Text: 1 Cor 15:1-4, Title: A Simple Reminder, Date/Place: NRBC, 2.26.12, AM
A. Opening illustration: Have I Forgotten video, recount my own conversion
B. Background to passage: Addressing this broken, immature, divided, prideful, loveless, immoral, undisciplined, gluttonous, racist, snobbish, worldly church as brethren (WOW, isn’t that amazing!), he begins this next to last chapter preparing to discuss the resurrection. He is about to point out some theological heresy that is also included in their list of vices. And he simply reminds them of why he calls them brethren. Why a former Pharisee, a Jewish rabbi, a Hebrew of Hebrews, would include these pork-eating, fornicating, Greek-speaking, philosophizing, heretical, gentile dogs as his family would be well beyond the comprehension of their world. But the answer is their fellowship, belief in, commitment to, and kinship in the gospel and the Lord of the gospel. The church is the only voluntary organization that intentionally embraces people radically different from one another. And he is “making known” to them something they already know, but it’s good to remind them.
C. Main thought: Let us be reminded this morning of the simplicity of the gospel, and our bond in it
A. The Gospel (v. 3-4)
1. Paul says the gospel has been around longer the he has, and it was given to him. He is being faithful to the truth of the early church. The gospel means “the good news.” It’s only good news if you know that you need good news. The good news is that you were made to know the glory of Christ, but because of sin you can’t, and deserve punishment; and then God made a way for sin to be forgiven, freedom to be granted, life to be abundant, peace with God, and joy to be full through Christ’s death. We don’t have time to go through the depth of these simple truths today (I want to cover the other verses), but we will at Easter. So Paul gives us the core of it here, which, by the way, is probably an early church creedal statement of faith. 1) Christ died for you. God must punish those who fall short of and trample His glory, and each one of us is guilty. Jesus took the death that you deserved. And God told us this would happen in Isa more than 700 years before. Twenty-nine prophecies related to his death, burial, and resurrection fulfilled in four days. 2) He rose again on the third day to verify all His claims, solidify your justification, and provide you an intercessor at the right hand of God (what a thought! Christ intercedes for you to the Father).
2. 2 Cor 5:21, Rom 5:8, 1 Pet 3:18, 1 John 2:2, Isa 53:5-6, Rom 4:24-25, 8:34, 1 Pet 1:21
3. Illustration: pastor and author, Tim Keller points out, "Here's the gospel: you're more sinful than you ever dared believe; you're more loved than you ever dared hope." Richard Foster told of Billy Graham preaching at Cambridge in 1955. For three nights he tried to make his preaching academic and enlightened, but with no effect. Graham finally realized that presenting the intellectual side of faith was not his gift and began preaching the simple message of Jesus rescuing us from our problem with sin. Foster wrote, "The results were astonishing: hundreds of sophisticated students responded to this clear presentation of the gospel. It was a lesson in clarity and simplicity that he never forgot."
4. It is important for us to know “the gospel,” because many things are substituted for it in our day, some intentional and some unintentional results of “religion.” Some teach a gospel of works, doing enough good things to gain God’s favor. This is also the default in the human heart, so it by what most of us operate on before the true gospel comes. Some teach a gospel of baptism and church attendance and membership. These are good but they are not the gospel. Your hope of heaven is not based on the church nor any particular religious ritual. The gospel is good news to the perishing. It is not for those who are in no need of a Savior. But it is the power to open blinded eyes to the need and the its beauty.
B. The Reception (v. 1)
1. Romans teaches us that the proclamation of the gospel is necessary for salvation. Paul declared then, I declare now. But another thing that he reminds them of is their reception of this gospel, and their standing in it continually by faith. There was a time in the lives of these men and women when they were changed, born again, and began to walk with Jesus. “Received” (aorist tense) speaks of the Corinthians embracing of the gospel by faith. The word is also translated often as “take,” which is an important insight to what Paul is saying. The gospel must not only be a mental assent, but a reception in the heart; an embracing, an ownership, a “stake your life and hope on” grasping of Jesus. The Corinthians saw the beauty of Christ, and they wanted it, regardless of the cost. The word “standing” (perfect tense) the permanent and continuing nature of this faith “upon which you have taken and continue to stand and establish your life and faith.”
2. John 1:12, Col 2:6, 1 Thess 2:13, Rom 5:2, Gal 1:11
3. Illustration: story about the prisoner working with us at Camp Jubilee, like any gift, you must receive it, open it, and put it on, doesn’t necessarily mean that you must know the date and time, but it is a definite point in your life, “Pastor, I don’t need a job. I need the Lord.”
4. You must receive the gospel. You must take ownership of it. It must no longer be the faith of your parents or grandparents, or the church, or any other people. It is not simply a set of doctrines to believe, but a person to cling to. Some of you here today need to “take” Jesus. Some of you need to stop being a fan of Jesus, knowing about Jesus, or going through the motions for Jesus, and become a follower of Jesus, know Jesus personally, embrace Him as your treasure. Are you standing in Christ today? Is He the foundation of your hope for heaven?
C. The Rescue (v. 2)
1. Paul says that we are saved through the gospel. “By which” is the word for “through.” Saved from what? Hell (although the desire not to burn for eternity if you believe in the reality of hell is not a particularly spiritual desire), from sin, from self, from wasting your life, from hopelessness, from joylessness, from guilt, from punishment of sin, and from the domination of sin in your life. The word is present tense and passive. This is something that is ongoing and something done to us. God reaches down and draws us out of the rapids before we go over the waterfall; and He keeps us, comforts us, both now and forever.
2. Rom 1:16, 1 Cor 1:21
3. Illustration:
4. Don’t come to Jesus simply to get a “get out of hell free card.” Don’t come to Jesus to fix all your problems. Come to Jesus knowing that you have nothing to offer Him but brokenness and sin, and that He is everything and worth more than anything. Put your faith in this gospel, that He died for you, and rose again on your behalf, and that He is worth following even if problems aren’t fixed. Put your trust in Him, not in your trust. God will rescue you today! You are going down the river toward death (even though you don’t realize it), and He will save you. Don’t let His hand pass by you, look to Him. Put all your hope in Him! Turn from yourself, all of your life boats, life jackets, and floatation devices for none of these will help you when you go over the falls.
D. The Perseverance (v. 2)
1. This is just a final footnote for those among the Corinthians who might be wondering about their own faith, or about the faith of those who have abandoned Christ. He says that it is possible to believe in vain. It is possible to sincerely believe wrongly, or to believe for the wrong reasons. And this will bear itself out over time. That’s why Paul uses the term for “if” or “unless.” Again, he believes the Corinthians to be his brothers in Christ, but if they turn away, they were never saved to begin with.
2. Matt 7:21, Luke 8:13, John 8:31, James 2:14
3. Illustration: see quote from John Piper below,
4. I know that you have heard me preach this before, but it is a serious part of how we (and Jesus, Paul, John, and James) see salvation. Know that genuine faith perseveres over time and verifies itself with fruit. And so examine yourselves and see if you have believed in vain to no effect, no change. I have heard of pastors, deacons, SS teachers, and many church members realizing that they have believed in vain, then being gloriously saved once they overcome pride enough to be honest with God and their brothers.
A. Closing illustration: maybe “Don’t Hope, Decide”
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• “if, over the next ten or twenty years, John Piper begins to cool off spiritually and lose interest in spiritual things and become more fascinated with making money and writing Christless books; and I buy the lie that a new wife would be exhilarating and that the children can fend for themselves and that the church of Christ is a drag and that the incarnation is a myth and that there is one life to live so let us eat drink and be merry—if that happens, then know that the truth is this: John Piper was mightily deceived in the first fifty years of his life. His faith was an alien vestige of his father's joy. His fidelity to his wife was a temporary passion and compliance with social pressure; his fatherhood the outworking of natural instincts. His preaching was driven by the love of words and crowds. His writing was a love affair with fame. And his praying was the deepest delusion of all—an attempt to get God to supply the resources of his vanity.” –John Piper
• I believe I got this story from Bob George…
Mac was a hard driving, though businessman in his 70’s.
He had been a church member for many years.
But one Wednesday night as he heard the associate share his testimony, he realized that he had never personally trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Though he had been involved in a lot of religious activity, he never really had a clear idea of what it meant to be a Christian.
After spending a few days pondering and asking the associate questions, Mac made up his mind.
At the Sunday night service of their church, he decided to come forward to make a public profession of his faith in Christ.
The associate was down front serving as a counselor, and was deeply moved by the sight of this tough old businessman coming forward to receive Christ in childlike faith.
They were both in tears as they stood before the pastor.
“This is tremendous!” the pastor exclaimed.
He told the associate, “This man is one of the most brilliant businessmen in our city! He’s wealthy, he’s talented, and we need to put him to work! I want you to see that Mac is totally involved in what you are doing. We want to take full advantage of what he can do.”
The associate said he will never forget Mac, his eyes full of tears, speaking with a sincere, trembling voice: “Pastor, I don’t need a job. I need the Lord.”
