Title: “God’s Solution”
Text: 1 Cor 15:1-8
Big idea: “God’s solution is substitution”
1 Cor. 15 Now, brothers and sisters, 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. 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 Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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.
Introduction:
As we make our way through Corinthians letter... Paul is now reaching his climatic speech – ch 15 ... after everything else has been addressed, Paul writes... “now let me remind you of our core convictions; our core truth; our non-negotiable...
Paul says, let me remind you of the gospel!
How to get to heaven when you die... and how to enjoy the journey”
Life is a journey...
My journey – using only geography is ... st john’s...topsail...Marystown...Corner Brook...Peterborough...Toronto...Scarborough...Port Perry...Topsail/CBS...
These are merely the places I’ve lived...
What about my family journey? ... Val has been doing family tree research...
Think about it... a nfld’er and ½ barbadian... both from an island
Both family trees from practically the same place – Ireland/England...
Life is a journey...
Some journeys are longer than others... our recent trip to Ontario – 7000 kms.
We have no idea how long our journey will last?
What about my ministry journey?
What about my spiritual journey?
But the ultimate journey is from birth to death... well... is there an after-life?
Is there a place called heaven? What about Hell?
Let’s talk about that journey today – it's the most important journey... it's magnificently greater than geography or career path... or family tree...
Though we are made in the image of God – we have sinned and rebelled against God and gone our own way...
The bible calls this sin... more precisely - God calls it sin.
We are born in sin
We practise sin
Sin is a power... the evil one himself has power over the human heart – because when you don’t serve Christ, you serve the devil. Shocking words.
Listen to scripture:
Eph 2: 2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient...
Jesus himself was tempted by the devil – that was no game; it wasn’t like a soccer “friendly”... Satan wants to overthrow Jesus and his kingdom and set up his kingdom...
1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
History confirms this... wars and tyrants... bloodshed... senseless, needless wars.
Criminal activity confirms this...
Racism confirms this. – another shooting this week... such tragedy.
Internet password protection and banking security systems confirm this.
This world is absolutely beautiful – except it's fallen into sin and is under the curse of sin.
• We have been exposed to sin
• We have all experienced sin
• We have all committed sin.
Theology calls this “original sin”... we inherit this upon birth.
Romans states it plainly – “there is none righteous – not even one.”
The reality of sin – individual and organizational – is the easiest truth of all to prove!
David Brooks: p 53 of the road to character.
“Today the word “sin” has lost its power and awesome intensity. ...Most people in daily conversation don't talk much about individual sin -- if they talk about human evil at all -- evil is most often located in the structures of society - in inequality , oppression, racism and so on - not in the human heart. We've abandoned the concept of sin because we've left behind the depraved view of human nature.
...But “sin” is one of those words that it is impossible to do without. It is one of those words that has to be reclaimed.
The concept of sin is necessary because it is radically true.
To say you are a Sinner ...is to say that like the rest of us - you have some perversity in your nature. We want to do one thing, but we end up doing another period; we want what we should not want. None of us wants to be hard-hearted but sometimes we are ;
no one wants to self-deceive but we rationalize all the time.
No one wants to be cruel but we all blurt things out and regret them later.
... sin is that it feeds on itself; small moral compromises on Monday make you more likely to commit other, bigger moral compromises on Tuesday.
The well-known story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 narrates the human journey away from God...
A Father has 2 sons ... 1 wants out... “give me my share of the estate” he declares.
Off he goes...
Away from home into a “far country” (Las Vegas style) ... then into the party-life...spending recklessly... wild living...
...then the money runs out and the friends scatter...then poverty and loneliness are his only companions– even hunger grips him... he finds himself living among pigs – scandalous for a Jew...then finally coming to his senses, he makes the journey home -- “I will go back to my Father...”
Homing pigeons have been prized for their navigational abilities for thousands of years. They've served as messengers during war, as a means of long-distance communication, ...
... like a pigeon with a homing device... we humans are wired to know our creator ... but the stain of sin means we long resist him... we create false gods ... we look for fulfillment everywhere else...
Salmon mostly spend their early life in rivers, and then swim out to sea where they live their adult lives ... When they have matured, they return to the rivers to spawn. Usually they return with uncanny precision to the river where they were born, and even to the very spawning ground of their birth.
Like salmon that return to the same river to spawn and die... we humans have an inbred longing to return to God ... to know our Father, our creator.
Augustine said it this way; our hearts are restless until we find our rest in thee O God.
The preacher has been sent by God to warn people of the coming judgment...to flee from the wrath to come... and (2nd) to tell of the better road...the way of life.... Jesus said “I have come that you might have life – life in all its fulness.”(John 10:10)
“Preaching that is true to the gospel of Jesus Christ says R Lischer, “does away with two {contemporary} fictions, that God has quit judging sin; and that men and women find peace by learning how to feel good about themselves.”
Richard Lischer
And so because of our rebellion and sinful ways... There Is A Judgment Day Coming!
I mean really... if there is no judgment day and no judge... then carry on... whatever you can get away with... whatever your own conscience will allow... go for it...
“Eat...drink and party – for tomorrow we die.”
...Nowadays we have security cameras everywhere...
People shoot video of whales breaching... did you see that video?
Traffic cam’s
Go-pro on your helmet while biking or quad-riding...
People have “dash-cams” – in case they’re in a car accident – there’s a video of the events so that someone else doesn’t lie and blame you for the accident.
But God doesn’t need a security camera... he sees all ...and nothing is hidden from his sight.
Listen to these words;
2 Cor 5:10 ... For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
If this is true... we have a problem... we are all sinners... are we are all going to stand before the all-seeing and all-knowing God; judge of all the earth.
Another verse says this:
1 Cor 6:9 9 ...do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
That’s an extensive list... I think most - if not all of us - are covered on that list...
Again, I repeat Roman 3:23 ...“all have sinned and fall short of the glory (righteousness ) of God.
When we stand before Christ our judge... What will be your defense?
• No one told me? (I’m a victim)
• I tried my best? (that’s OK in rec league/hockey)
• My good deeds out-weigh my bad? (self-salvation)
• I did better than most? (self-righteousness)
• I volunteered in my community? (reward/points system); TD travel!
• I attended church? (religious merit)
Is that it?
When is it enough?
Awaiting judgement day is a very heavy load to carry...
Now consider this verse... Romans 1:20
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Rom 1:20)
The year was 2002... the largest bankruptcy in history had just happened.
The former CEO of WorldCom had recently been indicted for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud .
Worldcom’s collapse represented the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and devastated the lives of thousands of employees.
CEO Bernard Ebbers (Canadian- Edmonton) stood before the judge and asked for mercy.
... his attorney cited 169 letters from Ebbers' supporters, detailing his heart condition (age 63) and numerous charitable gifts.
“If you have endless numbers of people who attest to your goodness, doesn't that count?”...Doesn't that count particularly on judgment day, his attorney asked?"
The judge said – “No” - sentencing Ebbers to 25 years in a federal penitentiary.
Ebbers served 13 years of his sentence and recently died in February of this year.
What will be your defense when you stand before the judge – not in a provincial court or even the supreme court... but the court room of heaven itself.... the judge of all the earth (Jesus Christ) presides over the court room.
J. I. Packer:
Do you believe in divine judgment? By which I mean do you believe in a God who acts as our judge?
Many it seems do not .
Speak to them of God as a Father, a friend, a helper, one who loves us despite all our weaknesses, folly and sin and their faces light up; you are on their wavelength at once. But speak to them of God as judge and they frown and shake their heads. Their minds recoil from such an idea.
But there are few things stressed more strongly in the Bible than the reality of God's work as judge. Page 138 of Ji Packer knowing God
...the entire New Testament is filled by the certainty of a coming day of universal judgment and by the problem arising:
how may we sinners get right with God while there is yet time?
The New Testament looks to “ the day of judgement” and “the day of wrath”; “the wrath to come” and proclaims Jesus, the divine savior, as the divinely appointed judge. Page 140 knowing God .
Abraham, said it this way “will not the judge of all the earth do right?”
There’s a day coming “ when will God judge people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, ...
Romans 14:10
... we will all stand before God’s judgment seat....each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
1 Peter 4: 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
John 5:28... a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
**Romans 2:6-11
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: ...
Packer: “The truth is that part of God's moral perfection is his perfection in judgment . Would a God who did not care about the difference between right and wrong be a good and admirable being?
What does the good news of the gospel say in response to all of this ?
Is there any hope for fallen humanity?
Now we come to the mercy of God...
God’s Solution: “God’s solution is substitution!”
While we are defenseless - Jesus comes to our defense!
Jesus – our judge (!) ...doesn’t merely become our defense attorney – he takes our place as defendant.
Let me read again from our text: Hear these words in 1 cor 15... “Christ died for our sins.”
1 Cor 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.”
“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Pet. 3:18)
1 Peter 2: 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
Why would Jesus do this?
John 3:16 ... “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
**Remember we are made in his image – for relationship with him.
1 John 4.
God is love. 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.
As forgiven sinners... yes, we will be judged for our works/rewards... but as Romans 8 says “there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ!”
All of this mercy results in *gratitude... and love for Jesus our saviour.
In Matt 18. Jesus tells a parable of a man who owes a great debt... impossible to re-pay; but the debt is written off... and he is free.
That same man finds someone who owes him $20 ... he threatens him and begins to choke him... repay the $20 or else!
When the one who has forgiven the large debt hears this, he is not pleased... where is your gratitude?
A Christian is a forgiven sinner... condemned to die for our sins – but Jesus dies in our place and gives us eternal life...joy and peace.
...should not that cause us to love God ...and love our neighbour and yes, even love our enemy?
What proof do we have that this is in fact true?
I mean think about it? It sounds too good to be true... it's almost unbelievable!
Lets go back to 1 cor 15 ...
...he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,5 and that he appeared to Cephas(Peter) and then to the Twelve (disciples). 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Yes, Jesus appeared alive after he was crucified, died and was buried.
After a cruel crucifixion – a horrible, torturous death.
He appeared live over a period of 40 days!!!
He appeared to the 12!
He also appeared to 500 people – most of whom are alive as Paul writes this letter –
...in other words to authenticate Paul’s assertion of the resurrection!!!
***The resurrection is the proof of the gospel!!!
You see if Jesus rose from the dead it means ...
(1) he has power over death ...
(2) he is unique !
(3) he is who he said he is. (God in human form).
So now you must choose...
Look at verse 1 of our key text - “this is the gospel we preach...
...which you believed
...on which you have taken your stand
... which you must hold to firmly!
Do you believe the gospel?
Do you believe that Jesus is the saviour of the world?
This is life’s most critical question!
A little more on “how”... to receive salvation...
Romans 10:9-10 (remember this passage...)
If you declare 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 profess your faith and are saved.
“you”
You believe...
Heart
Saved!
Now let me describe your position – what it means to be saved:
Forgiven – your debt has been paid – paid in full by the work of Christ on the cross
Justified – declared right in the sight of God.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are now “clothed in the righteousness of Christ”...
Romans 3: 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Phil 3:9 “...be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Growth is about renewing your mind – stop believing lies – start believing the truth – about yourself and about God.
Then comes growth as a disciple... you’re a new believer – a baby Christian – you need food to grow!
That’s where the church family comes in...
Conclusion:
Life is a journey... the most important journey is your faith journey...
Take the road that leads to life...
Leave the road of sin and death...
Matthew 7...
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life...
Hear again the gospel --- “Christ died for our sins”
I invite you to Pray this prayer of salvation with me today...
God’s solution is substitution!!!
There’s room at the cross for you....
