Sermon Tone Analysis

One of the core teachings of the NT concerns the problem sin and God’s justice.

(Gen 2:17; Rom 3:23; 1 Jn 1:8; Rom 6:23)

God to Adam, “in the day that you eat you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17)

God is a holy God and cannot set his word aside, he must punish sin

all have sinned (Rom 3:23)

if we say we haven’t sinned we deceive ourselves and believe a lie (1Jn 1:8)

the wages of that sin is death (Rom 6:23)

a righteous and holy judge cannot ignore sin

The glorious answer to our pitiful condition is provided for in the Gospel, summarized in 1 Cor 15:3-4.

Christ died for our sins

though we are sinners condemned to die there is a remedy and it is only found in Jesus Christ

he was buried = it was a real death

a real death to satisfy God’s righteous judgment

he was raised on the 3rd day

Jesus’ death was for our sins

Jesus’ resurrection was for our justification

our being declared righteous was made possible in Jesus being raised from the dead

Jesus’ resurrection was God’s declaration to the world that he was acceptable to Him as our sinless sin bearer.

(1 Jn 5:11-12)

eternal life is in Jesus Christ, he is the resurrection

if he is not raised he does not have eternal life and we have no hope

v.2 - “you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you!”

salvation is ongoing and it is dependent on holding fast, not turning away from the gospel

you are not being saved if you turn away from any part of this gospel (vv.3-4)

people have less of a problem with Jesus’ death than they do with his resurrection

if there is a resurrection then there must be a God

If the resurrection is real, God is real, and if God is real we are answerable to him!

The True Gospel

1 Cor 15:1-11

what is the Gospel?

The core message of the Gospel is outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

how do we know the gospel is true

how can we be sure that it’s not something a bunch of nobodies dreamed up in the first century which has deceived the world ever since?

Paul appeals to 3 testimonies which affirm the reality of the resurrection.

first, the testimony of a changed life (v.1 - in which you stand)

examples of Peter, the Apostles & Paul

second, the testimony of scripture (v.3 - in accordance with the scriptures)

odds of fulfilled prophecy

odds of prophecies by unrelated individuals living at different times and places being fulfilled by one person hundreds of years later

1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000

1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power

Odds of winning Lotto 649 = 1:13,983,816

1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!

third, the multiple witnesses (vv.5-10)

the greater the number of witnesses the harder it is to coordinate their stories

the changed lives of believers, the fulfillment of multiple prophecies made over hundreds of years by different prophets living different places and multiple witnesses to the resurrected Christ provide irrefutable proof of the power of the gospel

Christ died for sins, was buried, was raised on the 3rd day

this Gospel is one of the best attested facts of history!

The False Gospel

1 Cor 15:12-19

in the Corinthian church some were saying that there was no resurrection of the dead

in effect they were denying the gospel of vv.3-4

it is a package deal, all or nothing!

note that “the dead” is stated 5x in 8 verses

the dead what?

a dead body or dead person

Paul is speaking of physical, bodily, resurrection

although Paul doesn’t tell us which people were saying this,

we know that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection (Lk 20:27; Acts 23:8)

we also know that Greek philosophy rejected a bodily resurrection because it believed the material body was inferior, even evil (cf.

Acts 17:32)

considered the body a tomb or corpse to which their souls were shackled

to these Greeks their bodies were the last things they wanted to take into the next life!

Paul’s argument in a nutshell: if there is no resurrection, Christ is not raised and if Christ is not raised, there is no Gospel!

in verses 13-19 Paul lays out 7 consequences of denying the resurrection

4 Theological Consequences

1. “Not even Christ has been raised” (v.13)

the only way they could hold to Christ’s resurrection and deny bodily resurrection was to postulate that Jesus only appeared to be human

he did not really die but only appeared to die

does not square with the Gospels or Jesus’ own testimony

The Gospel hinges on Jesus being a real man, who came to die for real people with a real sin problem.

2. “Our preaching is in vain” (14a)

If Jesus was not raised he was not the Son of God and if not could not have paid for my sin let alone anyone who would believe in him.

(Rom 1:4)

3. “Your faith is in vain” (14b)

It is through the resurrection of Jesus that God causes us to be born again, (1 Pet 1:3)

a dead saviour cannot give life

faith in a dead leader would be useless

4. “We are even found to be misrepresenting God” (v.15)

they had preached that God himself raised Jesus from the dead (1 Pet 1:3)

if there is no resurrection then they lied about God

all who testify to the resurrection would be liars

If there is no resurrection then all who claimed to have seen Jesus after his death were liars.

Paul and the Apostles would have been the chief liars!

there’s no way they could have been naive or mistaken because they would have had to conspire together to make their testimonies agree

if they so blatantly lied about God and the resurrection how could any of their other teachings be reliable?

Jesus himself would be disqualified as the Son of God since he lied about himself saying that he would be raised in 3 days (Mt 12:40)

3 Personal Consequences

1. "You are still in your sins” (v.17)

Paul repeats what he said earlier: our faith is useless if Christ is not raised

our faith is futile and we are still under sin

a clear statement that Christ’s death cannot be separated from his resurrection

Apart his resurrection, Christ’s death accomplishes nothing.

2. "Those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (v.18)

every believer from Adam and Eve onward would have died under the curse of sin

Gen 2:17 - in the day you eat you shall surely die

Rom 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Rom 6:23 - for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus

3. "We are of all people most to be pitied” (v.19)

all that we believe, all that we trust in, all that we hope for, all that we give up, all that we suffer would be for nothing