Alba 3-29-2026
DECLARE THE GOSPEL
I Corinthians 15:1-11
Our world is desperately in need of some good news. Suzanne Jennings wrote this song back in 1999:
“I woke up Monday morning, walked out on the lawn. My eyes were barely open, and my mouth began to yawn. Picked up the daily paper, every single headline said, That this ole world is full of trouble, and I wished I'd stayed in bed. Sometimes the bad that's goin' on's enough to bring you down. Turned on my television and began to flip on thru All 100 channels, On Demand, and Pay per view. Not one message had a meaning that was good in any way.”
Is that the way you feel sometimes? You just need to hear some good news? Well God gives us good news! It it the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why after pointing out in the three chapters before our text for today that the motivating and driving force of any spiritual gift needs to be love, and that all things must be done decently in order, that the apostle Paul comes to the most important focus for the Corinthians.
In fact it is what is the most important for any Christian to have as our focus. It is the bedrock of our faith. It is the good news that the world needs today. Just three words are all that are needed to proclaim the core of the good news message. Those words are “death”, “burial”, and “resurrection”. If there were only two words, it could sound discouraging. But add that third word, and it gives deep meaning to all three!
The message of the New Testament is the gospel, the good news, that we have salvation because of Jesus' death on the cross, His burial in that tomb and His victory over death by His resurrection. If we lose sight of that, we lose sight of the reason for our faith. So beyond any disagreements about which spiritual gift is best, which preacher may be considered better than another, or whether certain foods could be eaten or not, the Corinthian church, and we, need to remember why we follow Jesus. It is not because He was a great teacher, even though He was. It is not because He was a great example for us to follow, even though He is. We follow Jesus because He alone came to redeem us from the penalty of our sinful ways. And to do that He died a substitionary death in our place, was buried and then He rose again.
Paul preached that message when he was in Corinth. And now he writes to the church to remind them of that fact. He says in I Corinthians 15:1-2, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”
Paul says he declared the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ to them and they received it. Romans 10:14-15 asks, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?... As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!'”
By the way, just in case you didn't know, the word gospel actually means good news. That is why we refer to the first four books in the New Testament as the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John. It is because they are filled with the Good News about Jesus. In them we learn of His birth, His life, His miracles, His teaching, His death on the cross, His burial sealed in the tomb, and His resurrection to life again. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the apostle Paul all declared this good news.
And it is what we declare here each time we come together. We do so by the preaching of the Word and also when we come around the communion table in remembrance of our Lord and what He has done for us. But it must be more than declared. For it to have a result, it must be received. I hope that everyone here has been a receiver of the gospel, having received it in your heart as well as in your mind.
So when the Corinthians heard this good news, they received it, they believed it, they left their pagan ways and became followers of Jesus. They became Christians. Now to be sure that we understand what they received, Paul says exactly what his good news to them was. Look as I Corinthians 15:3-4. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” There you have it. That is good news. That is the gospel.
Sometimes, in order to truly appreciate “good news” you must also endure some really bad news. That is the case concerning the good news of Jesus Christ. The bad news is that many years ago in the Garden of Eden, Adam rebelled against God. This rebellion brought death, suffering and separation from God into this world. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”.
That is some really bad news! Unfortunately I have some news that is even worse. The consequences of sin bring physical and spiritual death. Because we have sinned, we deserve to be punished by spending eternity in the Lake of Fire. Then to make matters even worse, there is absolutely nothing that we can do about our sin. No good deed removes the stain of our wrong doing. Jesus died on the cross, but He did not die because He had committed deeds worthy of death. Jesus died on the cross in our place. He died for our sin. Jesus Christ offered Himself the atoning sacrifice for sin. He embraced the death of the cross, and the righteous judgment of the Father so that we could escape death and judgment.
Had Jesus not died, sin would not have been atoned. Had sin not been atoned through His death, we would still be in our sin and without hope before God. And then He was buried. The fact that Christ was buried affirms His death on the cross. They removed the lifeless body of Jesus from the cross and placed Him in a borrowed tomb. A huge stone was placed in front of the door, and guards were ordered to watch the grave to ensure no one came to steal His body.
There can be no doubt that our Lord Jesus died upon the cross. He did not pass out and later revive as some have speculated. If the cross itself was not enough to kill Him, the spear in His side would do it. Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross for our sin! We speak of the day Jesus died as “Good Friday”. It wasn't such a good day for Jesus, but it definitely was a good day for us.
The good news is that God did something that day that we could never do. Though “the wages of sin is death”, as it says in Romans 6:23, it is also true that “the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord!” At Calvary Jesus who was without sin, took our place and paid our sin debt. But on the third day, He rose again. Now we can be saved from our sins by obedient faith in Him and receive everlasting life and a home in Heaven.
Paul says the Corinthians who had received the gospel could firmly stand on the truth of the gospel. And so can we. And so should we. There is no reason to doubt. In verses five through eight, we are given proof of the resurrection. It says that Jesus “was seen by Cephas (that is, Simon Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.” And then Paul says, “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” He is saying, if you doubt the resurrection, just ask me! There are eyewitnesses.
The apostles were scared to death when Jesus was being crucified. They were running, denying, hiding, scared. But after they saw with their own eyes that Jesus was now alive, they boldly went into the streets of Jerusalem preaching Jesus declaring the gospel. And all but John died as a martyrs for their faith! And the James who is mentioned here? He is the skeptical brother of Jesus who later becomes a pillar of the church, who eventually also died for his faith. If you believe in something strongly enough, you will take a stand for it.
As you know, Charlie Kirk, who started “Turning Point USA” and was outspoken for his faith, was shot and killed at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. Amazingly, his death caused many to begin to speak openly about their faith. Frankie Muniz, known to many from the TV show, Malcolm in the Middle, and who is now a full-time driver in the NASCAR Truck Series, made his faith plain in a public post on September 21, 2025. He wrote, “Happy Sunday! I am proud to say I live for Jesus Christ. Who's with me?” It was not vague. It was a direct statement naming Jesus Christ openly before millions online. After that, several Christian outlets reported on the post acknowledging that it was a public declaration of his faith. The coverage focused on the fact that Muniz chose to say it plainly without apology.
And you and I, having heard the gospel and received it, also need to take our stand. And if the devil comes knocking and tries to discourage you from being who you are in Jesus, show Him the blood that gives you righteous standing with God. We have something to stand upon. We have the facts of the gospel, and we must stand upon that message. Not only must we stand on it, but we must continue to hold on to it. That is why in verse two Paul warns, “you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” We dare not be like some, as Paul addressed the church in Galatians 3:1 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”
In Galatians 1:6-8 he told them, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
A different gospel? There is no other gospel. Only Jesus brings us the good news of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus sets Christianity apart from all other religions. There is no denying the fact that Muhammad lived, but he died and remains dead today. Buddha once lived but he died, and that fact will never change. Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell and Mary Baker Eddy all remain in their graves. But after His death on the Cross at Calvary, Jesus’ body was placed in a borrowed tomb, and then three days later, He rose from the grave, and He lives forevermore. That's the gospel!
Twice in these verses Paul says: “according to the scriptures”. The Old Testament prophesied all that was going to happen. After the resurrection Jesus met up with two men on the road to Emmaus. Jesus used the Old Testament scriptures to tell them all about Himself. In Luke 24:25-27 it says, “Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
We must understand that the events involved in the Gospel were no accident. Jesus did not die because of the religious leadership among the Jews, or because of the powerful who consented to His death. He died according to the providential plan of God. It is by God's grace we can be saved.
In verses nine through eleven Paul admits he is not worthy of what God has done through him. Three times he speaks of God's grace. It was only because of God's gift, not earned by Paul, that he was called by God to salvation and to make that salvation known to others. And it is the same for all of us. None of us have been good enough to deserve what Jesus has done for us.
None of us could ever expect to be included in God's family, or be able to live with Him forever in heaven without Jesus. Never forget that. That is why we can declare that the gospel is really good news.
CLOSE:
At the beginning of this message I read some of the words to the song that Suzanne Jennings wrote. It gave a fairly bleak look at the world today. Would it surprise you to know that the Gaither Vocal Band recorded her song? Why would a group that only sings gospel songs sing that song? Well, let me share the rest of the words. It says:
“Not one message had a meaning that was good in any way.
Just before I wrote the whole world off, I heard the Father say, 'Don't forget what I have promised, you can overcome it all!' Well my knees began to shake, and my heart began to beat, And a funny new sensation worked its way into my feet.
“The Spirit of glad tidings came from somewhere deep inside,
And holdin' back the flood was just like holdin' back the tide.
I couldn't help but circulate to everyone I know. I'll spread this talk all over town about the peace and joy I've found in You, good news!
“This story is about to break and blessed are the feet that take the Truth, good news! I'm slippin' on my gospel shoes--Cause I've got good, good news!”
The gospel as revealed in scripture, the good news about what Jesus has done for us, is what we believe, we take our stand on it, and we want to make it known to all.
