Holding On To The Good News

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 New Revised Standard Version
The Resurrection of Christ
15 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,[a] of the good news[b] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters[c] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[d] 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

The church in Corinth had conflict within it. Paul is reminding the church to remember the basics. This applies not just to our church lives, but all areas of our lives. Sometimes we take our eyes off the basics and take our eyes off Jesus. The basics in this passage that we hold firm to are that Jesus died for our sins, was resurrected, and appeared to the disciples. The things Paul talks about in this passage sounds a lot like the Apostles Creed that we say together in the service, doesn’t it? Today, we remember our foundation, we get back to basics, we celebrate who Jesus is and what he has done.
Did you also notice that in verse 2, Paul says by the good news “we are being saved”. We are going to talk about this, too. None of us have it all together, we mess up, we are a work in progress. These basics of the faith continue to help us grow and shape us into becoming more like Jesus every day.