke in Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!  Paul was referring to the extremes we must battle to win the war for Christ. The apostles and faithful church members had labored amid calamaties, trials and sufferings because they believed their efforts would yield a living harvest for the Lord Jesus. There is no point to suffer if there is no life everlasting.
   Paul continued with a more pointed summary of his ministry. He worked continually under many hardships to win the lost to salvation. He is grateful and praises God for those in Corinth who are saved.
   He reminds the church how he had also struggled in Ephesus. The wild beasts he fought in Ephesus were people who violently opposed him. Paul’s list of persecutions and trials can overwhelm us: 2 Corinthians 11:23b I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.   25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
   What is the point if Jesus did not rise?  What matters in life if we have no eternal life before us? The great trouble in the world is rooted in the unbelief about the Holy Trinity and Heaven. When we do not know God, we do not know why we live. To find any lasting meaning in ourselves is hopeless. It leads to a great emptiness as we cut our roots from the Almighty God, thinking we can find happiness and peace in things that quickly disappear.
          One great evidence of Jesus’ resurrection is the remarkable sacrificial lives the apostles lived. Their purpose was grounded in the Living Lord. Nothing would stop them.