By: Obed Pineda
Man without Christ has no solution for spiritual death; yet, “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Various ancient philosophers throughout history frequently sought an earthly answer for the purpose of our lives. The Bible warns us that following this trend is foolish and senseless, “for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). It is wise, however, to learn that it is impossible to focus on spiritual matters if we are not in Christ already. Every man’s victory is in Christ, and the way to the Father is through Him. Thomas once asked, “how can we know the way” (John 14:5)? In the world, there are still many like Thomas looking for the path that leads to heaven outside of Jesus. Like Thomas, they fail to understand that Jesus Christ is “the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). They do not find Him because their eyes are focused in the wrong place. They erroneously seek the answer to the eternal within the temporal and transient (cf. 2nd Peter 3:9-13). The greatest tragedy for any man is to live the vanity of vanities. Living a life without God is walking “as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18). The Bible teaches us that the true purpose of every man’s life is to find the Father through Christ, with the promise that “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27b). Unfortunately, the Athenian philosophers who heard the apostle’s discourse on Mars’ Hill teaching where one can find that way that leads to eternal life, “when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, ‘We will hear you again on this matter’” (Acts 17:32). The enthusiasm with which they initially received Paul soon faded, stifled by the bitter root of unbelief. It is interesting to learn that in a certain way, the inhabitants of Athens knew that they had not yet found the true God. The very existence of an inscription dedicated “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” testifies to an underlying void and uncertainty that troubled their consciences (cf. Acts 17:23). Yet, their reaction reflects the typical response man has when God reveals Himself through His Word. Man, in his pride and unbelief, rejects the Divine Word thus confirming that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1st Corinthians 1:18a). But it is worth noting that not everyone within the Athenian audience rejected the Gospel of Christ. Luke records that Dionysius the Areopagite, Damaris, and others accepted Paul’s teaching and joined him (cf. Acts 17:34). For them the Gospel was “the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16a). By accepting the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as truth, they fulfilled the purpose of life. Let us remember that Paul was in the marketplace preaching about the resurrected Jesus (cf. Acts 17:18b). Knowing then that our purpose is to seek God and His commandments, we must understand that this is fulfilled when we come to Jesus (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Matthew 17:1-5). Those men who mocked and chose to stop listening to Paul’s discourse did so when he mentioned that God gave faith to men through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was a common obstacle during the first century as evidenced by the Corinthian’s faith becoming tainted by the disbelief of some in the resurrection of the dead (cf. 1st Corinthians 15:1ff). Today one can observe the same incredulity in our society. There are still individuals who have dedicated themselves and resources to search for Jesus’ tomb, hoping to find evidence of where the disciples might have “hidden” His body. Others slander the Master, claiming that Mary Magdalene was His lover and bore Him a child. It is truly distressing to realize that there are still men and women who possess the same Athenian spirit of arrogance and pride that doomed them eternally if they died in that state of unbelief. They fail to understand that “if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1st Corinthians 15:16–17)! Denying the resurrected Christ is asking for eternal death “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Man without Jesus Christ has no solution for sin. Without the Lord, mankind would never have any hope of entering eternal life. Outside of Christ, there is no other sacrifice here on earth that can eliminate the debt of our sin. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to earth to die, because it was the only way to ensure victory over death and sin. Jesus is the antidote to the poison of sin, and through His death, burial, and resurrection, “death is swallowed up in victory” (1st Corinthians 15:54b, cf. Isaiah 25:8). Therefore, it becomes abundantly clear why Koheleth reached the conclusion that to attempt to tether one’s joy and accomplishments to this material world is only “indeed all…vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). May we avoid embarking on this same fruitless journey.