Born On Easter Morning
TCF Easter Sunday sermon
April 8, 2012
Isn’t the end of Easter season a relief? You know, all the Easter presents you had to buy, and the debt it left on your credit card? The pressure of all the Easter parties – seems like a new one every night, so you’re never home the two months before Easter.
The need to get all your Easter cards out – and then the reality that someone sent you a card and you didn’t send them one, so you’re stuck with either sending an obligatory card in response, or bowing to the embarrassment and shame that you didn’t send one to this person who sent you one?
And the crowds! Everywhere you go, people Easter shopping, traffic jams near malls – it’s enough to drive you crazy and make you say, “bah humbug.” At least we have the Easter carols to hear and sing throughout the season.
Now, of course, we may have thought these kinds of things about the Christmas season, but these trappings really aren’t the same at Easter.
Have you ever thought about Christmas as a church holy day vs. Easter? Because of the world's influence, and because of our human nature, Christmas most often supercedes Resurrection Sunday, more commonly known as Easter, as the most important holiday in the church calendar.
We generally spend more time building up to Christmas than Easter. Many protestant churches will mark Advent, but many do not even mention any kind of Lenten observation.
Personally, I think that it’s a largely secular influence on both holidays that has brought this reality about. We see Christmas decorations up more than two months prior to Dec 25. We focus more of our time and energy on preparation for Christmas, and it’s often really not a spiritual preparation. That’s why these terms are not generally in our vernacular:
- Easter shopping?
- Easter vacation?
- Easter presents?
- Easter music?
- Easter decorations?
- Easter lights?
- Easter trees?
Christmas is more widely recognized by the secular world, as well as the church world. There are only some who would argue the actual birth of Christ. However, when people consider His words, His life, His death by crucifixion, and His resurrection – then the struggle begins. Why is this?
I think for one, Christmas is an easier holiday to believe in. It’s easier to believe in a birth, (though certainly not a virgin birth) because we’ve all been there and done that, and we see it happen all the time. But a resurrection? You’re kidding me, right?
Christmas is a little more easily sanitized. You have a baby at Christmas. You have the quaint story about being born in a manger. On the other hand, when you compare babies, with death and the grave, again - Houston, we have a problem.
The problem is, of course, that it’s impossible to talk about the resurrection of Jesus without talking about death. And, in the case of Jesus, it’s really hard to talk about His death without talking about crucifixion.
Christmas is easier to secularize - Santa is certainly a more enduring and enjoyable addition to Christmas than the Easter bunny is to Easter. Also there's a recognition of birth as a common experience, but death followed by resurrection is impossible to separate from its spiritual implications.
The temptation that comes to all of us, in every era of the church, is to have Jesus, without seeing ourselves in the gore of his bloody cross and the glory of his empty grave. In the way that we speak of Him to our children, or to skeptics, or to seekers, we sometimes believe we’ll gain more of a hearing if we present Him as teacher but not as a former corpse. It is too disturbing, we think to ourselves, too weird. Russell Moore
So, the church has bought into some of the world's priorities, and Christmas seems to be a more important holiday than Easter. Now, I’m not knocking Christmas, the traditions, the fun of the holiday. This morning, I’m simply asking us to consider clearly the understanding from the Word, about the importance of Resurrection Day.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 15, our primary text for this morning. We're going to focus on about a half-dozen key sections from this chapter
verse 1: I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand, (or “in which you stand,” some versions say)
verse 14: If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith
17-19: if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men.
verse 30: as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
verses 54-58: starting at end of 54: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
We have to start by looking at the importance Paul placed on the resurrection, what we celebrate today. Paul stated unequivocally the importance of the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV) 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
See that Paul called this "of first importance." He doesn’t mention Christ's birth. Of course, that doesn't diminish the importance of the virgin birth - it only prioritizes for us. Next, look at verse 1:
Paul talks of "the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and on which you have taken your stand."
In verse 58, at the end of this chapter, he admonishes us to "stand firm," or be steadfast, immovable. It's a clear theme - stand firm, taking your stand. But to what, or on what, are we holding firmly, taking our stand? Clearly, the resurrection is the focus of the entire chapter. So, what does it mean to "take your stand?" In this context - it's an all-encompassing statement. It means, essentially, the thing on which you've built your work, and your lives. It implies a foundation, that on which everything else is built.
Paul’s telling us it's a foundational truth, an indispensable fact, without which nothing else makes sense. So we see how important this message of the resurrection is - it’s of “first importance." It’s a truth "on which you've taken your stand" - to which we must "hold firmly."
The resurrection is the foundation of all the apostles preached and believed. A foundation must be strong, firm, and able to handle all that is built on it. That’s true of buildings – and it’s true of our lives. The foundation of the resurrection was strong enough to build a church on. And not just any church – a church that has not simply survived, but which has grown, thrived and prospered through the most difficult of storms: through centuries of persecution, which continues in many parts of the world to this day. A church which has survived even martyrdom. A church that the world or the enemy could not kill off.
Revelation 12:11 (ESV) 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
It takes a strong foundation to stand firm against such trials. At the end of this morning’s message, we’ll hear a song that celebrates this strong foundation, and the reality that the church of Jesus Christ, born on Easter morning, has outlived its persecutors and enemies for more than 2,000 years.
The song mentions historical figures, such as the Roman emperor Diocletian, who’s long dead and gone, but still the church brings God glory. This wicked Roman ruler not only tried to snuff out Christians, but tried to do away with scripture, ordering it confiscated and destroyed. Nero, was another Roman emperor who was well known as a persecutor of Christians.
The early Christian church faced severe persecution, and of course, even in our day and age, as we that remember our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world still face persecution, we’re forced to admit that the evil of some of today's regimes which persecute believers, probably makes Nero look like Mr. Rogers.
What does this have to do with Easter? Everything. It's the resurrection on which these people took their stand, their stand unto death. It’s the resurrection on which our brothers and sisters today have taken their stand, in the middle east, in China, in Indonesia, in India, and any of the other more than 100 nations in the world where Christians suffer for being followers of Christ.
Many of you have read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. It’s certainly not light bedtime reading, but is nevertheless inspiring and relevant as we look at this passage of scripture this morning.
It’s important to remember that each of the apostles suffered persecution, and most died as martyrs. Tradition says Peter was crucified upside down, Paul was beheaded. Andrew, after being ordered by a Roman governor to stop preaching Christ or face execution, reportedly told the Romans:
"I would not have preached the honor and glory of the cross if I feared the death of the cross."
Foxe writes: "Death was not considered enough punishment for the Christians, who were subjected to the cruelest treatment possible. They were whipped, disemboweled, torn apart, and stoned. Plates of hot iron were laid on them, they were strangled, eaten by wild animals, hung, and tossed on the horns of bulls. After they were dead, their bodies were piled in heaps and left to rot without burial....Nevertheless, the Church continued to grow, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and watered with the blood of the saints."
The foundation of the doctrine of the apostles that Foxe wrote of was the resurrection. How in the world did the church continue to grow in the face of treatment like this?
Today, so many of our churches seek to grow by telling people to come here, we'll help meet your needs, you'll be happy here. Can you imagine one of those cute church signs with a catchy phrase in the days of Diocletian. What might those church signs have said?
“Be a target of Diocletian! Come Suffer for the Real King of Kings” or how about “Be a martyr for Jesus. Come learn how. Sunday 3 a.m. before the Romans are up!”
I'm convinced that the church continued to grow because the foundation was so firm, so solid - they were convinced of the fact of, and of the power of, the resurrection. They literally did not fear death, because of the resurrection.
Another lyric you’ll hear in the song at the end of this sermon is about Stalin. The song was written in the 1970s, when the Soviet Union still existed, and was imprisoning believers – some of whom Gordon knows personally, and just saw on his recent trip to Russia.
Since this song we’ll hear was written, even that part of the history that made the song relevant has already passed away, because Stalin’s long since dead, and the Soviet Union is no more, but the universal church of Jesus Christ is still alive and kicking.
The fact of the resurrection is the foundational truth of the gospel. Of course, we can't separate that from Jesus' death on the cross, but the resurrection gave life, excuse the pun, to the gospel. So, though you can't separate the resurrection from Jesus' death on the cross – the fact of the resurrection is the foundational truth of the gospel.
The fact of the resurrection of Jesus, accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit after His ascension and Pentecost, was the fundamental personal conviction of the disciples. It was the basis of their preaching – it was the final support of their martyrdom. The resurrection gave Jesus ultimate credibility, first with his disciples, then with subsequent followers - it gave Him ultimate authority. It vindicated His death on the cross. The Christian life is "Not a call for the timid – it’s a challenge for the convinced."
Sometimes we like to talk of the promises of God – when we talk of these, we only think of what we perceive as the "good" promises. But there are other promises in the Word that don't seem as pleasant. These promises are the reason for the admonition to stand firm, and to, as it says in verse 2, "hold firmly" to the word.
Consider John 15:18-20, which says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you...if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."
That kind of promise was a living reality to the early church, and continues to be a reality for much of the world, more so than most of us in America can comprehend today. Paul said in verse 30 of 1 Corinthians 15: "why do we endanger ourselves every hour?”
That's why they needed a firm foundation on which to stand...that's what the resurrection accomplished - it provided that foundation.
"This is the foundation of the church, the inscription on the banner of her armies, the strength and comfort of every heart and the grand hope of humanity: THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED!”
Remove this foundation, and the whole fabric falls - the entire structure crumbles. The depth of the conviction these men had about the resurrection played a significant part in the spread of the gospel, and does to this day.
Charles Colson tells the story of his conversion, and points out that the thing which had the biggest impact in convincing him of the truth of the resurrection and the gospel was Watergate. In the Watergate scandal, the well-educated, highly-motivated professionals, couldn't cover up their lies for very long.
Once the truth about the Watergate coverup began to unfold, it was a matter of days before everyone connected to it lawyered-up, and they were already looking for a way to save their skin - to keep themselves out of jail.
They couldn't maintain a lie, for the sake of their misguided principles, or to save a president they all believed in. They cracked under the pressure, and they did it quickly.
Yet, here are these disciples of Jesus, accused of fabricating Jesus' resurrection, and taking this so-called lie to the grave, through suffering and persecution.
Colson noted that no one dies for what he knows to be a lie. Yet, these early Christians never cracked under the pressure, and maintained until the bitter end the fact of Jesus' resurrection. That was enough to convince a skeptical, intellectual like Charles Colson that the gospel was true.
If Jesus is risen, we must do something with His claims. He never gave us the choice to consider Him a great teacher, or simply a prophet.
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the father but by me."
Moving on to verses 13, 17-19 – let me read these again .
1 Corinthians 15:13 (ESV) 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
Then verse 17-19 read:
1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (ESV) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
These verses beg the question: If Jesus had remained under the power of death, how could he deliver us from it?
"A dead Christ might have been a teacher and a wonder-worker, and remembered and loved as such. But only a risen and living Christ could be the Savior, the Life, and the life-giver, and as such preached to all men."
Denial of the resurrection leaves Jesus in a martyr's grave. It makes our Christian faith futile. It makes sin triumphant, and it makes the hope of glory a pitiful myth.
One commentator noted:
"The world would not have been converted to a dead Christ, however much his disciples might have continued to love his memory"
On the other hand, the fact of the resurrection, and the power that comes with that fact, gives assurance of human resurrection, assurance of the conquest of death, assurance that evil is vanquished, and gives us daily equipping for Christian service. The truth is, our deliverance from sin, and the resulting eternal life, depends on Jesus being raised from the dead ---
Romans 4:24,25: "For us, to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification
Ephesians 2:4-6: Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.”
Look again at verse 19 of our passage:
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men"
Paul says here that if we're only concerned about what Jesus can do for us in the here and now, we'd be better off pagan...better off not believing in Jesus at all.
We also see the words used earlier in verses 14, 17: useless, futile. That's how important the resurrection is. It renders life useless, futile, hopeless without it.
Matthew Henry said: If all our hopes in Christ lie within the compass of this life, they are in a much worse condition than the rest of mankind. Better be anything than a Christian on these terms. They fare much harder than other men in this life, and yet have no further or better hopes. The Christian is by his religion crucified to this world, and taught to live for the hope of another.
Relate this idea to verse 30:
"As for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour"...
then verse 32: "If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?"
Our faith would be a foolish profession indeed if it gives us no hopes beyond this life, if it requires us to risk all the blessings and comforts of this life, and to face and endure all the evils of it without any future prospects. As Paul notes in verse 32:
If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die."
It’s not too much of a stretch to say that disbelief in the resurrection can lead to sin. Think of the attitude described in verse 32: what does it matter if I sin, if there's really nothing more than this life?
The disciples preached, first and foremost, the resurrection, and not just Jesus' resurrection, but our resurrection. Look again at verse 19: "if only for this life we have hope in Christ…"
We must remember that in the New Testament, hope means a confident expectation, not wishful thinking like we often use it. So when Paul talks of Christ the hope of glory, when he writes in this verse in 1 Cor 15 of our hope in Christ, he's not talking about wishful thinking.
He's talking of a confident expectation - a convinced anticipation. We remember that this chapter begins with Paul writing of the gospel "on which you have taken your stand," and by which we are saved, if we "hold firmly" to the word. This chapter ends with the admonition to "stand firm." Again, the last verse says "stand firm. Let nothing move you."
This is a clear and consistent command in scripture – to stand firm...to hold firmly, to take our stand.
Hebrews 3:6: "We are his house, if we hold on to our courage, and the hope of which we boast."
Hebrews 3:14: "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."
What we need to ask ourselves is, first, why are we told so often to hold firmly? I believe God recognizes that the world and its cares, not to mention the kind of persecution we looked at earlier, will cause many of us to lose our grip on the gospel, maybe to hang onto the truth a little less tightly, or to move off the foundation onto things less solid.
If this is the reality of life, we have to ask ourselves:
To what are we holding firmly? What is our foundation? What keeps the church, born on Easter morning, growing, thriving, persevering, prevailing through the centuries, against tremendous odds, The answer is clear:
THE RESURRECTION!
It means WE WIN IN THE END!
Jesus victory over death was a foretaste of our victory over death, made possible by that Easter morning! Our salvation was bought and paid for on the cross. Jesus said on the cross “it is finished.”
But the church triumphant was born on Easter morning, rose to newness of life.
In business, they talk of the bottom line. After you've talked about everything else, all the other elements that go into a business - revenues, expenses, etc... you have the bottom line: in business it's the profit or loss.
Christianity's bottom line is the resurrection, and again, not just Jesus’ resurrection, but what that resurrection made possible: He defeated death, and as a result, we have eternal life through Him.
Paul mocks death in verse 55: "Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?"
In basketball and other sports, they call that trash talking. Those who talk trash had better be able to back it up. If I say I'm taking you to the hoop, or if I tell you you're about to eat that basketball because I’m going to block your shot, I'd better be able to deliver. Paul talks a little trash at the enemy – and he has the foundation of the resurrection to back up his talk. They say it isn't trash talk or it isn't boasting if it's true.....Paul's boast is true!
The last verse shows us another important thing. We might have the tendency to look at this Christian life, with all its cares and all its struggles, as just one of survival - we win in the end - if we can just make it, we'll be in glory.
While that's true, it only tells part of the story, because Paul tells us here in the last verse of the chapter, after his impassioned plea for the importance of, and the defense of, the resurrection, not only of Christ, but of we believers, Paul says that this Christian life is not just about survival.
Part of our hope is for that reward of the resurrection, if we stand firm, if we let nothing move us. But, Paul talks of giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.
Why? Because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Contrary to the questions he poses earlier in the chapter, he makes it clear that this foundation we have does not render our work futile, useless or in vain.
"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
So, it's not just about survival, knowing that we win in the end if we can just make it – that's true, but that's not all.
It's about the glory of the Lord today. It's about the advancement of His gospel and His kingdom, about fruitful labor, not work done in vain.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV) 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
We can be like that individually, but also, the church is like that tree. It has seen centuries of heat...it has experienced drought. Yet its leaves are green and it bears fruit. The tree's foundation, mixing metaphors here, its source, is the river.
On this Easter morning, as we remember that very first Easter morning, let's ask ourselves about our foundation - on what do we take our stand?
In a moment, I'd like you to consider these questions, and as we listen to this closing song and watch this video, please listen to the Lord and respond as He would have you do.
On what are you standing? Is it solid? Are we able to hold firmly, to stand firm? Do we feel our work is in vain? Do we feel our faith is futile? Do we feel our faith is useless?
Maybe you've never allowed the resurrection of Jesus to pour the foundation of your life, and you need to ask Him to be your Lord this morning.
In verse 58, the NIV says "stand firm." The KJV and RSV say "be steadfast." The understanding there is literally to become what they had not been before.
Maybe some of us need to become what we have not been before. This morning, let's stand firm in the knowledge and power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Close with verse 57:
Thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ...
Pray – video close Born on Easter Morning by Bob Ayala
