Living in Light of the Resurrection

1:06Of course, it's not just the elder Pevency kids who lack a fundamental understanding of logic. Most of us have never taken a single logic class in school in our lives. But logic is critically important for making and evaluating truth claims and reaching conclusions based upon them. In today's text, Paul is going to do some basic logic. With the Corinthians, who, keep in mind, live in Greece, the home of Aristotle and Plato and many other great philosophers who are pioneers in the field of logic. Paul's going to employ what is known as conditional reasoning, a series of if-then statements to help them see what would be true if Christ had not been raised from the dead, and what is true since he has been raised from the dead. We're going to learn today that both our present and our future hinge on the resurrection of Christ.

2:09Let's take a look at the text together here. You see right away that Paul reminds his readers that there are two essential parts to the gospel in verses 1 through 11 of chapter 15. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and Christ was raised from the dead in accordance with the scriptures. As I mentioned last week, it seems that some in the Corinthian church believed that there would be no general resurrection. That's what Paul seems to be alluding to here in verse 12. He says, Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? They don't seem to have doubted Christ's resurrection, but Unlike many Gentiles in the first century, they believed that death released the soul from captivity to the body, which was part of this evil material world that we live in. So they thought that resurrection was undesirable, and therefore the resurrection was untrue. What they didn't realize is that the resurrection, both Christ's and ours, is central to the Christian message. Lose the promise of resurrection, and you have, in a very real sense, lost the essence of Christianity. So, beginning in verse 13, Paul is going to help them follow the logic of their position.

3:43He reasons that if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ couldn't have been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, four conclusions follow. First, if Christ hasn't been raised, preaching and faith are in vain. Christ's resurrection was the culmination of his earthly ministry. His sinless life, his teaching, his suffering, all of it was for nothing if he did not rise from the dead. Because if Christ did not rise from the dead, there is no good news to announce. Death was the end for Jesus, and death is still the end for every person living. Living. So preaching is in vain because what is there to preach?

4:36But faith is also in vain. Because why would you put your faith in a man who died just like everyone else? If Jesus died like everyone else, he may have been a good teacher, but he was certainly no savior. Second, if Christ hasn't been raised, the apostles are misrepresenting God. The apostles testified that God raised Christ from the dead and that he did so in accordance with the promises that God made in Scripture. So if Christ hasn't been raised, the apostles either misunderstood God's word and his promises in the Old Testament or they misidentified the Messiah. But either way, they're misrepresenting God in what they're preaching, and they're also leading others astray.

5:29Third, if Christ hasn't been raised, believers are still in their sins. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Death is the payment. It's the wage that we earn for our sin. Any Savior, therefore, must not only be sinless himself, but he must defeat death, the consequence of sin as well. Well. But if Christ hasn't been raised, he didn't defeat death. Consider what the commentator Tom Schreiner had to say about this. He writes, If Christ is not risen, the gospel that promises forgiveness of sins through Christ's death and resurrection is false. And if the gospel is false, believers are still in their sins. They are not forgiven before God, but condemned, since Christ's death on their behalf obviously was not effective if he is still in the grave.

6:39Fourth and finally, if Christ hasn't been raised, every believer died without hope. In verses 18 and 19, Paul writes this: Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. The word translated perished in the Greek means to be destroyed or ruined. And if we just end up perishing, if we just end up being destroyed for eternity, what hope is there?

7:22In Luke chapter 23, verse 35, Jesus is hanging on the cross, and Luke records this. And the people stood by, watching, but the ruler scoffed at him, saying, he saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one. If Jesus died never to rise again, then those who mocked Jesus while he hung on the cross were right. How could Jesus save others if he couldn't even save himself? How could he promise resurrection to others if he himself didn't rise from the dead? A dead savior brings no hope.

8:07That's why Paul concludes that Christians should be pitied. Picture for a moment a delusional person, someone who believes something that you know for a fact is untrue. You don't think to yourself, wow, what commitment. You think to yourself, how very sad is that? Giving your life to any person who promised resurrection but died and remained dead like everyone else is not admirable. It's sad. It's pitiable. Friends, if the dead are not raised, then even Christ has not been raised. And if he hasn't been raised, Christianity provides no more hope than any other religion on the earth. In Mark chapter 2, Jesus proclaims. To a paralyzed man, that his sins were forgiven. And Mark records that many people in the crowd standing around, they scoffed in their hearts and minds at Jesus' pronouncement that this man's sins were forgiven. And so Jesus told them, so that they would know that his sins were forgiven, he would command the man to stand up and walk. And that's exactly what happened. Jesus commanded the man to stand up and to begin walking, and the paralyzed man just did that very thing.

9:35And so miracles are one of God's primary ways of confirming the truth of his spoken word. And Jesus' resurrection, the greatest miracle of all, proves that he was the Messiah that he claimed to be and that God accepted his sacrifice in our place and for our sins. Thankfully, Jesus' resurrection is no theological exercise. It's not some hypothetical situation. It's a historical fact. So let's pick up in verse 20. Verse 20 begins with one of the great transitions in the whole New Testament. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.

10:29There's no need. To spend any more time worrying about what would be true if Christ hadn't been raised from the dead, because his resurrection is a fact, a fact that can be confirmed by more than 500 people, as Paul alluded to in the first 11 verses of the chapter, most of whom were still alive at the time of this writing. And Paul calls Christ and His resurrection the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Now, the term first fruits refers to the first sample of a crop that gives you a preview of what the rest of the crop that year was going to be like. And in the same way, Christ's resurrection from the dead is a preview of our own resurrection from death. Death came to all people through Adam. Now, resurrection is going to come to all who belong to Christ, as Paul says. We see in these verses how Jesus is the second Adam, the true and better Adam that we sing about in the song Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery. Because death came through a man, victory over death, resurrection, had to come through a man as well. That's why Jesus had to take on flesh to save us. He had to succeed where we failed. He had to rise where we fell.

11:57And we must notice and appreciate that Paul doesn't use. Use the term death in verse 20. Instead, he uses the phrase fallen asleep. And that's because physical death is a temporary state for the believer, just like sleep is a temporary state for us, a very temporary state for those of you with young kids at home. Death is the separation of the physical body and the soul. And it is a temporary state that we don't have to fear as believers.

12:31Just as you believe that you'll wake up in the morning when you go to bed at night, Christians can face death with peace and confidence, knowing that we will soon rise again. That brings us to verse 23, where Paul declares that Christ, the first fruits, is raised first, then when he returns, those who belong to him are also going to be raised, and then, he says, then comes the end. Paul defines the end as the time when Jesus delivers the kingdom over to his Father after destroying every enemy, including death, which he calls the last enemy to be destroyed. And then, once Jesus has freed all of creation from the curse of death, everything is subjected to him, and he delivers the kingdom over to God the Father. Submits to him as well, so that, as Paul says, God may be all in all.

13:37And so we have this picture of Jesus coming again to reverse the curse and make all things right, and that means the end of death, the last enemy to be destroyed. And you have to remember that most Gentiles in the first century didn't view death as a bad thing, as a problem to be solved or put off as long as possible. They didn't view it as an enemy. They viewed death as a friend, which is why many Stoic philosophers actually committed suicide. The sooner that you died, the sooner your soul was released from the prison of the physical body. Well, in contrast to that view, Paul taught that death was an enemy, the last enemy. Death, the separation of the physical body from the soul, is unnatural. It's not the way that God designed his perfect world. So Christ defeated death through his own resurrection from the dead, and when he returns, he will destroy death once and for all, restoring God's creation to its original design. A universe where the physical and the spiritual are permanently united, never to be torn apart by sin again.

14:56Listen to how Paul so eloquently says this in Romans chapter 8. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

16:01Friends, do you see the necessity of Christ's resurrection, not just for our salvation, but for the redemption of all of God's good creation? Christ's resurrection is not an optional addition to the gospel message. It is the linchpin of the gospel message, and there is no hope for us or for creation apart from it. So we've seen that Christ's resurrection was necessary for our salvation and for the redemption of God's creation. In the final section, Paul exposes the futility of the Christian life apart from the resurrection. Let's pick up in verse 29.

16:50Here in this verse, we have the one and only mention in Scripture of this practice, baptism for the dead. Now, what in the world is that? Well, we really don't know because Paul only mentions it here. Baptism for the dead is a prominent feature of Mormonism, which is no surprise. A defining feature of cults is making mountains out of theological molehills. Commentators have offered dozens of explanations as to what baptism for the dead is, but the most likely one comes from a plain reading of the words in the verse, baptized on their behalf.

17:36It seems that some believers died before they were able to be baptized, maybe due to an accident or illness or some other reason. So the Corinthians had a believer in the church volunteer to be baptized on their behalf after they died. Now, Paul neither commands nor condemns the practice in these verses. But I think we can conclude from the fact that it's not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, and from the fact that the Corinthians were doing all kinds of things in worship that were disorderly and unhelpful, that Paul is not giving his approval to this practice. He's simply using it to make a point. And his point is that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there is absolutely no need to baptize people on their behalf.

18:30What good would that do? If a believer has died and there is no resurrection to look forward to, what does it matter whether they were ever baptized in this life? It's inconsistent to say that death is the end for every believer and then say, oh no, that brother was never baptized before he passed into oblivion. What are we going to do? We have to take care of that. Let's get a volunteer to be baptized on his behalf. That makes no sense. It makes no sense if death is the end for every believer. So what Paul is doing is he's pointing out that the Corinthians, who are puffed up with pride because of their supposed theological knowledge, that they were undoing with their practice what they were saying they believed with their mouths.

19:21Paul then pivots to his own experience as an apostle in verse 30. He asks the question: if the dead aren't raised, Then why should he put his life in danger every hour? Why should he sacrifice so much every day so that other people could hear the message of Jesus? Listen to Paul recount his own experience as an apostle in 2 Corinthians 11. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes, less one. So he was whipped 195 times. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

20:51See, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, and if we aren't going to rise from the dead, why would anyone put themselves through All of that trouble and sacrifice and suffering. It makes no sense to endure all of that or to face down angry crowds who want you killed in cities like Ephesus, from which he was writing this letter, if there is no resurrection of the dead. Because if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there's only one lifestyle that makes sense. Not Stoicism, but Epicureanism.

21:31See, Epicureans were hedonists. They viewed pleasure as the highest good and that they thought it should be pursued at all costs. Pain should be minimized and pleasure should be maximized. And in verse 32, what Paul does is he quotes from Isaiah chapter 22, which is so fitting because it displays the attitude of the people of Judah prior to God's discipline. Instead of repenting of their sin, they exclaimed, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

22:09See, the Israelites should have responded with faith and humility. Instead, their fatalism led them to hedonism. They thought to themselves, Look, we're going to die anyway, so we might as well live it up today. And that's the Problem that Paul is confronting here in Corinth. Their fatalistic theology led them to hedonism or the pursuit of pleasure at all costs. So, Paul minces no words in verses 33 and 34. Look at what he says: Do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

23:03Now, Paul may be quoting from a well-known comedy, but the scripture certainly supports the truth that our beliefs and practice can be corrupted by bad company, by the people who are around us. And so, the Corinthians needed to wake up because their denial of the resurrection led to a fatalism that then led to hedonism. They were pursuing pleasure at all costs because that makes sense if all you have to look forward to is a few more trips around the sun.

23:37Their fatalism and hedonism wasn't just negatively affecting themselves individually or each other in the church, it was also leading other people astray who had no knowledge of God. The way they were living their life based on their fatalistic ideas was leading other people astray, and it was ruining their witness in the city. So, church, I think we may read about the Corinthians and their denial of the resurrection and their sinful lifestyle and kind of shake our heads. But we have to remember that the Word of God is a mirror and it is designed, given to us, that we could hold it up and examine ourselves, our own beliefs, our own practice.

24:31Most of you watching today would affirm both Jesus' resurrection and the resurrection of all believers when he returns. Most of you watching today would deny that we should pursue pleasure at all costs, that it's the highest goal in this life. And yet, just like the Corinthians, so many of us are living as though this life is all there is. And that fatalism naturally leads to valuing pleasure above everything else. Have you honestly assessed your dreams and ambitions lately?

25:17Why do you want that new home, or that new car, or those new clothes, or that vacation or experience so very badly? Is it really because of your love for God and his gospel? Or is it for some other reason? Is it really because of your hope, which is not in this life, but in the life to come? Or is it because you've started to doubt that there is really any life to look forward to beyond this one? Is it really because you could say along with Paul that to live is Christ and to die is gain?

26:02Is it really because you could say along with Jim Elliott that he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose? Or are we more and more convinced by the culture around us, by friends and family members and co-workers, and by our own sinful hearts, that this life is really all there is? So we better eat and drink today because tomorrow we die. As I study this text, I'm asking myself the very same questions. I'm asking these questions as one who was baptized in the culture of North Dallas, where image and status are everything.

26:50I'm asking these questions as one who has suffered relatively little, one who has largely been successful and prosperous and led a wealthy American. Lifestyle. Friends, either the gospel is true and Jesus really did rise from the dead, or the gospel is false and Jesus did not rise from the dead. It's that simple. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then Christianity isn't a religion that we should admire. And Jesus and his apostles are not worthy of our respect.

27:35If the gospel is false, then all of this is for nothing. All the sacrifice, all the prayer, all the worship, all the discipleship, all the evangelism, all the inconveniences and trials and suffering, it is all for nothing if Jesus didn't rise from the dead. We are fools and we should be pitied. But if the gospel is true and we have every reason to believe that it is, then Jesus really is alive. And if Jesus really is alive, then he really is the Savior that he claimed to be. And if he really is the Savior that he claimed to be, then all who believe in him are forgiven and adopted into God's family. And if we're adopted into God's family, we can know that Jesus will not leave us as orphans. He will come for us.

28:42Do you believe that Christ conquered sin and death in his resurrection? If you don't, then let me ask you to consider why it is that you don't. Could you say with all honesty that you have examined the eyewitness accounts for yourself? That you have studied Jesus' claims and life as it's been reported in Scripture? Or are you merely going off of hearsay what people have told you about Jesus and his apostles and the Bible? Friends, please don't stake your eternity on hearsay.

29:31Consider for yourself Jesus' claims to be the promised Messiah and the Son of God. Consider for yourself the eyewitness accounts to his sinless and miraculous life and his promises to lay down his life on behalf of sinners like us. Consider for yourself the eyewitness accounts of the empty tomb and Jesus' many appearances after his resurrection from the dead. Then decide what you believe about Jesus and the claims that he rose from the dead. I hope and I pray that you will see that he is worthy of your faith, worthy of your worship, worthy of your life.

30:21And if you do believe already that Jesus did rise from the dead, then you have been set free from putting your hope into this life and the empty promises that it makes to satisfy us. You've been set free from the paralyzing fear of death. And you've been set free from the power and the penalty of sin. The only thing that's left to do is the very thing that the Corinthians failed to do. And that's to live our lives in light of Christ's past resurrection and our future resurrection.

31:08Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful that we have the Apostle Paul's writings inspired. By the Holy Spirit to help us carefully think through what we believe, why we believe it, and what it means if we do believe it. God, I pray for all of the men and women and children who are watching today, who have questions, even doubts, understandable questions and doubts about Jesus' resurrection from the dead. I pray that you would speak to them through your word and by the power of your Holy Spirit. I pray that they would take the time to investigate these eyewitness accounts for themselves, that they wouldn't rely on other people telling them what to think or what to believe.

32:21I pray that they would come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And God, I pray for all of us who already believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Father, not a one of us is living in perfect alignment with that belief. The world around us and our own hearts are trying to convince us every day from the moment we wake up that we have to eat and drink today. We've got to squeeze every bit of pleasure and enjoyment out of this life because this life is all there is. It is a Battle to believe that this life, as James says, is just a vapor, just a mist, and that we have an eternity to look forward to with you in the new heavens and the new earth. Give us faith to believe that, and help us to walk in light of our profession that we believe that Jesus is Lord and Jesus is alive. It's in his name that we pray these things. Amen.

33:35Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.