By Tabby Lee, InterHigh Student, 10th grade

What is the test of genuine faith based on these verses?

Based on the verses, the test of genuine faith is if one perseveres in the Christian faith. Christian life is not an easy one; there are many difficulties one must face. For example, at school it is very difficult for many Christian teenagers to live out their faith. They don’t want to be known as a Christian because being a Christian means you are weird. They don’t want people to see them as a weirdo who doesn’t listen to the same music as everyone else, and who doesn’t date like everyone else. Sometimes being a Christian means even losing your friends. But Apostle Paul is saying it is times like these – when our own friends reject us, or when they call us names – that our faith is being tested and it determines whether or not our faith is genuine.

What does it mean to “take your stand” and “hold firmly” to the gospel?

When Paul says to “take your stand”, he is saying that Christians need to be bold about their faith. We can’t be lukewarm Christians, sometimes gossiping with our friends, but then praying to God as soon as they all turn away. We need to choose one life or the other, so Paul tells us to be bold and stand out as Christians, to not be ashamed of our Christian identity. Because the Christian life is hard, he tells us to “hold firmly” to the gospel. Holding firmly to the gospel helps me persevere through the struggles I face because I know that through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, I can live the rest of eternity in heaven. This promise of heaven gives me the strength to face difficult situations, and it helps me persevere.

According to vv.54-55, what makes my Christian life ultimately triumphant regardless of struggles and setbacks that I experience?

Regardless of the struggles and setbacks I experience, what makes my Christian life ultimately triumphant is that I will be in heaven with God after I die. Because Jesus was able to defeat death by coming to life on the third day after he died, that means that death will not be the end for me – I will be with God in heaven for the rest of eternity. That makes all the struggles I face easier to go through, because I know that at the end of life, at the end of all my struggling, I have heaven to look forward to. When I think about how I will be in heaven with God for the rest of eternity, it gives me strength to persevere through this difficult life.

By Kevin Li, InterHigh Mentor, Junior @ UC Berkeley

According to vv.54-55, what makes my Christian life ultimately triumphant regardless of struggles and setbacks that I experience?

In verse 54-55, Paul preaches an important point on the resurrection of Christ. He makes it clear that when Jesus rose from the grave, he conquered death itself. Death, as a result of the sin of man, was supposed to be the end of life, a tragic end that no one can overcome. But as Jesus tells us in Luke 18:27, “What is impossible with men is possible with God”. Thus, death did not have victory over Jesus because God lifted up Jesus from death. This incredible event has tremendous implications on the lives of believers. Paul says in verse 14, “and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”.  The reason, of course, is because if Christ had not been raised, then Jesus is not the son of God, as he proclaimed to be. But because he was raised from the dead, what he said about himself proved to be true: Jesus is indeed the son of God. This is the very foundation of Christian faith. If we believe that Jesus did overcome death, then we have every reason to trust in him. And what we place our faith in, of course, is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that we will have eternal life with God through him. If we agree upon everything that has been said so far, then what does it mean for our lives today?

I think we are left with a powerful question: What is the worst that can happen? Simply put, the worst thing that can happen is that we die, but that would also be the best day of our lives because we would be spending eternity with God. Given this truth, it means that even when we are at our lowest we will be ultimately triumphant because God has triumphed for us. It means that when we are struggling with our worst of sins we still have a God who loves us. It also means that we ought to have courage to do what right, especially when it comes to standing firm in the faith and standing up for the gospel. Because even we are rejected by this world, we are received joyfully by God. As the bible says, “If God is for us, then who can be against us?” (Romans 8:30-32).

In my experience, timely reminders of the resurrection of Christ are particularly helpful when I am struggling to live faithfully. There have been times when I wanted to give up because the Christian life seemed to demand so much. But when I faced the cross, I was reminded of how Christ suffered for me and of how the past generations of Christians suffered to bring me the gospel. Because of the resurrection, their valiant efforts are not wasted but reaffirms what Jesus preached during his lifetime. Moreover, I was personally reminded that what I believe in is ultimately truth. Having this hope, I am confident that whatever setbacks I experience in the present are only temporary things and that the eternal things are rooted in Christ. Whatever disappointments I face or struggles I have seem to fade in the light of what Christ did on the cross. Granted, the Christian life is not easy. We face incredible pressure from society, but we are also called to be holy. There will be days when I feel that the world is against me, but I should turn to God in these circumstances. I think having an eternal perspective really encourages me to live faithfully because God will prevail for us in the end as Jesus prevailed two thousand years ago.

By Dan Kinder, InterHigh Mentor, Junior @ UC Berkeley

If the resurrection were not true, why are Christians to be pitied above all men?  What does this say about Christian life simply as a lifestyle choice?

In this chapter, Paul carries forward the full implications of what some of the Corinthian believers were assuming, including the idea that there is no resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then Christ was not raised; If Christ was not raised, then all he brought to us is a lie; If forgiveness of our sins is a lie, then we are still under the law; If we are still under the law and “the power of sin is the law” then we are still under the power of sin; And “The sting of death is sin”(v. 56). So why should we be pitied without resurrection? Because it means we believe that hope is impossible, that life is meaningless, and the world is fundamentally absurd. Simply choosing Christianity, then, without conviction about an eternal future, is just as absurd.
Considering life in a greater context is something I find very helpful for spiritual growth. So far we’ve looked at a hopeless context, without a future, but what are the implications if the dead really are raised? What if this fact, which Christianity hinges on, is true? For me, this shines a new light on everything in my life. Now that there’s eternity to live for, the affairs of this life should be mere trivialities, indescribably short compared to the future. This is the final implication that drives me: If Jesus rose from the dead, then I live for a future eternal glory; If there is such a future, then it outweighs anything that can happen to me now. Where is the value of my life if not spent for God? Where the value of my time? Where the value of my hands and my feet?
It’s easy to boldly proclaim God’s governance in this way, but how has it been really carried forward? For me personally, these ideas about eternity have been a major drive. There was a time when I spent hours a day wasting away on the computer, in gaming and other media, but the larger context of eternity dawned on me… why am I investing so much valuable time for something so purposeless? There was also a time when reading the bible and prayer were reserved for Sundays and occasionally Wednesday nights, but why would I not be investing in these things of God, who does not pass away, in exchange for things that will fade to dust?
Up to now has been history, but keeping the context of God in all that I do has never failed to help me find things to work on. More recently it’s simply been the issue of love – the unloving ways that I’ve acted and the people I’ve hurt. How can I sacrifice relationships for the sake of my own comfort so easily, when nothing on this earth except the people I relate to will last for eternity? How can I be so compassion-less, when I’m striving to live with the God of Compassion forever?

By Virginia Chae, InterHigh Mentor, Senior @ UC Berkeley

What does it mean to “take your stand” and “hold firmly” to the gospel?

The test of genuine faith based on the first two verses is if we can take our stand and hold firmly to what we believe. Take our stand—that’s hard. I don’t think that means to get up and lecture at every class that criticizes Christianity, but I do think that it means that I should try defending my faith. Whether it’s having lunch with someone specific who seems hostile to Christianity and talking to them or writing papers that reject that thesis—I have to make an effort to protect the gospel with which I have been entrusted. To hold firmly to the gospel would mean to not be swayed by every lecture or smart undergrad who talks against Christianity. Sometimes I wonder if Christianity really is just a way to uphold middle class values like my classmates say, but when I read the real gospel, when I try to figure out what God wants for us through Christ I realize that that couldn’t be further from the truth. I need to stand firm in my faith and go to the BIBLE to find out what Christianity is really about, not to public opinion or textbooks.