1 Corinthians
Resurrection Living
1 Corinthians 16
August 3, 2003
Intro:
A. [Condensed Viewpoint]
Sally says to Charlie Brown, “We have to write a short piece for school that expresses our personal principles for life.
So far I’ve written, ‘Who cares?’ and ‘Forget it.’”
Charlie Brown says, “How about ‘Why me?’”
Sally says, “That’s good, I’ll fit it in.”
B. So what about you?
1. Who cares? Forget it. And Why me? Does that some up your life?
2. Today, we’re going to finish our study of 1 Corinthians.
3. So please turn in your Bibles to the last chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians.
a. We have finally made it to the end of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth.
b. In chapter 15, Paul gave a rousing pep rally about our future resurrection.
c. And, as is normal for Paul’s letters, he wraps up with several greetings and farewells as well as reviewing many of the things he said in the book.
d. In light of our future resurrection, the apostle lists important principles to live by: resurrection living.
e. So today we’re going to look at the principles that Paul gave in order to live resurrection lives.
4. So let’s read the entire chapter, beginning with the end of 15…[read 1 Corinthians 15:50-16:24].
5. The first principle that Paul gives is…
I. Tithe (1-2)
A. Now I must make it clear that if I were to read every Scripture that talks about offerings or our relationship to our money, we would be here until next Sunday.
B. And I must also make it clear that Jesus said more about our relationship to our money than He did about any other subject—including salvation.
1. It doesn’t take much thought as to why Jesus and the Bible place so much emphasis on our relationship to our money.
2. It is clear that if a person will not surrender his checkbook to Christ, he hasn’t ever submitted himself to Christ.
3. Those who don’t care for sermons on giving are those who have never fully surrendered themselves to Christ.
4. Our checkbook register will say a lot about our commitment to Christ.
C. Paul made the point in verses 1-2 that Christians should be giving an offering in keeping with their income on a regular basis.
1. Paul is clearly talking about a percentage of our income.
2. Paul is saying that we should give a percentage of our income to God on a regular basis.
3. And God said that if we don’t give Him 10%, we are robbing Him.
4. Now lest you think the preacher is going overboard on this, listen as I read the Word of God.
5. You will hear that God says that if we aren’t giving 10% of our income to Him we are robbing Him.
D. Malachi 3:6-12
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.” But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing Me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty.”
1. So you see, those are not my Words, but God’s.
2. GOD SAID that if we don’t bring in the whole tithe we are robbing Him.
3. God said that the reason a lot of people aren’t blessed by Him is because they are robbing Him.
E. Some Christians have the mistaken notion that it really doesn’t matter if they tithe and that is an OT quote and they think there is nothing in the NT about tithing.
1. But clearly, that is not GOD’S opinion.
2. JESUS said in Matthew 23:23 (NIV), "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
3. Jesus told the Pharisees that they should have practiced justice, mercy, and faithfulness AND tithing.
F. And Paul makes it clear that Christians should bring a percentage of their income each Sunday so that no special offerings will have to be taken.
1. So that all of the finances a church needs will come out of the regular giving.
2. If every Christian gave 10% of their income to the church, the church would never have any financial problems and it would be blessed beyond imagination.
3. That’s what the Bible says.
4. And I can tell you that the national average for giving to charities (not just churches) is 2%.
5. The national average is 2% of income to charity.
5. The church of God and Christian families are struggling financially and spiritually today and God says it is because people are robbing Him.
6. Christians should tithe, and…
II. GO TO CHURCH (verse 2)
A. In verse two, Paul says “on the first day of every week.”
1. Now when the NT uses the phrase “on the first day of the week,” it is referring to what we would call going to church.
2. Paul is saying that when we come together on the first day of every week (Sunday), we should bring an offering.
3. So, if Paul wants us to bring an offering each Sunday, he is clearly assuming that we will go to church on the first day of every week.
4. Christians should go to church on a regular basis.
B. The Bible gives many reasons why we should go to church on a regular basis.
1. Hebrews 10:25 explicitly commands us to go to church because it encourages others, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
2. Acts 20:7 says that one of the reasons the first church had church on Sunday’s was for the purpose of partaking of communion on a regular basis, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.”
3. Deuteronomy 12:5 gives the command of God, “But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put His Name there for His dwelling. To that place you must go.” God intended for us to meet in a certain place.
4. And God told the Israelites that they should go to church even on holidays. But not only did God tell them that they should go to church on holidays, they should also bring an offering on holidays: Deuteronomy 16:16 & 17 says, “Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed. Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
5. The Bible also says that church is a place where blessings are pronounced: Psalm 84:4 says, “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising you.” God blesses us when we go to church.
6. Church should be a refuge in times of trouble: Isaiah 37:1, “When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sack cloth and went into the temple of the Lord.” Hezekiah didn’t avoid the church when he had serious problems; he went to the temple of the Lord.
7. Isaiah 37:14 says church should be the place to seek direction for your life: “Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.” Hezekiah went to church to ask God what he should do about an important decision in his life.
8. The Bible says church is a place of instruction: Micah 4:2 says, “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. [There] He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”
9. Church is a place of comfort in old age: Luke 2:36 & 37, “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.”
10. Christ went to church regularly: Luke 4:16, “[Jesus] went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom.” It was Jesus’ custom to go to church weekly.
11. And then the example of the apostles: Luke 24:52, 53, “Then they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”
C. So, because of our hope of the resurrection the Bible gives many, many reasons for why we should go to church, and go to church…
III. Engage in Spiritual Warfare (8-9)
A. Back in chapter 15:30-32 Paul said, “And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?”
B. And Paul made it clear what he meant by that in Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
1. Paul says that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2. Our struggle is not against human beings, but against Satan’s beings.
3. Our struggle is against Satan and his demons.
4. Our struggle is against Satan for the eternity of souls.
5. And Satan knows how to trick people into giving their lives to him for eternity.
6. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who doesn’t gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30).
7. You see Christians should be engaging in the battle for the souls of our friends, family, and neighbors.
C. Paul says in our text this morning that he knew that he must stay put for a while because people were being saved and people were opposing him.
1. And I must point out that if we are doing what God wants us to do there will be people that oppose us.
2. Christ had lots of people who opposed Him; they eventually succeeded in crucifying.
3. And Paul had riots started by people who opposed him.
4. When we are being effective for the cause of Christ, Satan will strike back.
5. He will deceive people into getting you back.
6. If your spiritual life is comfortable and the enemy isn’t attacking you, then you aren’t engaged in the battle and Satan has you.
7. Because Christ said that if we aren’t actively engaged in gathering souls, then we are against Him.
D. And Paul knew that not everyone was good at talking to people about Christ.
1. And therefore Paul listed numerous ways of engaging in the battle in chapters 12-14.
2. All of us have different spiritual talents and abilities given to us by the HS, that we are supposed to be using in spiritual warfare.
3. Are you using your talents and abilities for the cause of Christ?
4. Christians should be engaged in spiritual warfare, Christians should go to church, Christians should tithe, and…
IV. Stand Firm in the Faith (13)
A. The Bible says repeatedly that God expects us to continue in our spiritual journey.
1. That we should mature as Christians. That we should not give up on our faith.
2. That we should remain true to Christ throughout our lives.
B. There are many scriptures that speak of the importance of standing firm in our faith.
1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells how we can stand against temptations, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” You see, you can stand firm against the schemes of Satan.
2. Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.”
3. In Matthew 10:22 Jesus said that in order to be saved, we must stand firm until we die, “All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” We must stand firm until the end.
4. In Ephesians 6:13 it says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
5. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
6. Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the HS, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”
7. And Hebrews 10:35-39 says, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
8. Then James 5:8, “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
9. And 1 Peter 5:8 & 9 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers though out the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
C. So you can see that we can not start our spiritual journey and give up on it and expect to find ourselves in heaven; because of our future resurrection, we should stand firm in our faith, and…
V. Do Everything in Love (14)
A. Now Paul spoke about love a lot in the book of 1 Corinthians and most people are familiar with the very poetic 1 Corinthians 13.
1. Paul explained that love is not just a feeling, but action.
2. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV), Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
3. You see love is not a feeling; it is a command.
4. How could God command a feeling?
5. If love were just a feeling, how could God command love?
6. You see, love is action; it is how we treat people.
7. It is how we respond to people.
8. It is a choice: we choose to respond to people either lovingly or unlovingly.
9. God commands us to respond to people with patience, kindness and politeness.
10. God commands us to respond even to our enemies that way.
11. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 (NIV), But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
12. Jesus commanded us to be patient, kind, and not rude—even to our enemies!
B. How do you do that? Only with the help of the HS!
1. Can you love your enemies?
2. Do you have it within you to respond with patience and kindness even to those who are rude to you?
3. I know I don’t and it is only with the HS living in me that I am able to respond in love to those around me!
C. John 13:35 (NIV), By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
1. You see, it only makes sense that Paul would say that in light of the coming resurrection, we should do everything in love.
2. Jesus said that this is how people would know that we are His disciples.
3. Do people say that about us?
a. Do people say that about Somerset Church?
b. Do people come in here and notice the love that we have for one another?
c. Do they see our love and know that we are Christ’s disciples?
4. Do people say that about you?
a. Do people say that your family is a very loving family?
b. Do people experience love in your home or when they see you at Wal-Mart?
5. In light of our future resurrection, we should do everything in love.
VI. Submit to Those Who Lead (13-15)
A. Notice that Paul encourages the Corinthians to submit to Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.
1. Paul says that they should submit to those who are devoted to the service of the saints.
2. He doesn’t say that they should submit to them simply because they’d been Christians for a long time.
3. But they should submit to them because in addition to being Christians for a long time, they were devoted to service!
4. Christ is certainly the head of the church through His Word and through the HS.
5. But God knew that there would have to be human leaders as well, so God instilled leadership in the Church.
6. Paul records in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, what kind of people those leaders should be.
7. And it is clear that there is a lot more required than that they simply have been Christians for a long time.
8. Because just because someone has been a Christian for a long time, does not mean that they are therefore qualified to lead God’s Church.
9. They must have proven themselves as being devoted to the service of others.
B. Now does that mean Pastors are better than everyone else or they aren’t accountable to anyone?
1. No, they are not better than everyone else; they just have greater responsibilities than everyone.
2. And Hebrews 13:7 (NIV), Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
3. Hebrews 13:17 (NIV), Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
4. And the one to whom they must give an account to is God.
5. And having to give an account of one’s actions to Almighty God is certainly a very grave responsibility.
C. But Paul and the rest of the Bible say that Christians should submit to the leadership of the church.
1. Paul said it here in verses 16-18, and he said it in chapters 11 & 14.
2. It is clear that in view of our future resurrection, Christians should submit to their leaders, Christians should do everything in love, should stand firm in the faith, should practice hospitality, should engage in spiritual warfare, Christians should tithe, Christians should go to church, and…
VII. Practice Unity (19-24)
A. Paul is obviously speaking in terms of one church.
1. There were churches in different cities and churches that met in houses, but Paul is encouraging them to accept one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Paul is encouraging them to not isolate themselves in their own little church.
3. Yes, they should attend and serve their own local church, but they should associate with and greet other Christians elsewhere.
4. We should not be independent to the point to where we are the only Christians that we associate with, because ultimately there really is only one church!
B. Paul said they should greet one another with a holy kiss.
1. Turn and kiss your neighbor!
2. I know many of us are reluctant to kiss others, but it is a Biblical thing to do.
3. Hugging is good!
4. Many prefer the good ole handshake: Paul said in Galatians 2:9 (NIV), James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.
5. Greeting Christians in other churches is important to promote the unity that we have in Christ.
6. In light of the future resurrection of all believers, we should practice unity.
C. Paul said a lot about division in the church in this book, especially in chapters 1 & 3.
1. Paul wrote that division in the church is sinful.
2. And as we read Christ’s prayer in John 17 that he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that our unity was on His mind the night before He went to the cross!
3. Practicing unity is certainly an important part of resurrection living.
Conclusion:
A. [The Answer to Death, Citation: Robert Russell, "Resurrection Promises," Preaching Today, Tape No. 151.]
Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33.
He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.
He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."
Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."
Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour.
He’s done pretty well.
But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole."
B. Who cares? Forget it. And Why me? Does that some up your life?
1. Are you living in the land of the living going to the land of the dying or are you living in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living!
2. 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NIV), I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
3. Do you need a fresh touch from God today to put you back on the road to the land of the living?
