Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE. Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.Paul begins by asking a string of rhetorical questions to reveal the lack of logic that was being used by the members of the church. First Paul asks “what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?” And while there has been great debate and great misinterpretation about what Paul was talking about here, in light of the remaining questions that he asks here, it is most likely that Paul is referring to members of the church who became followers of Jesus as a result of the deaths of other Christians who were martyred as a result of their faith. The transformed lives of the members of the church at Corinth resulted in Christ being revealed and reflected through their deaths in a way that others became follower of Christ and identified themselves with Christ through baptism.
Paul then transitions to his own situation as a leader in the church. If Paul was writing this today, these verses would sound something like this: “If the resurrection is not a reality, then why would I place myself in such danger? Why would I change my life in such a radical way so as to publicly proclaim the gospel and the resurrection if it is not true? Why would I place myself in a position to face such opposition if the resurrection is not a reality? If the resurrection is not true, then why don’t I live like all the philosophers and all those who are far from God?” Paul’s struggles in Ephesus are recorded for us in another letter in our Bibles, in Acts 19. Paul then quotes Isaiah 22:13 to reveal that the statements of these philosophers are not a new, but an age old response from those who are far from God.
Paul then concludes this section of his letter by commanding the members of the church to stop being misled in a wrong direction by those who were rejecting the reality of the resurrection. Instead of being misled, Paul commands the church to become sober minded and stop sinning. In other words, Paul is commanding the church, and us today, to come to their senses and get rid of their stinking thinking when it came to the resurrection. Paul explains that those who rejected the reality of the resurrection revealed the reality that they were ignorant of the nature and character of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And the fact that they were being misled by such people should cause them to be ashamed. And today, just as it was 2000 years ago, rejecting the reality of the resurrection results in stinking thinking.
So this morning, what do you believe about the physical and bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Do you believe that the resurrection of Jesus is a fact? Or do you believe that the resurrection of Jesus is fiction? Because the reality is that you cannot claim to be a Christian and reject the reality of the resurrection. Because rejecting the reality of the resurrection results in a denial of the gospel. Rejecting the reality of the resurrection results in condemnation. Rejecting the reality of the resurrection results in a denial of our future. And rejecting the reality of the resurrection results in stinking thinking.
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