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The Good News

¹ Now boys, y'all don't go forgettin' what I've told y'all about the good news. I know y'all have tied hard and fast to this message and it changed your lives. ² This good news I gave you is the only way you'll be saved, but you can't go lettin' your cinch get loose. You've got to stay pulled down to the message or all of this has been in vain.

³ I was given the truth and I've told it to you plain and straight. Christ died for our sins just like the Good Book said he would. ⁴ He was buried in a tomb for three days and then walked out like nothin' ever happened, just like the Good Book said he would. ⁵ He went and talked to Pete and the other twelve cowboys. ⁶ But he didn't stop there. He later showed himself to more'n five hundred other riders of the brand all at the same time. Most of 'em are still around today, although a few have gone over the final hill. ⁷ He was then seen by James and again by the cowboys. ⁸ Last and least of all, Jesus showed himself to me. I felt like a cowboy who had been born a hundred years too late, but been given the chance to ride in the old ways.

⁹ But I am a gunsel compared to those other cowboys that he chose. Why? Because I used to hunt cowboys down and kill 'em. Even though I now ride for Jesus, I ain't worthy to be called one of his cowboys. ¹⁰ It's only because of his grace that I know I really am a cowboy. And you know what? I didn't waste the grace. I ride harder and further, taking the outside in this big gathering of the lost and those who have strayed away. (But it's not really me riding. It's God's grace working through me that allows me to do what I do.) ¹¹ So it don't really matter who gave you the good news. All the cowboys spread the same good news and this is what is important.

Coming Back from the Dead

¹² We tell everyone that Christ came back from the dead. If that was what we told you, why are some of y'all telling folks they won't come back from the dead too? ¹³ If we ain't gonna be raised from the grave, then Jesus wasn't either. ¹⁴ And if he didn't come back, then everything we've told you is a farce . . . and so is your faith. ¹⁵ And not just that, we'd be guilty of lying about God because we've told everyone it was God who raised him back to life. If God doesn't raise us up after we die, then he didn't raise Christ up either. ¹⁶ Let me repeat, if those cowboys who die aren't going to be raised up, then Jesus wasn't either. ¹⁷ And if Jesus is still dead, then so is our faith. If Jesus is still dead, then we are still guilty of our sins and will pay for them in full. ¹⁸ All those cowboys who rode for Christ would be lost if he wasn't alive today. ¹⁹ And if all we get for riding for the brand is a little bit of inspiration in this life, then we are a sorry lot.

²⁰ But Christ did ride back from the grave. He was the first and the rest of his cowboys will follow. ²¹ Through a single man, death came for us all. Likewise, through a single man, life is available for all. ²² I'm talking about how sin entered the world through Adam, and now, eternal life is waiting on us all through Jesus Christ. ²³ But we ain't gettin' in ahead of the boss. Jesus was brought back to life first. Then, when he comes back to get us, those who've ridden for him will be raised to life again as well. ²⁴ That's when everything as we know it will end. The prescribed burn will destroy all earthly rulers, governments, and powers. Then, Jesus is going to give the keys of the ranch to God the Father.

²⁵ Christ will rule until all his enemies have been crushed. ²⁶ The last enemy to fall will be death. ²⁷ Like the Good Book says, "God has given him control over everything." When it says "everything" is under his control, it goes without saying that Jesus does not control God. God is the one giving Jesus the authority. ²⁸ When Jesus has conquered everything, he is going to turn around and hand everything over to God so that God will be the one and only ruler.

²⁹ If there is no hope for coming back from the dead, why then do some people go as far as trying to be baptized for those who have already died? Without hope, everything is in vain.

³⁰ And what can we say about ourselves? We ride treacherous country trying to save the lost. Why would we risk our lives for nothing? ³¹ I look death in the face every single day. I'm able to because I'm convinced of my resurrection and yours through Jesus Christ. ³² What would I have gained fighting those people in Ephesus, who were as crazy as wild beasts, if I had been killed with no hope of eternal life? Only those with no hope live by the motto, "Eat and drink today; die tomorrow!"

³³ Don't be a fool. "Bad friends ruin a good ride." ³⁴ Get back in the middle of your saddle and get both feet in the stirrups. You need to think right and quit all that sinning you know is wrong. Some of you don't even know who God is because you'd rather live a life of sin rather than one that's eternal. And to that, it's your own fault and you'll get what you deserve.

The New Skin

³⁵ Some have wondered, "How are we brought back from the grave? What will our bodies look like?" ³⁶ There's no such thing as a stupid question, but these come close. A plant cannot grow unless it is buried in the ground. ³⁷ But what you plant isn't the same as what comes up. One is a seed and what comes up is a new plant. ³⁸ God gives each seed the body he wants to see. ³⁹ Just think about how different life is here on earth. People have one type of body, animals another, and still birds have something completely different just like the fish have something different. ⁴⁰ Well, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Both are beautiful, but both are different from the other. ⁴¹ The sun is beautiful in one way and the moon just as much in another. The stars shine differently and their beauty is different.

⁴² It's going to be the same when the dead are raised again. The body is planted like a seed, but it will be raised as something brand new, something that cannot see death, decay, or destruction. ⁴³ When our bodies are planted, it is with sin and decay. But what we are raised to will be glorious and powerful. ⁴⁴ The body that is planted will be a physical body, but the body that is raised will be a spiritual one. We have physical bodies and spiritual bodies.

⁴⁵ The Good Book tells us, "Adam, the first man, became a living being." But the last Adam—Jesus Christ—is a Spirit who brings life instead of death. ⁴⁶ First is the physical body, then the spiritual body comes later. ⁴⁷ The first man came from dirt. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ Earthly folks are like the first, but heavenly people are like the second. ⁴⁹ We all may be like Adam now, but a few of us will be like Jesus one day.

⁵⁰ Let me make this clear, cowboys. Our physical bodies can't inherit the kingdom of God. These bodies have to die so that we can have bodies that can last forever.

⁵¹ But listen to this! Here's a secret, not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² It'll happen in a split-second. When the last trumpet sounds, we cowboys will be changed. Those who rode for God and died will be raised to new life and live forever. ⁵³ Our dying bodies must be transformed into ones that will never die. The mortal must give way to the immortal. ⁵⁴ So this body that is so full of death and disease will be swapped out for one of power and immortality. This will fulfill what was written in the Good Book. "Death has been swallowed in victory. Death, where is your victory? ⁵⁵ O death, where is your power to sting?"

⁵⁶ Death's power to sting is sin, and the power of sin is the code. ⁵⁷ But we are thankful God has already given us victory and power through our Lord Jesus Christ!

⁵⁸ So, cowboys, sit tall in the saddle. Don't ever quit riding for the brand because your work down here makes a difference.