Dakota Community Church
April 24, 2011
Hope at Easter
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
There have always been naysayers where the supernatural is concerned.
I believe this present age is particularly marked by faith in science and skepticism towards faith.
The Bible is filled with unbelievable stories, from Noah to Jonah, Goliath to Shadrach, from fire called down from heaven, to the feeding of thousands with a few small loaves; there is a reason we refer to ourselves as believers!
Something happened to us, something turned me from skepticism to faith; don’t get me wrong, that old skeptic is not dead, especially not when listening to current tales of the supernatural. When it comes to the Word of God though, where the Holy Scriptures are concerned – I believe - and I believe it all: hook, line, and sinker if you will.
Romans 10:16-17
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Mark 4:13-14, 26-28
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
First I was not a believer, I was lost, I was dead in my sin, I didn’t even care – in fact when the rest of my family began to take an interest in the things of God – I WAS HOSTILE towards them.
Then; all at once, I heard.
The seed landed on my hard heart, somehow it made its way into a crack in that rocky surface and took root; breaking, softening, and at last transforming – it is happening for some of you right now!
This morning we gather to celebrate the most sacred event in Christendom – the resurrection!
In our text Paul is addressing those who doubt this most important of supernatural events.
…how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
Paul is saying that everything hangs on this one:
1. A startling disclaimer
Christianity is unique amoung religions of the world because it contains this rider – if Christ is not risen we can reject all of it. Find the bones of Jesus and Christianity is moot!
Paul gives six disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection:
1) Preaching Christ would be senseless
2) Faith in Christ would be useless
3) All the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars
4) No one would be redeemed from sin
5) All former believers would have perished
6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth
It is important to realize that:
Salvation is by Jesus alone but not just any Jesus, the Jesus who saves is the Jesus of the Bible, the one who has revealed Himself in the inspired Word of God.
If you do not believe in the Jesus who was fully God and fully man
If you do not believe in the Jesus who gave Himself as our substitute
If you do not believe in the Jesus who rose from the grave and is coming again to judge the nations – YOU BELIEVE IN A DIFFERENT JESUS!
2 Corinthians 11:4, 13-15
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough…
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Matthew 24:3-5
“Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
If Christ is not raised we can throw this whole thing out! It is all pointless and useless and I am a liar and you are all deceived.
This is not the case however – Christ is Risen – and so we have:
2. Hope for this life
The resurrection witnesses to the immense power of God Himself.
To believe in the resurrection is to believe in the God who created the universe and has power over it.
He has power to raise the dead.
Acts 2:22-24
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship.
Only He who created life can resurrect it after death.
Only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself.
Only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the graves.
In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.
There are others who experienced death and were resurrected by God to live out a longer time on earth.
Elijah prayed and the son of the widow of Zarephath was raised,
Jesus raised the only son of the widow in the funeral procession He happened upon,
Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha
BUT THESE ALL EVENTUALLY DIED!
Jesus is alive now and forever and He makes intercession for us before the Father!
Life on this fallen planet has a way of robbing you of hope.
Because of our risen Lord we have a better covenant – a hope now – and a boldness that springs from the glory of God that is available and accessible and unfading.
2 Corinthians 3:7-18
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
We have hope or maybe joy would be better because of the FREEDOM that we have in Christ – A risen savior means we are declared righteous apart from the law!
We have hope in this life and this hope feeds our ability to carry on when things are tough.
1 Corinthians 15:56-58
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
3. Hope for the life to come
Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same.
1 Corinthians 15:20
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Only those who have not been touched by death can say that the life to come is not of primary importance.
Colossians 3:1-4
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important to salvation? It demonstrated that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It proves that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that those who believe in Christ will not remain dead, but will be resurrected unto eternal life. That is our blessed hope!
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
