Editor, Times-Union: I delivered unto you first of all how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. 1 Cor. 15:3&4. This verse is the Gospel in a nutshell. It forms the same Gospel of both the Old Testament and the New Testament and it lasts throughout eternity. In this verse we have three categorial affirmations: (1) Christ died, (2) he was buried and (3) he rose. These were the first three planks of the apostles’ platform on which they stood and which they delivered everywhere they went and to every person they met. The statement “Christ died” needs no special revelation from God to prove it. It is a statement of historical fact which is so well accredited that we can verify it for ourselves, each of us, if we are so minded. But when the further truth that “Christ died for our sins” is added; we realize that we cannot know this in our hearts without a divine revelation from God. It is a reality, not of human opinion, which God himself has revealed. When we come to grips with these affirmations in our lives it will transform you and I. Why is this so? It is so because the cross shows us the love of Jesus and the empty tomb shows the power of God because it is “according to the Scriptures” that makes all the difference in the world. Paul and the other Apostles told this with all the confidence and boldness and assurance necessary that lives were changed. The story is told that several businessmen were late for their flight out of the airport one day. As they were running to catch their plane one of them ran into a lady with a cart of apples for sale. As the apples were scattered all over the ground, the men ran on. But one of them stopped to help the lady and pick up the apples which were dropped. As he picked them up and sorted the bruised ones out, he realized that the lady was blind. “Are you Jesus?” the lady asked him. At that moment, he stopped at the impact of that statement; he realized that he had missed his planes, but he really reached the destination in his personal life and that it made no difference at all. He and all his household were saved through all eternity. Yes, the cross is sufficient for all, but it is only effective for those who believe. Jon Siesennop Warsaw
