By his own testimony, he saw the risen Christ. Imagine that moment for Paul. If you could slow-mo his thought process. What? You? How? Wow! Lord! IF Christ is not raised, Freud is right. The best life is the one free from Christian morals and ethics. Free to pursue any and all pleasures with no moral accountability. But Christ WAS raised from the dead, who is pathetic then? Who is to be pitied then? Who in the end, is the fool?
Paul gives his testimony, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)
If Christ is raised from the dead, then all the apparent delusions and fantasies are reversed into eternal realities:
Ø Jesus is alive
Ø The Gospel is true
Ø Believing in Jesus saves
Ø Our view of God is right
Ø Our sins are forgiven
Ø Dead Christians have a future
Ø Christians are hopeful/joyful
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© 2011 Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include Bethel’s web site address(http://www.bethelweb.org/) on the copied resource.
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All About Him 
Thanks for the recaps of your messages here! I was sad to miss all of last weekend’s services. Really sad. I’m done with the flu! Next year…definitely getting the flu shot.