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Editor’s note: Truth isn’t afraid of questions. If you want to become better equipped to share your Christian faith, don’t miss Shane Rosenthal’s podcast, The Humble Skeptic.
If I were to ask you to write down the most important things taught in the Bible, what do you think you might include on your list? Worship, prayer, discipleship, faith, heaven, grace, the Trinity?
Now this next question is a little harder. Which of the topics that appear on your list would you end up placing at the very top? In other words, what is the most important topic in all of Scripture? Would you be able to come up with a single answer to that question, or do you think it’s just too difficult to rank biblical topics in this way?
Jesus himself said that some matters of the law were weightier than others.
You may be tempted by the thought that because the Bible is God’s inspired word, all its precepts are of equal weight and value. Yet, Jesus told the Pharisees, “You tithe mint and dill and cumin, but have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matt. 23:23). Now of course it wasn’t that tithing mint, dill, and cumin were unimportant things, but according to Jesus they apparently carried less weight and significance when compared with the much more important themes such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
There is also another passage in Scripture where a lawyer asked Jesus which of the commandments found in the law of Moses was the greatest. And as you may recall, Jesus didn’t end up saying that all the commandments were of equal value and importance, but he instead cited the words of Deuteronomy chapter 6, which says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This he said, “is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:36-40).
There is an important distinction between the most important commandment in the Law and the most important thing in all of Scripture.
Perhaps, then, following Jesus, we could say that “loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength” is the most important thing in all of Scripture. Well, if we consider carefully the lawyer’s original question, he didn’t actually ask Jesus, “What is the most important thing in all of Scripture,” but rather, “What is the most important commandment recorded in the Law of Moses?” This, as we’ll see, is an important distinction.
The thing we should notice at this point, however, is that Jesus didn’t seem to have any difficulty ranking various biblical themes in the order of their importance. And so, in light of this, what do you think every Christian should place at the very top of their list? What biblical idea should be considered the thing of first importance?
The apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian church of the most important thing in all of Scripture—the gospel.
Thankfully, we don’t have to go through the difficult process of weighing and comparing all the doctrines of the Bible in an attempt to answer this question, since the apostle Paul has already done the heavy lifting for us in the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 15:
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… (1 Cor. 15:1-4)
According to verse 1, Paul makes clear that he is writing to the Corinthians in order to remind them of the gospel of Jesus.
In many churches today the focus ends up drifting away from the gospel to other things.
Now, I’m convinced that in far too many churches in our day the gospel appears to be taken for granted. And because it’s something that many pastors simply assume that everyone already knows, over time our focus ends up drifting away to other things—things that are more practical, relevant and me-centered. But Paul never did end up taking the gospel for granted. As he says here in the first few verses of this passage, it was the heartbeat of his preaching while he was with the Corinthians; it was the message in which they stood and by which they were being saved. And here in this letter, Paul takes time to remind them of the gospel once again, now that he’s away.
Notice what Paul says in verse 3: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.” What is this thing of first importance that Paul had already delivered to the Corinthians? Well, it’s the very thing he just mentioned. He’s writing to remind them of the gospel that he had proclaimed while he had been among them. In other words, according to the apostle Paul, of all the things he had taught the Corinthians while he lived among them, the most important thing was the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not about our best life now or our best world now.
Unfortunately, in our day there appears to be a great deal of confusion about the nature of the Christian gospel. Some say the good news is that Jesus delivers us from things like depression or poverty, and that if we apply his principles to our lives, he can help us to achieve our “best life now.” Others say the good news is that Jesus inspires us to reform all our social institutions and helps us to create our “best world now”—you know, one without hatred, greed, intolerance, or carbon emissions. The wonderful thing about Paul’s statement in this passage is that he not only tells us that the gospel is the thing of first importance, but he also very clearly defines it for us as well.
Let’s take another look at verses 3-5 of 1 Corinthians 15: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” Whether you are a new Christian, or you’ve been a believer for many decades, let this short summary of the gospel that Paul outlines here be an anchor for your soul.
The gospel is the good news of what has already been accomplished; it’s not a set of instructions or a to-do list.
First, we should notice that there’s nothing in this brief summary that you or I need to accomplish. According to the apostle Paul, the gospel has already been accomplished (which is why it’s called “good news” rather than a “set of instructions” or “to-do list.” Paul says that this gospel is rooted in the fact that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, as recorded well in advance in the Hebrew Scriptures, and was seen by numerous living eyewitnesses. This is the very heart of the good news that we profess.
Some of you may be familiar with the famous Life magazine cover featuring a WWII sailor in Times Square who decided to kiss a total stranger. What was it that caused this young man to kiss this woman he had never met? Well, it was just a natural reaction to hearing the announcement of the U.S. victory and the close of the war.
So now imagine for a moment that you were able to go back in time and give that same sailor a list of rules for his own personal improvement or a proposal for improving American society. Do you think this would generate the same kind of spontaneous joyful reaction? Of course it wouldn’t, because you haven’t given him any news worth celebrating—just mere instructions and imperatives that he needs to put into practice.
If you ever feel discouraged about your lack of progress in the Christian life, let the words of 1 Corinthians 15 comfort you.
The same can be said of our faith. The gospel is the announcement of Christ’s victory, and when this is proclaimed in all its beauty and simplicity, the message is received with comfort and joy. Because of our sins, we who were formerly God’s enemies have now been reconciled to God. Since “in our place, condemned he stood,” the war is now over. But if the primary message you end up hearing week after week at your church has to do with various things you need to do, then you aren’t being grounded in the good news—which is the thing of first importance.
There are of course many imperatives and commands recorded throughout the Scriptures. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to love one another, to pray, to worship, etc. But these instructions are not the gospel. Are they important? Of course they are! But we are never called to perform these duties in order to get right with God. Rather, the gospel declares to us that “Christ died for our sins.” This is how we are made right with God, since as Paul says elsewhere, we’ve been “justified by his blood” (Rom. 5:9).
The most important thing in Scripture—the gospel—is also the Christian’s greatest comfort throughout the ups and downs of life.
If you ever feel discouraged about your lack of progress in the Christian life, remember the words of 1 Corinthians 15. Let the words you find there bathe you once again as you reflect on Christ’s accomplishments, rather than focusing on your failures. He died and was buried in your place. Though you feel unworthy and condemned, in Christ you are graciously accepted and reconciled. And he not only bore your sin but was also raised again to new life, objectively—for you. It has already been accomplished.
If you’re in Christ, you’ve already been justified and there is now no longer any condemnation (Rom. 8:1). And if you’re in Christ, you’ll also begin to follow your Shepherd wherever he leads. Of course, sheep are prone to wander, so you’ll never do this perfectly, which is why Jesus taught us to pray “Forgive us our debts” immediately following our petition for “daily bread.” Therefore, put all your hope and confidence in your good Shepherd who “lays his life down for the sheep” (John 10:11). This is the thing of first importance.
On The Humble Skeptic podcast, Shane Rosenthal explores the beliefs and ideas that shape our lives. His episode “Is Faith Irrational?” takes a deep dive into the nature of faith—is itevidence based or a blind irrational leap? You can listen to his podcast at humbleskeptic.com.
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This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on November 16, 2022.
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