Background to passage: There were a lot of things to clean up for the Apostle Paul in the Corinthian church. Evidently there were some within the church who were teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead. Paul knows this is at the center of the Christian faith, for as he said, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” He then writes that opposite is true - there is a resurrection, Christ did raise, the dead in Christ have not perished, and those of you who have put your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are free from the penalty of your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:1–11 ESV
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.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Opening illustration: Big difference in perspective from a tree than on the ground, especially when the coyotes are close, howling, chasing something, and headed our way.
Main thought: From the angle above we watch the Easter story unfold. My message today is not complex, but it is the power given to save, of which I am not ashamed, and of which I have been made a minister. As I proclaim to you that Christ died and rose again, TWO THINGS: let believers be strengthened and you who may be living far from God be awakened to the things of “first importance.”
1) The Facts of the Gospel (v. 1, 3-4)
1 Corinthians 15:1 (ESV)
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you...
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1) The Facts of the Gospel (v. 1, 3-4)
Explanation: We have the benefit of hindsight. We have the blessing to know the full story. We have the privilege to have the summary written for us in the clearest of language. Here we are given that clarity, that succinct, concise, but full view of the gospel truths: Jesus died for our sins, according the the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance to the scriptures. The important facts: 1) Jesus actually died, 2) it was for our sins, 3) he was raised from the dead (and is still alive), 4) it was all in accordance with all the prophecies of scripture.
Isaiah 53:5 ESV
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Romans 3:25 ESV
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 3:18 ESV
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Illustration: On April 24, 1997, prosecutor Joseph Hartzler in the trial of Timothy McVeigh, made his opening statement. It made my sermons look like a credit card commercial. It was 29 pages long in a PDF on my computer, but it was so long that the judge offered the court a 20 minute recess because it had carried them to the mid-morning break, and he was only a little more than halfway through. In the movie A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore, prosecutor Kevin Bacon makes his opening statement in a minute and a half, beginning and ending with “the facts of the case are these, and they are undisputed. Tom Cruise makes his in about 65 seconds.
Application: the Apostle Paul’s summary was a sentence and a half that can be read in about 30 seconds at an average reading speed. Yet, he encapsulated the saving message of Jesus, the core of Christianity, with factual acumen and precision that people can hear and believe and be saved.
Jesus actually died. God in the flesh died. He didn’t pass out, nearly die, slip into a coma later to come to. He died like every other human does. He became a sacrifice. He laid down his life.
His death was for our sins. It was in our place. It to receive our punishment. It was ransom and redeem sinners like us. It was to satisfy the justice of God. We need something or someone to do these things on our behalf
He rose again. He laid his life down, but said he would take it up. He secured our justification through his resurrection. He conquered death and took away its sting. He validated everything he ever said.
It was all prophesied in the scriptures. Dozens of prophecies fulfilled simply about the week of Easter. Prophecies so specific and accurate. Statistically speaking, the chances of these prophecies being fulfilled in one man are miniscule.
The gospel is so deep that it can drown the deepest theologians, and has for over 20 centuries. Yet, it is so straightforward that a child can understand that God became man, died on a cross for them, and rose from the grave. These are the facts, and if you are willing to reasonably and intellectually honest, they are undisputed.
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2) The Response to the Gospel (v. 1-2, 11)
1 Corinthians 15:1–2 ESV
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.
1 Corinthians 15:11 ESV
Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
2) The Response to the Gospel (v. 1-2, 11)
Explanation: Again, the teaching of scripture is not complex or difficult to understand intellectually. Paul said this is the gospel, v. 3-4. He then stated that they received it, believed it, stand firm in it, being saved by it, and holding fast to it.
to receive is to take something or to accept something, such as a gift
to stand is to be within the scope of or established in a truth or a person
being saved by it is to relinquish hope in our own effort, repent of trust in self and believe, and for God to save us
holding fast to it means to cling to or endure long-term faith, not believing in vain as many had done, have since then, and will continue to do because false faith is something that Jesus and every other NT writer taught. True believers hold firm until the end.
Acts 17:32–34 ESV
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
So Paul went out from their midst.
But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Mark 4:16–20 ESV
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Deuteronomy 30:18–20 ESV
I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Joshua 24:14–15 ESV
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Illustration:
Application: Intellectual ascent is not the goal, although factual acceptance is required. God is always concerned about our hearts. He is always concerned about belief. Jesus’s first message was to “repent and believe.” It was also the constant refrain from the early church. It is still the call to each of us. To those of you who have responded in faith, rejoice because it is nothing that you did. God loved you and rescued you.
For those of you who have never begun a relationship with Christ in a personal saving way, do it today. Realize with the rest of us, that there is nothing we can do ourselves, not enough good works to do, not enough sin to avoid, doesn’t matter how hard we try, we can’t change our spiritual state. We ask God to, and he will. Repent (turn from your sin) and believe on Christ as your only hope.
Acts 2:37–38 ESV
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We have to decide whether or not to push the snooze button every morning. We have to decide what to eat for breakfast or which cat to pet when you come downstairs. We have spam calls and commercials and ads on our phone begging us to decide to purchase this or that. You have to decide what to do with your free time or you disposable income (some of you may not be able to identify with either of those concepts. We make decisions every day. Sometime we are faced with big ones, major purchases, investments, colleges, marriage, careers, but when it comes to the most important decision of your entire life, we just don’t decide. Not deciding is a decision.
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Closing illustration: In my pastoral ministry I have done dozens of funerals. Older people, younger people, men, women, babies, accidents, diseases, saints, and sinners. The very first funeral I ever officiated was in November of 2004. Her name was Becca Masci. She was 17 years old, a friend of one of our students in the youth ministry. She was raised by her aunt and uncle who were nominally catholic, but completely non practicing. Becca had taken her own life, and everyone was destroyed. She had come to revival at our church a few weeks before that and had heard the gospel preached. I don’t presume to know what she may have thought or done before ending her life, but weeks earlier she had rejected Christ.
Make sure and give a clear invitation as to how to begin a relationship with Jesus
