Twenty years after graduating from high school, I found myself twenty pounds over weight. I was planning to attend my high school reunion, and I knew that virtually everyone from my class would be there too. Since I didn’t want to be embarrassed, I was highly motivated to spend three months working hard at exercise and eating well. By the time the reunion came, I was very happy that I had taken off those twenty pounds. What motivates you to trim away the fat of unworthy things in your life? The Apostle Paul wanted to live for Christ out of appreciation for eternal salvation, but one of his strongest motivations was the certainty of our coming resurrection.

The theme of I Corinthians Chapter 15 is our confident expectation of being raised from the dead to live eternally with the Lord Jesus. It was because Paul kept this hope uppermost in his mind that he could say, “I die daily” (vs. 31b). Every day he died to the lure of living only for self, to being saved but only having a mediocre, lukewarm walk with Christ, and to allowing the fear of persecution to silence his efforts with the gospel. Paul chose to die each day to these temptations so that he might live in a vibrant relationship with Christ and in constant service for his Savior. It was also this expectation of the resurrection that empowered him to stand undaunted in the face of unbelievers who threatened his life because of his ministry. In verse 32, he said, “If…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.” But Paul knew there would be the advantage of the Savior’s approval and eternal reward if he remained faithful. He also wanted the saints at Corinth to remain faithful and be on fire for the Lord. Therefore, he encouraged them by writing, “…my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (vs. 58).

There was a danger for these believers to lose the motivation that came from the resurrection because many in their day denied it, as many do today. The solution was to “Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners” (vs. 33). They needed to avoid the company of those who scoffed at the resurrection. Is there someone you should avoid?