Purpose: To explain the meaning of the Gospel.
Aim: I want the listener to commit (or re-commit) his life to spreading the Gospel and rejoicing in the resurrected Christ.
INTRODUCTION: Life can get very complicated. An illustration of this is a traffic sign at an intersection of two superhighways near Chicago: "To Make a Left Turn Make Two Right Turns." [1]
Life can get complicated in some very strange ways. "According to the St. Petersburg Times, a thief grabbed some sausages in a meat market but discovered to his sorrow that they were part of a string that was forty-five-feet long. He lost his balance, stumbled over the string, and finally became so entangled that he couldn’t get up to escape. When the police arrived, the thief was still trying to untangle himself from the sausages." [2]
If we are not careful, we can be so tangled up in a long string of religious ideas and rules that we wind up confused and discouraged.
Many things about Christianity and the Bible are very complicated. Even Peter said: ... just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:15--16 NAU)
But, the Gospel is not complicated, which makes it even better news.
Paul had been explaining some difficult things to the church at Corinth in this book. He covered issues of Christian liberty, the line of authority in the church, how to take the Lord’s Supper, and how to understand and use our spiritual gifts. Then he comes to chapter 15 and he reminds these Christians about the Gospel --the basic and simple truth about Christianity.
Look at verse one, 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (NAU) In verse three he said that the Gospel is, "of first importance." Twenty times, in Paul’s letters, he talks about "preaching the gospel" and another 48 times he uses the word "Gospel" without using the word "preach."
The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. If we are not careful, we can complicate the Christian life to the point that we will wonder if we will ever untangle it all. The good news is simply that Jesus died for our sins and is now alive.
"A follower of Buddha wrote this about his leader, ’When Buddha died it was with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains.’ Mohammed died at Medina on June 8, 632, at the age of 61, and his tomb there is visited yearly by tens of thousands of Muslims. But they come to mourn his death, not to celebrate his resurrection. Yet the church of Jesus Christ, not just on Easter Sunday but at every service of immersion baptism, celebrates the victory of her Lord over death and the grave." [3]
As the heart muscle pumps life-giving blood to the whole body, so the resurrection gives life to every part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, (NAU)
In the passage before us today, Paul gives the clearest explanation of what the good news about Jesus Christ is all about.
Vs.1-2 I. The Priority of the Gospel
Vs.1a A. The Gospel is our only message "the gospel"
Romans 1:15-16 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (NAU)
We know that the Gospel is powerful because it changes hearts. It changed Paul from a blasphemer of God into a lover of God. The Gospel can change a drug dealer into a church member and a responsible loving dad.
There is nothing else that can turn a selfish person into someone who will love others and willingly give up everything in order to humbly follow Christ.
Vs.1b B. The Gospel is our only choice "which you also received"
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (NAU)
Jesus is our only choice. John 6:66-69 66 As a result of this [because Jesus said that salvation was entirely God’s work] many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (NAU)
Vs.1c C. The Gospel is our only security "in which you also stand"
The Gospel is the foundation upon which we stand. Paul uses verses 12-58 to describe all the benefits the Gospel brings to a wrecked and ruined life. For example, notice verses 22, 26, 38, 49, 51-52 & 58.
We can’t depend on our goodness or our good works. Galatians 3:1-3 1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (NAU)
Vs.2 D. The Gospel is our only hope "by which also you are saved"
False faith does not endure. John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; (NAU)
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (NAU)
Vs.3-4 II. The Plan of the Gospel
Vs.3a A. Only God has revealed the Gospel "what I also received"
Paul was not talking about some new idea he had come up with. The Gospel has always been in the mind of God. Christ=s death and resurrection is just the culmination of that plan.
Jesus announced it in, Mark 8:31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (NAU)
Galatians 1:6-12 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. 11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (NAU)
Vs.3b B. Only Christ’s death pays for our sin "Christ died for our sins"
The Gospel is not primarily the good news that we can go to heaven, or that Jesus is our best friend. Those are true, but the Gospel is good news primarily because our sin is paid for.
John 1:29 The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (NAU)
Charles Spurgeon urges us to look to Jesus:
"See him-- The hand that [balances] the world hangs on a nail.
See him-- The shoulders that supported the skies are drooping over the cross.
Look at him-- The eyes whose glances light up the sun are sealed in darkness.
Look at him-- The feet that trod the billows and that shaped the planets are nailed with rude iron to the accursed tree.
Go see his hands; they are weak, but in their weakness they are stretched out to save you.
Come view his heart-- it is torn, but in its cleft you may hide yourself.
Look at his eyes-- they are closing in death, but from them comes the ray of light that shall kindle your dark spirit." [4]
Vs.4 C. Only Christ’s resurrection seals our forgiveness "raised on the third day"
1 Peter 1:3-5 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (NAU)
Because Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead Christians have a living hope.
When Paul was telling King Agrippa about Christ, he made the resurrection his main theme. Acts 26:22-23 22 So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.@ (NAU)
Because Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead Christians have a desire to know the One who has so much power.
Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; (NAU)
Do you have a deep longing to be with Christ?
Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (NAU)
Vs.5-11 III. The Proof of the Gospel
John Locke, the 18thBcentury British philosopher said, "Our Savior=s resurrection is truly of great importance in Christianity, so great that His being or not being the Messiah stands or falls with it." [5]
Vs.5-7 A. The testimony of the eyewitnesses "He appeared"
2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (NAU)
When John recorded the news about Christ’s resurrection, he emphasized what they SAW. In John chapter 20 he says that Mary Magdalene "saw the stone" removed from the tomb (Vs.1), John "saw the linen wrappings" in the tomb (Vs.5), then Peter "saw the linen wrappings" in the tomb and believed (Vs.6-7), Mary "saw two angels" (Vs.12), she also "saw Jesus standing there" (Vs.14), and then when she found the disciples she announced: John 20:18 ..."I have seen the Lord,"... (NAU)
Vs.8-10 B. The testimony of Paul
Vs.8 1. Jesus found Paul "He appeared to me also"
UNTIMELY BORN means that he was like a baby born prematurely or like a baby that is born dead.
Paul saw himself like a weak and helpless baby that could not survive on his own. God had to come and rescue him.
Jesus very plainly said, John 15:16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.... (NAU)
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (NAU)
Jesus paid for our forgiveness and He also does the work of applying it to our hearts.
Vs.9 2. Paul saw his sinfulness "I am the least"
Ephesians 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, (NAU)
Until the power of Christ’s resurrection changes us, we will not see ourselves as helpless sinners.
It should not surprise us that we sin.
Vs.10 3. Paul saw grace as the solution "by the grace of God
I am what I am"
Three times in this one verse, he mentions grace B God=s free gift of forgiveness.
When Paul looked at his sin verses God’s grace this is what he saw:
1 Timothy 1:13-17 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (NAU)
What do you see when you look at the Gospel and then at your own life?
Now we see the third proof of the resurrection of Christ.
Vs.11 C. The consistency of the message "Whether then it was I or they"
Except for a few heretics, the resurrection has never been questioned by Christ=s church. The message has always been the same. I am preaching the same message today that has been proclaimed since Peter=s sermon at Pentecost.
The question is not if the resurrection is real, but will you give yourself completely to the One who was resurrected? The Gospel is the only thing that can untangle your life.
CONCLUSION: "It is fitting that a supernatural person should enter and leave the earth in a supernatural way. This is in fact what the New Testament teaches and the Church believes. His birth was natural, but His conception was supernatural. His death was natural, but His resurrection was supernatural." John Stott [6]
In the same way, your physical life is natural, but your spiritual life must be supernatural.
Jesus said, Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (NAU)
How do you treat the Christ who died for you and was raised from the dead?
[1]Journey into Summer Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).
[2]Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).
[3]MacArthur, J. F. (1984). First Corinthians. MacArthur New Testament commentary. Chicago: Moody Press.
[4]Adapted from Spurgeon’s sermon, “Man’s ruin and God’s remedy”
[5]Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (Page 246). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[6]John R. W. Stott, Basic Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdman=s Publishing Company, 1958), 45.
