A Proxy Server

1Cor 16:10,11 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.

Recall earlier Paul wrote,

"Therefore I urge you to imitate me For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." 1Cor 4:16,17

And as Timothy was Paul's proxy server, all in ministry are proxy servers to Christ. Jesus said,

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me." Mt 10:40

And likewise

"`I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."" Mt 25:40-42

you raise me up

The Sting of Death

1Cor 15:54-57 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is alluding to

Isa 25:8 "he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken."

Of which is also alluded to in

Rev 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

And Paul also alludes to

Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?"

There are many who don't presently realize the real sting of death. Some think it's just an end to one's existence. But the real sting of death is the eternal condemnation which follows it, which is a consequence of falling short of God's standards. Thus

"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord." 2Th 2:8,9

But thanks be to God for the grace given by Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospel for those who believe.

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" Acts 16:31 "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." 1Cor 15:2

The Boston Christian Bible Study Resources

Bad Company

1Cor 15:33,34 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God— I say this to your shame.

Pr 13:20 "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Earlier in Corinthians Paul spoke of disassociating oneself from sinful Christians. "I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."" 1Cor 5:11-13 Chose your friends carefully, for you will become like them.

As for the some who are ignorant of God, Paul is referring to some in the Christian community. Else why would it be to their shame? There are some who call themselves Christians but are under misconceptions as to what constitutes a Christian. Many are Christians simply by tradition, having little idea about what the Bible actually says. They may think that it's just about this life. They may just have wanted to befriend some Christians. And while it's good to draw in seekers, the message should not be modified to accomodate their worldly point of view, nor any heresies they introduce go uncritiqued. Else "Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." 2Tim 2:17,18 False Christians often taken advantage of the gullible both in business and in doctrine.

Why Make the Effort?

1Cor 15:30-32 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day— I mean that, brothers— just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 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."

Why

"fight the good fight of the faith." 1Tim 6:12a

if it's just about this life? Why

"take hold of the eternal life to which you were called" 1Tim 6:12b

if there is no eternal life?
Our battle is in three arenas - the world, the flesh, the devil.

The World
The world pressures us with temptations outwardly. But

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1John 2:17

Thus Paul asks,

"pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith." 2Th 3:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Rom 12:2

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

The Flesh
The flesh works evil in us.

"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh (sinful nature)." Rom 7:18

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Col 3:5

The Devil

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12 "and do not give the devil a foothold." Eph 4:27

As for the phrase

"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

, it comes from Isaiah 22:12-14 which says,

"The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!" The LORD Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty."

God has made no provision of atonement for people who don't respond to the gospel message in repentance from sin. And

"everyone must die once, and after that comes judgment." Heb 9:27

The BCBS Resources

No Resurrection, No Salvation

1Cor 15:15-18 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

"Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection." Acts 17:18b

Paul believed that

"there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." Acts 24:15

The gospel is not just about who Christ was or what he taught. It is also about the historic facts of the death, burial and resurrection, of which a large portion of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are devoted. It is like no other religion in this respect - founded upon historic fact - the fact of miracles, affirmed by a multitude of eyewitnesses, which the hostility of the religious elite could not suppress. One cannot be called a Christian if they deny the resurrection of Christ.

But if Christ wasn't raised, then the gospel is false. If the gospel is false, then Jesus did not atone for sin, and as such there is no provision to escape the wrath of God, and those who have died have gone to hell.

Jesus Christ is Everything