(The following is the July 26 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read 1 Corinthians 15 and pay close attention to verses 32-34.)
Paul devotes 1 Corinthians 15 to the doctrine of the resurrection, stressing how essential the teaching is to the gospel and our faith. He warns about what sinful humans may think when they wrongly believe this current life is all there is.
What is the danger of not believing in resurrection? Paul says such a person may think, “If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (v. 32). We hear a similar modern sentiment: “You only live once,” commonly abbreviated as “YOLO.” That sounds like the 1970s beer company slogan, “You only go around once in this life, so you have to grab for all the gusto you can get.” * Not much has changed since Paul’s day. If one believes this life is all there is, why wouldn’t he live it up and enjoy sin as much as possible?
Paul combats that deadly approach to life by pleading, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame” (vv. 33-34). Paul was addressing the Corinthian church, where sin was rampant. Some acted as if there were no eternal consequences to their actions. They seemed to be grabbing for all the gusto they could get while thinking, “You only live once.” How wrong they were. Paul warned them of the danger of bad company and wrong thinking and plainly told them, “stop sinning.”
Our earthly life is fleeting compared to the eternal life or judgment to come. Christians must live in light of our resurrected Lord, anticipating our coming resurrection.
Next Step:
When did you last hear a sentiment such as “You only live once” or “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die”? How did you respond? How should you respond in light of scriptural teaching on the resurrection?
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* Think Slogans, accessed January 10, 2022, https://www.thinkslogans.com/1061.
