Daily Devotion: The Good News

Scripture:
1 Corinthians 15: 1-34

Main Verses:
1 Corinthians 15: 3-4
3. For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!

Observation:
The Gospel, the Good News of our faith--that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again is the subject of Paul's teaching to the members of the Corinthian church. This was the Good News that he and the first apostles have been proclaiming about. He laid out a few truths that would prove that Jesus Christ indeed resurrected. On the third day after His death, Jesus rose from the dead, and He showed himself to many people: He was first seen by Peter and the twelve disciples, then more than 500 brothers, then James and the other apostles, and finally by Paul himself (verses 5-8).

Paul wanted to reiterate this truth because as believers of Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is the most important part of the Good News. His suffering and death on the cross would mean nothing if Jesus had not risen from the dead. His resurrection symbolizes his triumph over death (Romans 6:9) and confirms that God has accepted Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins to justify us (Romans 4:25) It is this truth that we as believers should hold on to and proclaim to others!

Application:
As believers in Christ, what should we proclaim to others? Simply telling others that Christ has died on the cross makes the Gospel, or the Good News, incomplete. The reason the Gospel is called the "Good News" is because we can hold on to the truth that Christ indeed resurrected three days after his death! We have joy in our hearts because we believe that Jesus has victory over sin and that his resurrection has justified us. We must not be afraid to tell others about this truth. Our faith as believers is not blind faith. We have the Scriptures to validate the truth about Jesus' life, death and resurrection, so we have no reason to be ashamed of the Gospel.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the revelation about the Good News. Your resurrection gave me new hope and new life. Create opportunities so I may be able to tell others this Good News of your resurrection. AMEN.