Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple
Of course I would not be a Christian if there were no Heaven or Hell. I dont believe anyone would. Paul said if there were no eternal life we are of all men most miserable.
|
I don't think that is what is being said in that scripture. Jesus died to give us life... and that more abundantly.
What God is to us IN THIS LIFE is a blessing. It brings peace to THIS LIFE. It brings hope TO THIS LIFE. To know that God brought these things to THIS LIFE and yet didn't provide for an eternal dose of it would still leave us with the hope and the peace that God loved us and cared for us. Perhaps an eternal existence was not possible for us... he still gave us a better way to live and a better life.
But the scripture is still there. And taken in it's context it does, indeed, appear to be talking about whether there is or is not an afterlife. \
The term that was translated "most miserable" could also be interpreted as "to be pitied". I wonder if that might have been a better translation. It certainly fits.
But... taking it as it is written lets look at the context.
The chapter is talking about Jesus having risen from the dead and that if there is no resurrection from the dead then Christ is not raised and if Christ is not raised then the apostles have, then, given a false witness for God.
If Christ be not risen then our preaching is vain... your faith is vain. In a nutshell...
People were saying that there is no resurrection. Paul is telling them that our entire salvation pivots on Jesus raising from the dead. Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection. If there is no resurrection then Christ did not raise from the dead and if Christ did not raise from the dead then our preaching is in vain... your faith is in vain... the whole thing is a lie.
So he isn't saying that without a hope of eternity we are miserable. He is saying that the entire hope of our salvation rests upon the concept of resurrection and if there is no resurrection then there is no resurrected Christ and if there is no resurrected Christ then we have no hope and are miserable (or even so... to be pitied)
This scripture is way too often taken out of it's context in my opinion.
Hybrid Mode
