Mighty to Save
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Easter Sunday, April 4 2010
Introduction
I struggled with this message probably more than any message I’ve ever preached in my 10+ years of preaching.
I started the message earlier in the week, but had some health issues get in the way of working in it more.
As the weekend drew closer, I began to realize that my initial thoughts probably weren’t where the main thrust of the message should be.
And let me tell you, until about 5:00 last night I didn’t know really just what direction I was going to go.
I was on my face begging God to tell me what He wanted me to say, and finally the thought kept coming back to me that I needed to focus on one thing:
The resurrection means salvation to everyone who will take it.
It was kind of like, “If I had only one opportunity to talk to someone here on Easter, what is the one thing they would need to hear?”
And this is it. The resurrection means salvation to everyone who will take it.
Maybe you’ve grown up hearing that your whole life, but it’s never really sunk in before and you’ve never acted on that before by putting your trust in Jesus.
Maybe you’ve never really heard that before. Either you didn’t grow up going to church much or you went to a church that didn’t talk much about needing to take hold of the salvation Jesus bought for you with His blood.
I don’t know. But if you’re here today and you’ve never really acted on the good news of the resurrection then this message is mainly for you today.
The reason Easter is such a big deal is because when Jesus rose from the dead, He made it possible for you and me to go to heaven instead of paying for our sins on our own in hell.
And so, at the risk of bothering some of you by my repetition, I’m going to spend my time today simply telling you about taking hold of the salvation Jesus made possible by His death and resurrection.
For those of you who already have that taken care of, I would just be grateful if you’d pray that I would communicate clearly and that those who do need to hear this will hear it clearly and respond to Jesus, okay?
Body:
If you’ve been coming here for a while you’re used to seeing a note-taking guide with blanks to fill in.
Today, however, I just want you to listen. You can take notes if you want – that’s why we put a sheet in there.
But I don’t want you to worry about filling in the blanks. I want you to focus on hearing what God has to say to you today through His Word, okay?
The foundational passage I want to use for our time today is 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (p. 815) –
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
Huh. Kinda sounds like Paul didn’t take for granted that the people he was writing to had it all figured out and didn’t need a reminder once in a while about the main essentials of the gospel of Jesus.
Kinda like us, I think.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
In verses 3-8 of this passage, Paul lays out the basics of what we call the gospel message – that Jesus came to die for our sins and that He rose again.
And he lays out the fact that Jesus had been seen alive by over 500 people, most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote this and could have refuted anything Paul had to say about it.
That’s important because from the time Jesus arose to now people have tried to deny that Jesus rose from the grave.
I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to stand in front of over 500 people and call them liars. They’d probably all be bigger than me – even the girls…
And yet the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus died and rose again physically.
Maybe you’re here today and you’re not so sure you can believe that. That’s okay – if you’re willing to actually check it out.
If that’s you, please come see me today or sometime in the future and I’ll get you in touch with some materials that will show you the evidence and you can judge for yourself.
Anyway, Paul lays all this out, but to me the key is back in verse 2 –
By this gospel you are saved,…
One of the questions that we need to address is this: saved from what?
Well…from hell.
That’s our future destiny if we’re left to what we deserve for our sins.
And make no doubt about it. You have sinned. Lots. Whole bunches. Mucho lots whole bunches. More times than you can count.
And you know it. You might try to deny it, but I’ll bet that if you search your heart, you’ll know that it’s true.
The Bible says that all have sinned. And that “all” includes you and even your sainted mama.
You may not have sinned as bad as the next guy, but you know what? You’re not going to be compared to the next guy. You’re going to be compared to Jesus.
And next to Jesus, you’re a filthy sinner, just like I am compared to Jesus.
The Bible says that we deserve hell for our sins. Hell is a real place of real torment for all those who leave this earth in a sinful state, according to Jesus.
But the good news of Easter is that because of what Jesus did on the cross and in rising from the grave, you don’t have to go to hell to pay for your sins.
You see, Jesus wasn’t just a good teacher or religious leader. He was and is the Son of God through whom God created the universe according to the gospel of John.
He was mighty to do miracles while He walked the earth.
And He is mighty to defeat death by rising from the grave.
And because of that, He is mighty to save you and me.
But here’s something interesting. Look at this verse:
2 Corinthians 5:21 –
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
What this is saying is that Jesus, the mighty Son of God, perfectly holy in every way, took your place by dying for your sins. He took the penalty for you so that you wouldn’t have to pay it yourself.
He made it possible for you to go to heaven instead.
Now that’s good news folks, because you know in your heart that you don’t deserve that.
And why did God do that? Because He loves you.
You may have heard that and never believed it because of the circumstances you’re going through or have gone through.
But let me tell you, it’s true. He loves you more than you’ll ever know. He loves you so much He sent His son to die in your place. And Jesus did it willingly because He loves you as well.
Look at this passage from 1 John:
1 John 4:9-10 –
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
This is the gospel that saves. Jesus dying and rising so you can go to heaven.
Put your hope in Jesus for salvation – that saving from what your sins and mine deserve.
He is mighty to save you. And the great thing is that He wants to save you – no matter what you’ve done, no matter your background.
He loves you and wants you to have heaven when you die and His help and presence here on earth.
In a little bit, you’re going to have an opportunity to let Him do just that.
I don’t want anyone to leave here today not knowing that Jesus has saved them, and that they’ll be ready to meet God when their time comes.
And let me tell you something else. And this is just as much for those who have already put their hope in Jesus.
When you call on Jesus for this salvation we’re talking about today, you become a child of God.
You gain all the blessings that the Bible describes as being for those who are part of the family of God.
I don’t have time to address all those today, but you’ll find them in the Scriptures, and we try to talk about that here.
You:
For those of you who don’t yet know Christ:
Romans 10:9-10 –
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Listen: it’s not the words – it’s the fact that you’re vocalizing your dependence on Jesus for heaven.
And I’m going to pray a prayer right now that you can pray along with me.
If you want to put your hope in the risen Christ – who paid the penalty for your sins so that you could be forgiven and spend eternity in heaven, then you pray along with me right now in your heart.
I’m going to pray aloud, and I’m going to ask that everyone in here pray this aloud with me, so that no one feels singled out.
(Pray)
(Eyes and hands) – I have materials for you – please see me after the service, or I would be glad to meet with you sometime and get them to you at a later date.
For those who already know Christ: thank God for the reminder that you are His – not because of anything you’ve done, but because of His love and mercy and grace on your behalf.
And I would call on you to, along with me, repent of any attitude of spiritual “superiority” over those who still have yet to find Christ.
A = Already believe (or believing again)
B = Believing today.
C = Considering Jesus
D = Don’t ever plan on believing in Jesus.
While this video is playing I want you to circle the response you’re making today.
Prayer
Closing song.
