Well, friends, we're looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 15 this morning.
And as I was thinking about this passage this week, I was reminded of an experience we had
in the youth ministry a few years ago.
So every fall, we plan a fall retreat.
And instead of going to one of these retreat centers that sort of does it all for you,
we, for some strange reason, decide to just pull one off ourselves.
So we plan all the music and all the food and all the games and all the talks.
And we basically just go to a place that will give us a warm place to sleep at night
and a nice clean open area where we can do all that crazy stuff.
And this one year, we were packing up all of our things.
And we were doing a really good job as a leadership team of making good lists of everything we had to bring.
So, you know, we had our sound system, the portable sound system, check.
We had the instruments check.
We had the mic cables check and the microphones check and the stands check.
We even brought the projector and the screen and the music sheets and everything.
We had it all set up.
And then one of our youth leaders said,
Hey, where's the power cable to the projector?
We forgot this one thing, this one little element.
And pretty much everything that we hoped to do during our kind of gathered worship times on the retreat
was totally foiled because we didn't bring this one little thing.
Everything else, it seemed, was in vain because we were missing the power cable.
Well, thankfully we, I forget what we ended up doing.
I'll have to talk to Andrew afterward how we actually solved that problem.
I think we might have borrowed a projector from the camp or something like that.
But maybe you've had a similar sort of experience or you can think of a similar example in your own life.
You know, that time you tried driving your car just a little bit further even though the fuel light was on
only to find that you ran out of gas.
And now every time you pushed the pedal, it was nothing but doing it in vain.
Or maybe that time you were almost done with the recipe.
You had everything you needed, but then you discovered you were out of eggs.
And it was all in vain.
Well, friends, I've been thinking about this text this morning.
I've been wondering, and I think this text causes us to ask,
what if the same thing could be true in our spiritual lives?
Is there something without which, if this one thing is missing, then the whole thing is in vain?
Is there such an essential ingredient to Christianity, to true spirituality?
And if there is something like that, do you know what it is?
And do you know whether you have it?
Well, as I said, I think that's what our text today is all about.
The one thing that everything hangs on.
The one essential thing that you have to have spiritually.
Or else everything else is in vain.
Looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
If you want to turn there in the Pew Bible, the page number is in your bulletin.
We're going to look at verses 12 through 19.
Let me read this for us.
Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
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.
We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.
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.
Let's pray together as we consider this text.
Our Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would help us to understand with our minds
and grasp with our hearts the truth of this passage
and the way in which it reveals, Lord, critical, essential things for our life in you.
God, we ask that you would soften our hearts and open our ears
to hear, Lord Jesus, what you would have us to hear today.
In your name we pray. Amen.
Well, so it seems from this paragraph, and as you look at the whole of 1 Corinthians 15,
as we started last week, it seems that some of the Corinthians
were having a hard time believing in what Paul calls the resurrection of the dead.
Or sometimes we say the resurrection of the body,
which is sort of the same way of saying the same thing.
Paul asks in verse 12, do you notice there,
how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
Some of the members of this church who believed the gospel
were then turning around and saying,
I don't think there is anything like the resurrection of the dead.
Now, what does that mean?
I think it's safe to say that these Corinthian Christians
had no problem probably believing in what we might call the immortality of the soul.
Corinth, after all, was a Greek city steeped in Greek thinking
and belief in an immortal soul was in the water all around them.
That's not what they had trouble grasping.
What they had a much harder time wrapping their minds around
was this incredible biblical promise
that we see echoed in the Psalms and in the prophets.
This incredible biblical promise that God will raise us
to bodily life on the last day.
That our ultimate future state in God's new creation
is a physical bodily one.
In Acts 17, Paul is preaching there in Athens,
just down the road from Corinth.
And as he's presenting the gospel,
he comes to the resurrection part.
And at that moment, Luke, the author of Acts, says,
a good number in the crowd just outright mocked him
when they heard him talk of the resurrection of the dead.
So in the first century, culturally,
this was a hard idea to accept.
In fact, virtually none, I would imagine,
of the Corinthians' pagan friends and neighbors
would have believed in the resurrection of the body.
Which, if I were to take a poll,
is probably exactly like us today in the 21st century.
Today, we can spend all sorts of time
thinking up how we might survive
a potential zombie apocalypse.
For instance,
if there were an onslaught of the undead,
we have lots of bumper stickers and video games
and blogs to sort of playfully think about
how we might deal with that reality.
But we'll never for a moment
think about the possibility
of the resurrection of the dead.
The resurrection of the body.
It seems like it's something
that's just completely off the radar for us.
But what we see here,
in this whole chapter actually,
is that this is not an area
for Christians to be fuzzy about.
Paul is going to use
some sort of relentless logic
in our little paragraph here
to get us to think clearly here.
Because as he says in verse 13,
if there's no resurrection of the dead,
then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ hasn't been raised, friends,
well, that has simply massive implications.
And there are at least two.
And we see them both listed
at the end of verse 14.
And let's take some time
meditating on both of these things
together this morning.
First, without the resurrection of Jesus,
Paul says,
our preaching is in vain.
Now, in the first 11 verses of our chapter,
Paul has been showing
how the death and resurrection of Jesus
are central components of the gospel.
Look again at verses 3 through 5.
For I delivered to you
as of first importance
what I also received.
This is the message,
the apostolic message
that has been preached
and handed down
in these early decades of the church.
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, that's Peter,
then to the twelve,
and then on to many others.
So on the one hand,
we have Christ's death
and burial,
the burial proving
that he actually died.
And on the other hand,
we have Christ's resurrection
and the appearances,
the appearances proving
that he actually had been raised.
And now here in verse 14,
Paul is saying essentially,
look,
if you take away half
of the gospel message,
if you take away
the resurrection of Jesus,
if you deny the resurrection
of the dead,
if you take away
half of the gospel,
friends,
you have no gospel at all.
A half gospel
is no gospel.
Our preaching in that case
would be utterly in vain.
It would be empty.
It would be ineffectual.
It would get nothing done.
Just think for a moment.
Let's pause on this fact
that Paul is pointing us towards here.
What would Christian preaching be
without the resurrection of Jesus?
Friends,
I think the reality is
that we wouldn't have much to say.
Perhaps we could look to Jesus
as a good moral teacher.
One who believed in his ideals
so strongly
that he was willing to die for them.
A good moral teacher.
But then,
wouldn't Christian preaching
just end up being
more or less
moral instruction?
Jesus was a very good man
who taught very good things,
so we ought to now
follow his example
and try to do these good things
as well today.
Full stop.
But friends,
realize that Jesus'
moral instruction
was actually not radically
that different
than what the Old Testament
had been teaching
for thousands of years.
Yes,
Jesus took the Old Testament
seriously
in all its implications.
He was willing
to take it all the way down
to the heart level
and say things like,
you've heard it said,
do not murder.
My battery's died
right in the middle
of my point.
Look at that.
Jonathan,
can I just use the pulpit mic?
Okay,
that means I can't sway
back and forth.
All right.
Jesus would say things like,
you've heard it said,
don't murder.
And then how does
the rest of that passage go?
I say,
even anger in your heart
amounts to the same thing.
So there's Jesus
not teaching something
different than the Old Testament,
but taking the Old Testament
seriously
in all of its
heart level implications.
Exactly how the prophets
before him had done.
But he wasn't offering
anything that was
radically new.
Do you remember
the rich young man
who comes up to Jesus
and says,
good teacher,
what must I do
to be saved?
This young guy
apparently had heard
rumors about Jesus.
Jesus was growing
in popularity,
so he comes thinking,
what new innovative thing
could this rising star
teacher Jesus
tell me
about gaining eternal life?
And what does Jesus say
to this eager young man
thinking he's going
to get something new?
Jesus says,
you know the commandments.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not bear false witness.
Do not defraud.
Honor your father and mother.
Do not steal.
Basically, he starts listing
the ten commandments.
So the point is,
if we're looking to Jesus
merely as a great moral teacher,
we basically find
what all the other great
moral teachers have propounded.
And so if our preaching, then,
is just the ethics,
the morality of Jesus,
then I would submit
that we really aren't
preaching anything
worthwhile at all.
You can find it
anywhere else.
We don't have anything
to say that's worth saying.
Now, perhaps your experience
of Christian teaching
and preaching
hasn't amounted
to much more
than what feels like
lots of moral instruction.
Maybe when you think
of Christianity,
you think of basically
just a call,
a sort of exhortation
to live a better life.
But again,
let me suggest to you, friend,
that that isn't
real Christianity at all.
Yes,
Christianity presents
a vision of life
that is good
and beautiful
and compelling.
But that's not the only thing
and that's not
the central thing.
And if all you've heard
is good moral teaching
in the name of Christianity,
then, friend,
you've heard
only a hollow version
of the real thing.
Because the real thing
isn't a long list
of things to do,
but a great thing
that God has done.
Our preaching is vain
without the resurrection.
But Paul goes on
to say that
our preaching
is not just empty,
it's not just vain,
but it's actually
also a bit dishonest
if Christ has not been raised.
Look again at verse 15.
We're even found
to be misrepresenting God
because we testified
about God
that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise
if it is true
that the dead
are not raised.
Now, the language
Paul is using here
is language
of the law court.
When we hear the word
testify or testimony
in a church setting,
don't we often think
of someone
sharing a personal experience
of something
that God has done
in their life?
And that's a good thing.
We want to hear
lots of that at Trinity.
Come on down.
But,
when Paul is using
the language
of testimony here,
we need to imagine
not the church gathering,
but the courtroom
in session.
there is the judge,
there is the jury,
and the witnesses
are brought to the stand
to give their testimony
so that a verdict
might be made.
Paul and the other apostles
were witnesses
in that sense,
witnesses of an event.
They saw something happen
in history.
Just like if you walked
outside today
and witnessed
a car accident,
you would be a witness.
Perhaps you would be
summoned to give
a testimony in court
about what you saw.
The apostles saw
the risen Lord Jesus.
He appeared to them,
spent time with them,
ate with them,
taught them.
Back in chapter 9,
Paul writes,
am I not an apostle?
Have I not seen
Jesus,
our Lord?
Seeing the resurrected
Jesus was the critical thing
that made an apostle
an apostle.
The apostles could testify
in a courtroom
before the bar
that they had met
the risen Jesus,
that God had raised him
from the dead.
In Acts chapter 2,
at the climax
of his great sermon
at Pentecost,
Peter sums it up this way,
this Jesus,
God raised up,
and of that
we are all witnesses.
And so you see,
if Christ then
hasn't been raised,
if there's no such thing
as the resurrection
of the dead,
then the apostles
are all
false
witnesses.
That's what the word
misrepresented
literally means here.
A pseudo witness.
In other words,
they're all committing
perjury.
But not just perjury.
Because they're being
false witnesses
of God,
then they're knowingly
committing
blasphemy.
Telling the world
lies
about who God is
and what he's done.
Without the resurrection,
our preaching
is in vain.
So think of all
the sermons
that have been preached
throughout the ages
by the great role
of Christian preachers,
the Chrysostoms
and the Luthers
and the Whitfields
and the Wesleys
and the Spurgeons.
And then think of all
the great written works
of Christian life
and thought
that have been penned
by the Augustans
and the Aquinas'
and the Calvins
and the Edwards.
And then consider
all the missionaries
who've traveled
across the world
to herald
the risen Christ,
the William Careys
and the Hudson Taylors
and the Lottie Moons
and the Amy Carmichael's.
All of that preaching
by countless men
and women
throughout Christian history,
all of it
was in vain
without the resurrection
of Jesus.
Nothing
but empty,
even dishonest
words.
And so you see, friends,
the resurrection of Jesus
is essential.
Essential to our preaching.
Without it,
we really have nothing to say.
Christianity would be
just another moral code,
nothing more.
And even worse,
without the resurrection,
what we are saying
would be nothing
but a false testimony
about God.
But that's not all.
Not only is our preaching
in vain,
Paul here keeps
driving the logic
further
to its uncomfortable
logic conclusion.
without the resurrection
of Jesus,
he says,
not just our preaching
is in vain,
but your faith
is in vain.
And in verses 17 and 18,
Paul teases this out.
There we find two reasons
why that's the case.
Why is our faith in vain?
First,
if Christ has not been raised,
Paul says,
very categorically,
you are still
in your sins.
You know,
we often don't think
about the resurrection
as being essential
to the forgiveness
of sins,
do we?
Perhaps,
rightfully so,
our minds go more
naturally to the cross.
After all,
Christ died
for our sins
in accordance
with the scriptures
as we just read
in verse 3.
But Paul is telling us here
that Christ's resurrection
is no less essential.
On the one hand,
the resurrection proves
that the one
who did die
on that cross
was not a mere
teacher or even prophet,
but the king of glory.
But more than that,
the fact that Christ
was raised
on the third day,
friends,
is the great sign
that he had paid
our debt of sin
in full.
The raising
of Jesus,
the raising
of Christ
was God the Father's
approval.
It was his
perfect verdict
that the work
of Jesus
was complete,
that the sacrifice
was totally sufficient,
that the penalty
was paid
once and for all.
Think of it,
when a prisoner,
when a criminal
does his full sentence,
when he or she
undergoes the months
or even the years
that their crime
deserved in prison,
in a cell,
whatever.
And then,
their sentence
is served
when they've
completed their time.
What do they do?
They leave the cell.
They walk out
of the prison.
They go out
into the light of day.
With that penalty
no longer
hanging over them,
they go out
free because it's
been paid
in full.
They've done it.
And what was
the sentence
that hung
over us
for breaking
God's law?
Again and again,
the Bible is clear
on this point
that the wages
of sin
is death.
God warned
Adam and Eve
from the very start
that if they rebelled
against his word
and chose to be
their own gods
and their own rulers
and they ate the fruit
from the tree
that they would die.
And each one of us
from that day on,
having fallen
into sin,
having chosen
our own way
apart from God,
faces that same
penalty
of death.
God
So you see,
when Christ
died
for our sins,
he was
paying
that
judicial
penalty
that our sins
deserved.
But of course,
he wasn't paying
for his own sins.
Christ had no sins.
There was no sentence
hanging over his head.
No,
when Jesus
died
for our sins,
he was acting
as our substitute.
The death
he died,
the penalty
of sin
he paid
was for us
in our place.
But you know,
if Christ
had stayed
in the grave,
had he not
been raised,
it would be
as if
he were still
paying the debt.
As if there
were still
something left
of the sentence
that needed
to be served.
That something
about the cross
wasn't
quite
enough.
And so,
we would still
be in our
sins.
That's the first
reason our faith
is in vain
without the resurrection.
We're still
in our sins.
The penalty
hasn't fully
been paid.
The second
reason is in
verse 18.
If Christ
has not been
raised,
then those
also who have
fallen asleep
in Christ
have perished,
Paul says.
Those
Christians
who have
gone before us,
those who
have died
in the faith,
they are
lost
if Christ
has not
been raised.
I mean,
again,
think about it.
Logically,
if the Lord
in whom
they put
their trust
was not
strong enough
to save
himself from
death,
how could
he save
others?
How could
he save
them?
when I'm
looking for
financial
advice,
I don't
go to
folks who
are repeatedly
claiming
bankruptcy.
No,
I go to
those who
know how
to walk
that path,
who have
the wisdom
and the
strength to
be able to
see me
through.
And friends,
the reality
is if our
faith can't
help us
in the face
of death,
then quite
honestly,
what good
is it?
Of course,
there are
always,
and perhaps
always will
be,
a handful
of scholars
and pastors
who will
try to
make
Christianity
meaningful
without the
bodily
resurrection.
No longer
convinced
that God
raised Jesus
from the
dead or
that God
could do
something like
resurrection.
These
scholars and
pastors try
to salvage
some kind
of meaningful
faith.
One way
they do
this is
kind of
what we've
already
seen.
They try
to emphasize
the moral
principles
of Jesus.
That is,
if we strip
away those
things that
we just
can't believe
in anymore,
then surely
we still have
a meaningful
moral framework
in which to
live our
lives,
don't we?
Isn't that
enough?
Isn't that
what really
matters?
But you
know,
show me
friends,
show me
someone who
is genuinely
trying to
actually live
up to the
way of
Jesus,
to his
commands,
and I
will show
you someone
who knows
that they
need more
than a
moral framework,
that they
need forgiveness.
If
Christianity
needs nothing
more than a
set of
rules to
follow,
rules that
Jesus
embodied,
then anyone
with half
an ounce
of self-awareness
knows that
they fall
short over
and over
again.
But Jesus
taught the
way of love
and forgiveness,
they say.
Yes,
indeed he did,
and it's a
beautiful thing.
But to be blunt,
how are you doing
with forgiving
others these
days?
Yes.
have you really
let go of that
hurt and
bitterness?
Have you really
stopped playing
that video over
and over in
your mind,
the one where
you finally
tell them off
and give them
what they
deserve?
Have you
really taken
steps down
the hard road
of reconciliation
with them?
If we're
serious about
following Jesus'
commands,
friends,
then we need
to know
not just
what he
commands,
but we need
to know that
our sins
can be taken
care of.
Because the
more we follow
Jesus'
commands,
the more
we'll see
how far
we fall
short
and that
we need
someone
to save
us.
So that
moralistic
kind of
resurrectionless
Christianity
is certainly
a dead end,
but there's
another way
some will
try to
make it
work.
Jesus'
resurrection,
they'll say,
wasn't a
bodily event,
no,
but it
points us
to a
spiritual
truth,
a spiritual
reality.
Jesus'
spirit is
with the
Father,
that's what
it means,
and his
spirit is
with us,
something
like that.
But you
know,
this attempt
to make
a meaningful
Christianity
without the
resurrection
fails as
well.
Why?
Because isn't
it clear,
friends,
that in
this version,
death
still wins.
You see,
friends,
God created
our world
in all of
its material,
physical
reality.
He created
it in that
way and
called it
good.
We were
meant to
live lives
bodily,
physically,
that are
free from
decay and
pain and
disease.
But when
sin entered,
death entered,
and along
with it,
suffering and
pain and
decay and
disease.
And so,
you see,
to say that
God's redeeming
work,
to say that
the resurrection
will only
involve some
kind of
spiritual
salvation,
is to say
that God
is unable
or at
least unwilling
to actually
go the
whole way
and fully
redeem his
fallen creation.
It's to say
that God
is willing
to let
death win.
That he's
willing to
let sin
and death
colonize
and corrupt
his good
creation
forever.
It is to
say that
God will
turn his
back on
his good
creation
and just
move on.
God
is to
know
that's
not how
the story
goes.
That's
not
what God
has revealed
to us
about his
saving
purposes.
The
resurrection
of Jesus,
you see,
isn't
some
supernatural
magic trick
in the
middle of
history
to shock
and awe.
the
resurrection
of Jesus
is the
beginning
of God's
plan
for the
whole
universe.
It's a
foretaste
of what's
to come.
God
will renew
his
creation.
He will
remove
death
and sickness
and sin.
He will
heal
and redeem
and recover
what's broken,
not abandon it.
Creation
is going to be
regained
and repaired
and even
transfigured
so that it's
endlessly,
stoplessly
good again.
the
resurrection
body of
Jesus
is the
pledge
that God
will not
let death
win
and that
one day
through
Jesus
all
creation
will
participate
in that
great
renewal
that's
begun
in
him.
So you
see,
even that
spiritual
version
of
resurrectionless
Christianity
isn't much
worth believing
in.
It's a bit
better than
the moralistic
version,
I'll give
you that,
but it's
still pretty
hollow
because it's
still a faith
that can't
actually
rescue us.
You see,
if the
moralistic
version can't
deal with
our sin
and our
guilt,
this
spiritualistic
version can't
deal with
the reality
of our
physical death
and decay.
It might
offer
escape,
but it
doesn't offer
redemption.
salvation.
And so
Paul says
in verse
19,
if in
Christ we
have hope
in this
life only,
we're of
all people
most to
be pitied.
If those
who believe
in Christ
perish upon
death,
if Christianity
is nothing
but a good
way to
live in
the here
and now,
then Paul
says we're
the most
pitiable
people the
world has
ever seen.
Not just
because we've
been deluded
and believed
a lie,
but also
because we've
suffered hardship
in the faith
for nothing.
We'll see
that a little
later in
chapter 15.
Because we've
denied earthly
pleasures in
the faith
for nothing.
We'll also
see that.
And perhaps
we've even
missed out on
finding something
or someone
else that
could have
rescued us
instead.
Without the
resurrection,
our preaching
is in vain
and our faith
is in vain.
And so,
friends,
as we draw
these verses
together,
we see that
Christianity
without the
resurrection
is indeed
empty.
It's an
empty message
producing an
empty faith.
In other
words,
Christianity
stands or
falls with
the reality
of the
resurrection.
Everything
rides on
this.
And that's
a stark
claim.
If you've
been exploring
Christianity
or you're just
starting to
learn about it,
this might
make Christianity
seem pretty
unattractive to
you,
even.
I mean,
if it all
hangs on
this one
thing,
I mean,
what if that
one thing
isn't actually
true?
If a
resurrectionless
Christianity
ends up being
futile,
why even
consider it?
It seems like
a pretty risky
gamble to
take.
why not
just stay
where you
are?
Why risk
jumping into
something that
could end
up,
without the
resurrection,
being totally
in vain?
Well, I
wonder if you'd
be willing to
think of it
this way.
It is
true that a
resurrectionless
Christianity is
empty.
but friend,
is your
resurrectionless
worldview
truly any
better?
If you think
hard about it,
isn't your
resurrectionless
belief not
also, at the
end of the
day, a
vain thing?
What does it
really offer
you for your
greatest needs?
Maybe some
morals, but
nothing to
deal with
your guilt.
Maybe some
spirituality
even, but
nothing that
really deals
with death.
If there's no
resurrection,
yes,
Christianity
is empty.
It doesn't
get you much
farther than
your own
beliefs where
you are right
now.
But what
if it's
true?
What if
the claim
Christianity
offers, the
claim of
resurrection, that
claim that's not
really on offer
anywhere else, what
if that claim is
true?
How would you
know if it's
true?
How would you
find out?
what if it's
true?
What if it's
true?
What if it's
true?
Well, friend, you'd
look at the
evidence.
Paul's been urging
us through this
whole paragraph to
use our brains and
to think, think about
the logic, think about
the implications.
And you know, we can
do the same thing with
the evidence for the
resurrection of Jesus.
After all, how do you
explain historically the
beginning of the
Christian movement?
Have you thought
about that?
Around 30 AD, a
young Jewish rabbi was
crucified by the
Romans under charges
of treason, just like
a lot of other young
Jewish rabbis have been
crucified around 30 AD
for charges of treason
under the Romans.
It was sort of what
they did.
But why within months
of this particular
gruesome death was
there a growing
movement of devout
Jewish men and women
claiming that this
crucified rabbi was
now Israel's Messiah,
their king?
That is very strange,
you have to admit.
And why do these men
and women keep on
making this claim,
even though they face
increasing persecution
and death for making
it?
And why, if the
religious authorities
are so offended by
this movement, why
don't they just go to
the gravesite, unearth
the body, and end the
controversy once and for
all?
And why is the language
that we find in the
earliest Christian
documents not language
about how this once
crucified king, this
teacher they loved, was
now merely spiritually
present to God and to
their hearts?
No.
Why do they consistently
the whole way down, as
far as you can go in the
historical record, why do
they say that God raised
him bodily from the dead,
even when they knew, just
like us, that dead bodies
stay dead?
And even though they had
no prior expectation that
God would do anything
like that.
Friends, have you
considered seriously the
evidence?
It's worth the time to
think it through.
Because if Christianity
without the resurrection is
to be pitied, and I grant
you that, isn't Christianity
with the resurrection
something to be envied?
Think of the preaching.
Here is a message of what
God has done in history, so
powerful, so new, so
life-changing, that the
only word they could think
of to put on it was the
gospel, the good news.
A message like nothing else
on offer.
A message of a God who came
in his own person and lived
and died for us to redeem
his fallen creation and
bring it back from exile
home to himself.
And not just the preaching,
think of the faith.
Here is actually the
forgiveness of sins.
Have you ever had one of
those dreams at the end of
a semester?
You just finished all your
exams, you're just done,
you're at your first day of
summer vacation, and you're
sleeping soundly, and what do
you dream of?
You still have a paper to
write.
You still have an exam that
needs to be written.
You're not done.
And all night you're just
aching, and it nags at you,
and it claws at your mind.
But then you wake up,
and it's summer.
Friends, isn't our sin the
same way?
That ache that follows you
around, that soul sickness
that never seems to go away,
that something still needs to
be done, that something still
needs to be paid, that
something still needs to be
put right.
Friends, here's the remedy
that you can wake up.
You can awaken to new
spiritual life, and your
conscience can be cleansed,
and your heart can be put
right with your creator.
Because Jesus died, and he
rose again to prove that it's
all been paid for you.
And not just the forgiveness
of sins, but even the defeat
of death.
Notice how tightly our passage
has tied together the
resurrection of Christ and the
resurrection of the dead.
It almost seems poor
writing.
Again and again, Paul says
it, verse 12, verse 13,
verse 15, verse 16, if
there's no resurrection of
the dead, then not even
Christ has been raised.
And you know, Paul isn't just
making a logical point here,
but more, he's making a
theological point.
Actually, to be more
precise, he's making a
Christological point.
He's pointing to the fact that
what God has done in Jesus,
he will surely do for all
who are united to him in
faith.
What's true of one must be
true of the other.
So deeply so that if there's
no resurrection for those who
are in Christ, then not even
Christ has been raised.
Just as God broke the bars of
death for his own son, so he
will break the bars of death for
all who trust in his son.
God's not going to let death
have the final words.
And those who die in Christ
will rise with him when God
makes all things new.
Friends, the resurrection is
essential.
It is the key ingredient.
Without it, everything is in
vain.
And yes, we are most to be
pitied, but with it, with it,
it's all that your heart has
been looking for.
How can some of you say there
is no resurrection of the
dead?
Christ has been raised.
And we will be with him.
Let's pray.
Lord, we ask one thing this
morning.
That the reality of the
resurrection, that its
essential nature, that its
greatness and its goodness
would be impressed upon our
hearts.
Lord, if there are any here who
are seeking you and unsure
about religious things, would
you open their minds to at
least explore this reality, to
give it a chance?
For those of us who are
believers in you, help this
truth to sink more deeply into
our hearts and produce love and
hope and joy.
And help us, Father, as a
community, to be a people of
the resurrection, to hold fast
to our hope, and to be
confident to the end.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.