1Corinthians 15A. The boss got a smile on his face and said, Oh wonderful, then that explains everything.

Transcription

1 1Crinthians 15A There are prbably as many ways t cnduct a church service as there are churches An emplyee f a cmpany was wrking at his desk ne mrning when the bss stpped by t ask him a questin. Out f the blue the bss asked, D yu believe in resurrectin? The questin stunned the yung man. His bss had never shwn any interest in his Christian faith in the past, s it was quite unexpected t hear him asking abut religius matters, especially in the wrkplace. Finally, he hped he wuld have an pprtunity t witness t his faith. The yung man answered enthusiastically, Why yes, I d believe in resurrectin. The bss gt a smile n his face and said, Oh wnderful, then that explains everything. Nw the yung man was puzzled. He asks his bss, What d yu mean it explains everything? His bss answered, Well, when yu were away frm the ffice last Friday t attend yur grandmther s funeral, she stpped by the ffice t see yu. It s nt an exaggeratin t say that the entire Christian faith - and all the Bible teaches cncerning Christ - depends n the resurrectin If the resurrectin f Jesus is nt true...if it never really happened, then the entire Christian faith is meaningless and a fraud It wuld mean Jesus is still in the grave like every man It wuld mean that His claims t being Gd and t having the pwer t vercme death were lies It wuld mean that we have n reasn t trust in Him fr ur wn salvatin frm death But if the resurrectin is true...if it happened as the New Testament authrs testify, then it changes everything It means that Jesus claims t being the Truth and the Life are trustwrthy 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 1Crinthians 15A 2 f 14 It means that He and He alne has the pwer t cnquer death It means we can place ur trust in Him t raise us frm the dead, and we will nt be disappinted We ve reached the final tpic Paul addresses in this letter t Crinth Each tpic Paul s raised s far has been the result s smething he heard was ging wrng in the church We ve heard him preaching n idls, marriage, spiritual gifts and the Lrd s Supper With each tpic, Paul begins with teaching and eventually ends in crrectin Once again, this will be Paul s apprach t his final tpic f resurrectin S Paul begins with a teaching n the resurrectin f Jesus Christ 1Cr. 15:1 Nw I make knwn t yu, brethren, the gspel which I preached t yu, which als yu received, in which als yu stand, 1Cr. 15:2 by which als yu are saved, if yu hld fast the wrd which I preached t yu, unless yu believed in vain. Paul begins his teaching in a curius manner He says I make knwn t yu the gspel which I preached t yu, which yu received Paul calls his audience brethren, which is a term reserved fr fellw believers S Paul is implying they have heard and believed the gspel f Jesus Christ, the message that bring salvatin and makes ne a Christian S we might ask why des Paul feels the need t preach the gspel nce again t believers in Crinth? The answer is because Christians need t be reminded f the gspel daily It s ne reasn why we hnr the day f Jesus resurrectin every year at Easter 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 1Crinthians 15A 3 f 14 It s why pastrs repeat the Gspel frm the pulpit n many Sundays It s nt merely because we hpe t persuade a new heart t believe It s als because even thse wh have believed need a cnstant reminder f what the gspel is and what it teaches If yu pay attentin t religius news articles n website r in blgs, then very quickly yu ll realize many peple have n idea what the gspel is In fact, many Christians dn t knw what the wrds means If yu want t entertain yurself smetime, cnduct a randm man n the street experiment Ask peple what is the gspel? Yu ll be surprised by the answers I ve encuntered Christian wh think the wrd gspel simply means the New Testament Others think it s a synnym fr Jesus Himself Sme think the gspel means treating ther peple nicely Sme say it s a call t equality and pprtunity Sme teach the gspel is abut achieving happiness r wealth Sme think it s abut scial equality I ve read religius articles written by s-called Christians wh treat the term gspel as if the wrd has n definitin at all They view the gspel as a mysterius, ambiguus cncept withut specific frm Smething we acknwledge yet can t relate t All this cnfusin is exactly why we we return t the Bible repeated t find and preach the gspel n a regular basis, bth t thers and t urselves Otherwise, even a believer may becme cnfused abut hw they are saved 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 1Crinthians 15A 4 f 14 We may lse all understanding f what it means t be a Christian Then we ll have n hpe t understand the thelgy r ur faith much less t avid the deceptins and schemes f the enemy S in effect, Paul is saying t the church I need t reteach yu the gspel that yu received frm me befre, the ne yu received in faith, the ne in which yu stand When Paul says stand he means t withstand the judgment f Gd All men are ging t stand fr judgment by a hly and righteus judge Either we enter that mment prepared and ready t stand Or we enter with n prspect t survive the wrath f Gd That s why in v.2 Paul says the message he delivered is the ne that saves them...saves them frm the penalty f sin The wrld is filled with men preaching false gspels, false messages f salvatin Religins that claim yu can earn yur way ut f hell r that there is n eternal punishment in the first place There are even distrted versins f Christianity that have changed the gspel t suit their deceived hearts But nly ne gspel has the pwer t save men n the day f their judgment Ntice at the end f v.2 Paul adds a prvcative statement He says yu are saved if yu are hlding fast t the message I have preached t yu, unless yu believed in vain Nw we see clearly why Paul feels the need t repeat the Gspel t this church Chle s reprt t Paul must have included a disturbing case f sme in the church prfessing belief in a different gspel Rather than hlding t the truth Paul delivered, these peple were nw claiming t be saved by a different message 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 1Crinthians 15A 5 f 14 A message the enemy had intrduced int the church thrugh false teachers S naturally, Paul is cncerned that these peple were never believers in the first place They heard Paul deliver the true gspel and they prfessed an acceptance But when a mre appealing alternative shwed up, these peple ran after the new message with equal gust By nt hlding fast t the truth, they gave evidence that they had never accepted it in the first place They had believed in vain which means t have never believed at all The wrd vain in Greek means t fail r t be empty Theres had been a false r empty acceptance This is precisely the danger with any grup f Christians setting the gspel aside assuming that nce is enugh The is never a message that gets ld It never lses it s imprtance r relevance Repeating the true gspel is just as imprtant fr the persn wh has been saved as it is fr the ne wh has believed in vain We all need t be rck slid n the message that brings Gd s frgiveness Salvatin isn t like a game f hrseshes Yu dn t get pints fr getting clse t the gspel Yu dn t get int heaven because yu went t church Or because yu were married t a Christian r because yur parents were Christians Yu dn t get a pass because yu were mstly a gd persn There is t much at stake fr anyne, whether Christian r nt, t misunderstand the Gspel f Jesus Christ 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 1Crinthians 15A 6 f 14 S s yu want t knw what the true Gspel is? D yu want t be sure yu ve believed in the right thing? I hpe s, and s des Paul Because nw presents the church the ne and nly message that saves men frm Hell and assures us entrance int Heaven 1Cr. 15:3 Fr I delivered t yu as f first imprtance what I als received, that Christ died fr ur sins accrding t the Scriptures, 1Cr. 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised n the third day accrding t the Scriptures, There it is...the true gspel This isn t the nly place yu can find it in the Bible In fact, it s written in ne frm r anther n virtually every page f the Bible But in these tw verses, Paul succinctly captures the ne and nly message that saves ur suls In v.3 Paul says this is the message he delivered in the past as well And this is the message f first imprtance There is n ther tpic r discussin that matters unless and until the gspel is settled in a persn s heart If smene wants t entertain themselves with religius cnversatin, there are an infinite number f things we can talk abut We can talk abut myths, cntrversies, denminatinal differences, traditins and mysteries all day lng But the gspel is the tpic f first imprtance Paul says He desn t say highest imprtance He says first imprtance What he means is that we have nthing else t talk abut until we agree n the Gspel Unbelievers with an interest in religin lve t engage a Christian n many useless tpics...except n the gspel itself 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 1Crinthians 15A 7 f 14 I can t tell yu hw many cnversatins I ve had with unbelievers unwilling t discuss the Gspel They want t talk abut Evlutin Or the accuracy f the Bible Or the errrs f Cathlic ppes r whatever church scandal is in the news But ask them t cnsider the truth f Jesus claims, and the cnversatin ends We need t take nte f Paul s example here As sn as he becmes aware that sme may nt have understd the Gspel, he returns t the message f first imprtance And s shuld we Preach the Gspel and nthing mre until it s received As Paul said earlier in this letter, when he first entered Crinth he was determined t knw nthing except Christ and Him crucified S shuld we And then Paul prceeds t explain the fundamental elements f the gspel message Christ died fr ur sins accrding the scriptures The gspel stry begins with ur sin Men have sin, lts f it Years ag when I was a new believer, I had a friend wh was an unbeliever In thse early days f walking with Christ, I wanted t share my faith with this friend One day I began t testify t him that belief in Jesus Christ was the nly way t avid the penalty fr ur sin And then he said smething I didn t expect 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 1Crinthians 15A 8 f 14 He said he didn t believe in sin His cmment stpped me in my tracks If he didn t understand his wn sin befre Gd, then there was n where fr ur cnversatin t g frward The gspel message is fundamentally a message f hw Gd frgives us fr ur sin But if we dn t appreciate ur sin, then we have n reasn t cnsider a message that prmises t save us frm the penalty f sin The gspel begins with the sbering reminder that sin brings judgment Rm. 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Nt at all; fr we have already charged that bth Jews and Greeks are all under sin; Rm. 3:10 as it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; Rm. 3:11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; Rm. 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE. Rm. 3:23 fr all have sinned and fall shrt f the glry f Gd, Why d we have s many false gspels, s many ways t define the wrd, s many alternatives being preached in pulpits? I think it s because the last thing a hard, unbelieving heart wants t hear abut is sin The true gspel begins with an accusatin We are in truble with Gd The chices we ve made, the lifestyle we ve lived, the wrds we ve spken, even the thughts that run thrugh ur head They ffend a hly Gd They are wrng, they are sin, and they put us in Gd s debt A debt that nly death can pay 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 1Crinthians 15A 9 f 14 That s nt a message the unbelieving heart wants t hear, but even the believer s heart rebels at the thught if we aren t reminded f it cntinually Many a Christian has becme self-righteus r even selfindulgent and licentius because we frget why Christ died Our sin is the prblem Christ came t slve He didn t die t teach us a lessn r shw us a way He came t slve the prblem f ur sin And what He did is the nly thing that culd be dne There was n alternative Dn t let smene fl yu that there are many ways t heaven There aren t ways t heaven There is nly Christ s death Then Paul says this death was the ne scripture said wuld happen Many men have died, but nly ne death was capable f slving the prblem f ur sin It was the death that came in accrdance with Gd s prmises fund in His wrd It s the nly death the Father will accept as payment fr ur sin, as He fretld thrugh the prphets Like Isaiah wh said Is. 53:1 Wh has believed ur message? And t whm has the arm f the LORD been revealed? Is. 53:2 Fr He grew up befre Him like a tender sht, And like a rt ut f parched grund; He has n stately frm r majesty That we shuld lk upn Him, Nr appearance that we shuld be attracted t Him Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 1Crinthians 15A 10 f 14 Is. 53:3 He was despised and frsaken f men, A man f srrws and acquainted with grief; And like ne frm whm men hide their face He was despised, and we did nt esteem Him. Is. 53:4 Surely ur griefs He Himself bre, And ur srrws He carried; Yet we urselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten f Gd, and afflicted. Is. 53:5 But He was pierced thrugh fr ur transgressins, He was crushed fr ur iniquities; The chastening fr ur well-being fell upn Him, And by His scurging we are healed. Is. 53:6 All f us like sheep have gne astray, Each f us has turned t his wn way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity f us all T fall n Him. There was a death f a certain Man that the scriptures said wuld cme fr ur sake This Man wuld have a cmmn, unremarkable appearance And He wuld be despised by men and frsaken Isaiah says this Man wuld be One chsen by Gd t bear ur griefs and srrws He was assigned by Gd t be afflicted in ur place Pierced thrugh fr ur transgressins, referring t the crucifixin, and crushed fr ur sins By His afflictin we are healed, frgiven f ur sins and recnciled with Gd Yu see nt just anyne can address ur sin befre Gd N self-appinted savir can save us frm the wrath f Gd Nt Buddha, nt Muhammed, nt Cnfucius, nt the Dali Lama, nt David Kresh, nt Jseph Smith, nt Charles Russell Nr any ther crackpt, cnman, false prphet r cult leader with a messiah cmplex 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 1Crinthians 15A 11 f 14 Whether by their life r by their death, nne f these can slve the prblem f ur sin, because Gd has nt appinted them t serve that purpse Gd alne determines the prpitiatin, the remedy fr ur sin And Paul says the Father determined that His Only Sn Jesus wuld be the One t address the prblem f ur sin He wuld be assigned t bear the penalty fr ur sin He died fr ur sins, s that we might escape that penalty Our sin is the beginning f the Gspel message, but it desn t end there If the Gspel message begins with ur sin, it mves t the penalty f sin Paul says that Jesus was buried and then raised three days later There s certainly nthing remarkable abut a dead man being buried That s what happens t every persn wh dies The bdy returns t dust, ne way r anther But Paul repeats this part f the stry because it s essential t ur understanding f what sin requires Paul says in Rmans 6:23 that the wages f sin is death Paul means that because we sin, we have earned the penalty that sin requires, which is a spiritual death Yet Christ tk that wage n ur behalf, standing in ur place, lying in ur grave S the true Gspel recgnizes that Jesus died a true death In the early church, false teachers began t reprt that Jesus had nt actually died He had swned n the crss, experiencing punishment fr ur sake but nt actually dying Fr sme held that it wasn t right that Gd culd die like a man S they cnccted a stry that Jesus faked death and then escaped frm the tmb 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 1Crinthians 15A 12 f 14 But this is nt the Gspel The Gspel says that Jesus truly died, fr that is what s required because f ur sin If Jesus never died then the payment fr ur sin has nt been paid What s mre, if Jesus never died, then the next part f the Gspel message is rendered false as well This brings us t the final element f the true gspel: Paul says Jesus rse frm the dead In a wrd, He resurrected Jesus dead bdy became living again, std up and walked ut f the grave Just as surely as He was dead, He als came t life again The true gspel is the gd news that ur death desn t have t be the end f us We can live again just as Jesus did The prmise f the gspel is that everyne wh places their trust fr salvatin in Christ can be assured they will nt be disappinted Fr when it cmes t chsing a savir wh prmises t rescue yu frm death, shuldn t chse the One Wh rescued Himself frm death? If a persn cannt even raise himself frm his wn death, then certainly there is n reasn t place yur wn life in his hands? Buddha never returned t life Muhammed is still in his tmb Nt Cnfucius, nr the Dali Lama, nr David Kresh, nr Jseph Smith, nr Charles Russell nr any ther man has ever returned frm the grave Except Jesus Christ 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 1Crinthians 15A 13 f 14 When He rse frm the dead, He prved beynd any dubt that He has the pwer f life ver death He validated all that He claimed cncerning Himself Talk is cheap...anyne can make claims abut their pwer and authrity while they walk the earth But befre yu accept their claims, first let them die and cme back t life The One Wh can bring himself back t life has prven Himself t be Gd, the ne with pwer ver life The true Gspel, the true gd news is the stry f the Sn f Gd dying and resurrecting fr ur sake The gspel Christ delivered t Paul is the same gspel Paul taught in his letters It s the same message Paul delivered in Crinth And it s the message f first imprtance that I preach t yu this Easter mrning Our sin made necessary a death But the Father, in His mercy and lve fr us, appinted His nly Sn t stand in ur place t satisfy the wrath f Gd And n a crss, Jesus died in ur place His dead bdy was buried in a tmb fr three days But after three days and three nights in the grave, Jesus dead bdy returned t life, resurrected never t die again This is the ne and nly gspel, the gd news that saves Paul says in Rmans 10 Rm. 10:9 that if yu cnfess with yur muth Jesus as Lrd, and believe in yur heart that Gd raised Him frm the dead, yu will be saved; Rm. 10:10 fr with the heart a persn believes, resulting in righteusness, and with the muth he cnfesses, resulting in salvatin Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 1Crinthians 15A 14 f 14 Accept the truth f this testimny, believe it and rely upn it fr yur salvatin frm the judgment that is t cme, and yu will be saved Jesus resurrectins means He has the pwer t give life t yur dead bdy And His wrd says if yu trust in Him, yu will nt be disappinted This is the gspel 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.