Sermon Tone Analysis

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

 

“THE RISEN CHRIST, FAITH'S REALITY”[1]

 

A SERMON SUBMITTED TO REV.

ANDREW MATTHEWS

FOR THE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS OF A

MASTERS

 

HOMI 501:  PREPARATION OF THE SERMON - EXPOSITORY PREACHINIG

 

BY

WADE J. WOOD

 

JUNE 24, 2008

 

\\ !!! Scripture Text:

 

*15*     Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless  you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that  which I also received: that Christ died for our sins  according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day  according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then  by the twelve.

6 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.

7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

8  Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because  I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God /which was/ with me.

11 Therefore, whether /it was/ I or they, so we preach and so you believed.[2]

!!! Introduction:

!!! 1 Corinthians was written by Paul during his third missionary journey.

It is believed that it was written around 55AD in the city of Ephesus.

This was the church that Paul had founded during his second missionary journey.

The majority of the epistle was written for correction of the behavior of the people of Corinth.

Doctrinal statements are found in the epistle.

Today we are looking at one of these instances.

!!! Paul knew this church he had planted it.

Corinth was a seedbed of immorality.

From the prostitution, to the worship of idols, the city had become corrupt.

Paul sends this epistle to help strengthen the new believers.

Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians deals with doctrine, the doctrine of salvation through the risen Lord.

Corinth was worldly, much like we are today.

They had turned away from their original teachings and have focused on the world and its wicked ways.

Paul has to admonish some of the actions of the people and thus he writes the epistle

In today’s world we have become much like the Corinthians.

We have turned away from God and his teachings.

The world today is filled with sex, immorality, and depravity.

People have forgotten what Christ came to do for us.  1 Corinthians 15 is calling us back to the crucifixion of Christ.

It is calling us back to the truth, the only truth.

With this mind we will take a look at this portion of scripture in detail and see what God has to say to us.

!!!  

!!!  

!!! Propositional statement:

Christ’s resurrection:  the key to living.

!!! First Compliment:

          Verses 1-2:  The gospel is preached:

 

*Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel **** which I preached to you, which also you received and ** **in which you stand, ****2**** ****by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless ** **you believed in vain.

*[3]* *

 

This gospel which Paul preaches and refers to, where did it come from?

We will look at the gospel more closely but we need to look at Paul’s life to find the origin of the Gospel.

Paul was not there when the Lord appeared to the Apostles; he was not there when he appeared to the 500.

When he meets the Lord on the Damascus road he does not know him.

So where did he receive the Gospel.

Soon after leaving Damascus he went out into the desert.

It is here that Paul was instructed by the Lord and given the gospel.

It is this gospel that he preached to the Corinthian church.

It was this gospel that would ultimately cause him his life.

a.

It was preached – verse one

It is clear from this verse that Paul preached the Gospel of Christ.

But what is this gospel.

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That God was born of a virgin that he became man.

That he came so others might live.

That he died a horrific death on the cross for the salvation of many.

That Jesus is the truth, He is the way, and He is the life.

The only way to salvation is through our belief in Him.

The most important part though is the resurrection.

It is the key to life, to everything.

If Christ did not rise from the dead then there is no belief.

There is no salvation.

So as we look at the Bible and see all the stories it contains leading up to and after the crucifixion, it would mean nothing without the resurrection.

b.

The Gospel was received.

This is a major point.

Paul had planted the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey.

Being a church that he founded he knew what they had been taught and learned.

The people did not reject the gospel but received it.

He preached the gospel of the risen Lord.

Not the Lord on the cross.

He preached a living Lord that presented Himself to him and others after the crucifixion.

Many of us stop at the foot of the cross.

Paul is urging us not to do this.

He is telling us to go beyond the cross, beyond the tomb, to the living breathing Lord that was resurrected.

The resurrection again is the Key to life.

If he did not rise our faith would be in vain.

c.

They stood for the Gospel.

They had heard of the resurrection and believed in it.

It was through their belief that they were saved.

Do you stand for the gospel?

Do you stand for a living savior that rose from the dead?

The gospel is more than a story, more than a fable.

It is truth.

Why is it truth?

It is truth because God ordained it.

He had it written into His scriptures.

d.

They were saved.

There is no doubt that some were saved and believed unto the Lord.

Paul here tells them to hold fast to their faith and the teachings that they have been given.

Paul finishes these verses with a qualifying statement: “Unless you believed in vain.”

By stating this in this fashion he points to the ones who may have heard the gospel but had a shallow faith, an unbelieving faith.