Easter Sunday is the day when we celebrate the fact that God raised Jesus from death. When I say WE celebrate the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, I mean, WE IN THIS CHURCH celebrate it. Clearly, a lot of other people DON'T celebrate it.
A few years ago the Daily Telegraph conducted an opinion poll at Easter. It found that the thing most Britons associate with Easter is Easter Eggs. Second is the fact that it’s a Bank Holiday. In third place comes Hot Cross Buns. In fourth place is Jesus. So it seems that at Easter, rather a lot of people in Britain are NOT celebrating the fact that God raised Jesus from death. But for those of us who ARE celebrating, why exactly are we celebrating? What is so good about the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead? That isn’t too difficult to answer. When God raised Jesus from the dead it showed that resurrection is possible. It means that all the talk of eternal life in the gospels isn’t just wishful thinking. We have reason to hope. The apostle Peter writes that we’ve been ‘born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ [1 Peter 1:3]. That hope in Jesus’ resurrection should impact the way we live. It means that we should HOLD FAST AND WORK HARD.
At this point I can imagine some of you thinking: Simon, this is Easter Sunday! This is a time to celebrate Jesus’ victory over death! It’s a time to celebrate the hope we have of a resurrection and a life to come. It isn’t the time for you to tell us to hold fast and work hard! If that’s what you’re thinking, I get it. But there’s a reason for me telling you this. When PAUL teaches about Jesus’ resurrection, this is HIS main point. Paul, speaking about the resurrection, tells us to hold fast and work hard! I’m just saying what Paul is saying!
Could you turn to 1 Corinthians 15? 1 Corinthians is a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth. Chapter 15 is the longest passage about the resurrection in the Bible. Writers today tend to state their main point somewhere near the beginning and state it again in a conclusion. Paul was no different. Let’s take a look.
Here are verses 1-2 of chapter 15:
‘Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you HOLD FAST to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.’
Paul is about to remind the Corinthians of the gospel. They are being saved by the gospel. Note that Paul doesn't write ‘HAVE BEEN saved’ or ‘WILL BE saved’, but ‘ARE BEING saved.’ There's some continuing aspect of our salvation. Then, Paul writes, ‘IF...’ There’s a condition. ‘IF you hold fast to the word I preached to you.’ To be saved we have to HOLD FAST to the gospel. What if we give up? Then we’re no longer saved.
Now look at verse 58, the last verse in the chapter:
‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, BE STEADFAST, IMMOVABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’
It’s very similar, isn’t it? At the beginning, Paul wrote, ‘HOLD FAST.’ At the end, he says, ‘BE STEADFAST, IMMOVABLE.’ That’s the same idea, isn’t it? Paul then continues, ‘always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’ So what is Paul’s main appeal in the longest passage about the resurrection in the Bible? His main appeal is, ‘Hold fast and work hard!’ Of course, Paul has a lot more to say about the resurrection in this chapter. He presents evidence that Jesus really did rise from the dead. He talks about how what kinds of bodies we will have. And there's much more. But in view of how Paul starts and finishes the chapter, his main appeal to believers in view of the resurrection is to HOLD FAST AND WORK HARD.
Do we need to be encouraged to hold fast? Yes, we do.
Priscilla and I lived in Azerbaijan for many years. While we were there, we hosted a Christian fellowship in our home. One Sunday in 2009 we were having a service and 13 police suddenly entered. I was taken to the police station and given a stern warning. We could easily have been deported but we weren’t. Afterwards, almost all the members of the Azerbaijani fellowship kept on in their faith. But one young man stopped coming to meetings. He didn’t want to get into trouble with the police. I needed to tell him, ‘Keep going! Maybe it IS tough. But we have a wonderful future to look forward to!’ To my shame I didn’t do as much as I should have to encourage him to keep going. I’m sure we understand the principle here. There are times we need to keep going.
In recent years I’ve run some marathons. I couldn’t complete the first two marathons I entered. That was embarrassing! Since then, I’ve completed all the marathons I’ve entered. It’s much more satisfying to complete the run and get a medal and the family all say ‘well done’ than collapse after 20 miles. After I’ve run a marathon, Priscilla and I usually grab a MacDonald’s. It’s a kind of prize. But the reward we get from completing the course in the Christian life is SO MUCH greater! We get the victor’s crown. We get a ‘well done’ from Jesus. We’re invited to a banquet, not a MacDonald’s! And we get eternal life!! But to get the prize, we need to HOLD FAST, to keep going. Jesus’ resurrection gives us the hope – the confidence – that the prize is there to be had. It gives us reason to HOLD FAST.
I'd like to try a different example on you. This one is a made-up example. Let’s imagine you’re a single parent. You aren’t wealthy and you live in quite a deprived area. You have three children. Your eldest, Tom, struggles at school. But somehow, he overcomes the obstacles and gets a place at university. At university there are more struggles. But Tom digs in and completes his degree. The day comes when you go with your other children to his graduation ceremony. Congratulations all round! The future for Tom looks hopeful and exciting. But what about your two other children? Does Tom’s achievement help them? Of course it does! Tom has shown that it’s possible to succeed academically, to get a degree. After the ceremony you go out for a meal together. And perhaps, at some point, you say to your younger children, ‘See – Tom did it. You can do it too! Keep going! Don’t give up!’ That’s what Jesus’ resurrection does. It shows us that the future is there to be had. And that is basically what Paul is telling us.
But Paul didn’t simply say, HOLD FAST. He added, ‘ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’ The Greek word that’s translated ‘abound’ has the idea of going above and beyond what is expected.
Do we need to be encouraged to abound in the work of the Lord?
One group of men certainly did need that encouragement, and in Jesus' resurrection, they found it. The men I'm thinking of were Jesus’ disciples. At the time Jesus was crucified his disciples were NOT towers of strength. Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied him. The remaining ten abandoned him. But a month or two later they were changed people! They preached boldly. They worked miracles. They stood up to the Jewish ruling council. What had caused the change? One thing. They’d seen Jesus, risen from the dead! That changed everything. Since there is a resurrection, it means that eternal life isn’t just wishful thinking. And if THAT’S the case, then our labour can transform people’s situations ETERNALLY! Nothing can give a greater return!
Today, as in Jesus' day, God's people can get disheartened. Imagine you’re a member of a small group of faithful believers struggling to keep a small church going. It’s tough. You don’t think you’re getting anywhere. But Paul’s message is, ‘Abound in the work of the lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’ One big reason our work isn’t in vain is that its results ripple through eternity. We know that because of the resurrection.
This is a funny sort of Easter message. I should be talking about the hope we have. I shouldn’t be lecturing you about standing firm and working hard. But, in my defence, this is Paul’s key message. The resurrection gives us hope – and because we have such a hope, we need to stand firm and work hard.
It's a message we need. People turn to Christ but then drift away. They quit. And so, they miss out on the prize. Or, perhaps they don’t quit, but they get disheartened. They slow right down. We need to urge each other, don’t do that! Complete the course! Keep running to the end! Because there’s a resurrection, it is SO worth it.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for this wonderful fact of the resurrection. It shows us so much and we’ve only touched on one thing today. What we’ve seen today is that your resurrection gives us reason to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labour is not in vain. So help us please, Lord, to do just that. Amen.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK, Easter Sunday, 17th April 2022, a.m. service.
