A Refresher Course On The Gospel Series

A REFRESHER COURSE ON THE GOSPEL

AND THE RESURRECTION

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

INTRODUCTION: Memory of significant events is achieved through repetition. Our minds are tremendous tools to harness, and use information. There is no greater piece of knowledge today than that of the gospel. The words of the gospel have the power to changes lives, families, and even nations. The gospel will change every church which embrace its importance, and every leader who stands firm by it. The Apostle Paul knows this, and as he comes to the close of his letter to the Corinthian Church, wants to remind, refocus, and rekindle their heart to the Gospel.

What is the gospel?

Intellectually, the gospel is the events of the death burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Legally, the gospel is that verifiable witness to the events of the gospel.

Practically, the gospel is the individual transfer of my faith and trust from myself or anyone or anything else to Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross, in the tomb, and afterwards for my eternal life.

The gospel in general and the resurrection in particular is the keystone for all of Christianity. Once removed or adjusted, replaced or redefined, socialized, or diluted, the church will crumble from the heights Jesus meant for her, and will simply fade away losing its distinctness and replace it with the veil of good intentions, the paving blocks on the road to hell according to Samuel Johnson.

To this Paul says NO! The gospel is important enough that it bears repetition and is absolutely essential to victorious Christian living.

I THE REASON TO REMAIN FAITHFUL – 15:1-3b

A Remain faithful because of the gospel

1 The Good news of what Jesus did

a Died for your sins

b Provided a place for you in heaven

2 The good news of what Jesus has yet to do

a Jesus has yet to return for us

b Jesus has to remove us from this planet

B Remain faithful because of your salvation

1 The gospel saved us out of our former life

2 The gospel saved us to a new and living hope

3 The gospel is a daily experience

a Not am I saved

b But my progress since I have been saved

1 “are saved”

a) Present tense verb

2 Looks beyond our salvation and into our sanctification

C Remain faithful in order to be effective

1 Paul encourages us to take our stand for the gospel

a To defend the gospel of Christ

1 Not speaking of militancy but of apologetics

2 Not speaking of belligerence, but of speaking the truth in love

3 Do not let attacks on the gospel of Christ go unchallenged

2 Paul tells us to hold firmly

a Effectiveness comes from contact

b Effectiveness comes when the gospel is fresh on our minds

D Without the gospel everything else we do is in vain

1 Without cause

2 Think for a moment, if we have not dealt with eternal things, what good is it to deal with only temporal things.

3 The worst disease mankind can have, or the worst scenario mankind can comprehend is the least of our worries when compared to hell!

II THE EVIDENCE BEHIND THE REASON – 15:3b-8

A Death According to The Scriptures

Psalms 22:14-18 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Isaiah 53:1-6 1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.