Of First Importance
What is “of first importance” in your life? What do you live for? What motivates you? What gives you strength to get up and keep on going every day? what is first in your life?
Paul tells the Corinthian church that he passed on to them what was “of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” What I want you to catch in that phrase is “of first importance.” You see, the church doesn’t need any new truth, it needs to guard the one truth and keep the one message of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
The Christian faith stands or falls with whether or not Christ was raised from the dead. True New Testament Christianity is a religion of the resurrection. The resurrection was the focal point of every other truth Christ taught. The Gospels contain abundant testimony to the resurrection of Christ. Jesus himself taught his disciples that, “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). He said to Peter, James and John as they were coming down the mountain “not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (Mark 9:9). Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25).
Admittedly, at first the disciples of Jesus Christ deeply misunderstood these words of Jesus, but soon grasped their truth and power after seeing him raised from the dead. They turned the world upside down. Persecution, trials, mocking, and suffering could not slow them down because the gospel was of first importance in their life. In fact, the first two sermons preached after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ focused on the resurrection of Christ. Peter says after the Holy Spirit came upon him at Pentecost that Jesus, “was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact...” (Acts 2:31-32), and again Peter said to the crowd that ran to him after healing the crippled beggar, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” Acts 3:12-15). Listen to this summary of the NT by Wayne Grudem, “…the book of Acts is a story of the apostle’s proclamation of the resurrection of Christ and of heaven. The Epistles depend entirely on the assumption that Jesus is a living, reigning Savior who is now the exalted head of the church, who is to be trusted, worshiped, and adored, and who will some day return in power and great glory to reign as King over the earth. The book of Revelation repeatedly shows the risen Christ reigning in heaven and predicts his return to conquer his enemies and reign in glory. Thus the entire New Testament bears witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (Grudem, 608).
The historical arguments for the resurrection of Christ are substantial and have persuaded many skeptics who started to examine the evidence for the purpose of disproving the resurrection. My aim this morning is not to offer an apologetic, that is, a defense of the resurrection. I am not going to give 10 reasons why you should believe in the historical reality of Christ rising from the dead. However let me say, if you today have come with doubts and questions about Christ’s life, death, and resurrection please come and talk with me today! What I am going to do today is focus on two consequences, one positive one negative, which are very significant in relation to Christ’s resurrection. What I believe, as Paul said, is of first importance, that Christ died for our sins, and if there is no resurrection, we are still in our sins. Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
Because the resurrection is the cornerstone of the gospel, it has been the focus of some of Satan’s greatest attacks. He will do and has done everything he can to cause the church to desert this truth. Many today teach Christ did not really die on the cross, he merely passed out and given he was in the grave for three days he had ample time to rest and recover. Others teach Christ did not die on the cross, it was a look-alike. Every year a story comes in the papers about how they have found the tomb of Jesus and the body is still there. This is nothing new. Some of the church in Corinth deserted this doctrine and said there is no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12), which is a startling fact since these people also staked their faith in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Paul took this false teaching head on and was quick to point out the serious consequences of such a statement.
1 Corinthians 15 is the fullest explanation we have in the entirety of Scripture for understanding the resurrection. It is here, that Paul tackles the doubts and concerns that some in the ancient city of Corinth were having concerning the resurrection of the dead. This chapter is easily broken down into three main sections. The first is vv. 1-11. In this section Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he preached to them and that they believed. The second section is vv. 12-34. In this section Paul points out the serious negative consequences of denying the resurrection of the dead and the positive consequences of embracing his resurrection from the dead. The third section is vv. 35-58. Having established that Christ is truly raised from the dead and pointing out the great benefits of that, Paul goes on to explain what the resurrection body will be like and what’s more, how we should be living our lives in light of our future resurrection. My message will focus on section 2, with two simple points: The Consequences of No Resurrection of the Dead and The Consequences of Resurrection of the Dead.
v The Consequences of No Resurrection of the Dead (vv. 12-19)
Ø Content of the Gospel Eradicated (v.13-14)
§ 1 Corinthians 15:3-5
· Christ is still in the grave
· Preaching is useless
Ø Futile Faith (v. 14, 17)
§ Useless, Vain, Empty, Worthless
§ No longer the substance of things hoped for…
Ø False witnesses (v. 15-16)
§ They testify falsely about God claiming to be true what is untrue. They testify that God raised Jesus from the dead but God did no such thing if in fact the dead are not raised. They are charlatans, perjurers, conspiring against God and falsely representing Him.
Ø Clutches of death (v. 18)
§ Believers who have died are still in the clutches of death and will not be resurrected in the end. If Christ has not been raised, then those who “fall asleep in Christ” are no different from unbelievers, who are consigned to death and ruin.
§ God abandons to perdition even those who are faithful.
Ø No Hope (v.19)
§ “The Corinthians have nothing more than a mere wistful, faint, trust in some larger hope, which rests on nothing, and they face life with nothing better than a Christ of their own devotional dreams or speculative insight” (Moffat 1938, 242 and 244).
Ø Sin Remains (v. 17)
§ Scripture labors the point of Christ dying for our sins
· 1 John 2:2 – He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
· 1 John 4:10 – In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
· Romans 5:8 – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
§ The assertion that Christ died on behalf of humanity’s sin is discredited. If Christ is not raised then we are still damned in our sins and will not inherit the kingdom of God. “Death’s stinger still spears its victims” (Garland, 1 Cor., 702). We are still dead in our trespasses and sins, worthy of death.
§ Sin is cosmic treason and we are cosmic traitors. Sin must be taken seriously. “We rarely take the time to think through the ramifications of our sin. We fail to realize that in even the slightest sins we commit, such as little white lies…, we are violating the law of the Creator of the universe. In the smallest sin we defy God’s right to rule and to reign over His creation. Instead, we seek to usurp for ourselves the authority and the power that belong properly to God. Even the slightest sin does violence to His holiness, to His glory, and to His righteousness. Every sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is truly an act of treason against the cosmic King” (The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul, 32).
§ Scripture has three distinct ways in which human sin is described and communicated. Sin is called a debt, it is called enmity, and it is called a crime.
· debt
¨ Scriptures teaches a debt by our sin
Ø Matthew 6:12, “and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Ø Matthew 18:21-35. In the parable of the unforgiving servant Jesus teaches that Christians have an obligation to forgive others’ debts because of God’s forgiveness of their own debts.
¨ Why we incur a debt by our sin
Ø God is sovereign and has full authority over all he has created
Ø we are under God’s authority by virtue of his authorship of all things, so he has the intrinsic and absolute right to impose obligations on us. When he does so, we “owe” obedience to him and the obligation he has imposed on us is perfect obedience, sinless perfection.
Ø If we fail to perform the obligations he places on us, we incur a debt. So according to this understanding of sin, God is the Creditor and we are the debtors.
¨ Why we can’t pay back our debt
Ø It is one thing to be in debt and to be on a debt retirement program, whereby we pay off what we owe a little bit at a time. But the indebtedness that we have with respect to obedience to God is impossible for us to pay back on any installment plan because God demands perfect obedience, sinless perfection.
Ø If I am responsible to be perfect, and I sin once, what must I do to be perfect? What do I have to do to become perfect after I have once been imperfect?
Ø Simply put, it is impossible. We cannot expunge our sin debt. We have incurred a debt that’s impossible for us to pay. It is an infinite debt.
· enmity
¨ Scripture teaches it
Ø Romans 5:10 –“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Ø Colossians 1:19-22 – “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (21) Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.(22) But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
¨ Why sin is an expression of enmity
Ø Sin is a violation of the personal relationship humans are supposed to have with their Creator. By sinning, we communicate not love, affection, or devotion to our Creator. Instead, we reject Him and declare our hostility toward Him.
Ø It is important we understand that God manifests no enmity toward us. God has never broken a promise. He has never violated a covenant. He has never sworn a vow to us that He failed to pay. He has never treated a human in this world unjustly. He has never violated us as creatures. In short, he has kept his side of the relationship perfectly. But we have violated him. By our sin, we show ourselves to be God’s enemies. God is the injured one, the violated one.
Ø According to the Scriptures, we have acted in such a way as to rupture our relationship with God. We exercise and manifest our enmity by our continual disobedience. God is sorely displeased with our offenses. He is angry with our sin. As a result, there is division between humanity and God.
· crime
¨ Scripture teaches it
Ø Psalm 39:8 – “Save me from all my transgressions…”
Ø Psalm 51:3 – “For I know my transgressions…”
Ø Ephesians 2:1– “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…
¨ Why we are criminals
Ø Transgress means to violate a command or a law. Remember, God is the ultimate authority. He is the lawgiver.
Ø God does not give suggestions or recommendations. He gives commandments – “Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt Not.”
Ø We are bound to obey these laws and obligations. Any failure to do so, is a crime against the Cosmic King.
§ God is the ultimate Judge.
· When we fail to meet our obligations, God has an obligation to bring judgment on us. The Judge of all the earth must do right. A just judge, a good judge, is not one who lets a crime go unpunished. God is supremely a God of law and order. God not only enacts laws, He enforces His laws. Therefore, if we commit even the slightest sin, we’re in trouble. God is just, and His justice demands that sin be punished.
· In other words, were talking about God’s satisfaction. Each of the three characterizations of sin that we have considered – a debt, a state of enmity, and a crime – constitutes a violation of that divine justice of God, which necessitates satisfaction.
· When we incur a debt by failing to meet an obligation before God, that debt must be satisfied – that is, the requirements must be met in a satisfactory way. When sin creates enmity and division, the requirements to end that division and bring about reconciliation must be satisfied. When we commit a crime against God, His justice must be satisfied – a payment or penalty must be given or made that satisfies the demands of divine justice, or it will be compromised.
· How is such satisfaction to be achieved? Can you or I achieve such satisfaction for God? NO! We are hopeless and powerless before God in our own strength. Even our most righteous deeds are but filthy rags to God. We cannot pay back the debt we owe, we cannot make peace with God, and we cannot satisfy the demands of justice from God. We are under the wrath and judgment of God! If Christ is not raised from the dead we are debtors, at enmity with God, and criminals. We are left in our sin. Our faith is futile and we are of all people to be most pitied. What can we do! Nothing. What can we say! Nothing.
· If Christ is not raised, then we have no hope. We have been duped and are taken in by a colossal fraud. We are the most pitiable because we have embraced Christ’s death and suffering for nothing. If Christ is not raised, the world would be right; the cross is utter folly.
v The Consequences of Resurrection from the Dead (v.20)
Ø “BUT” Aren’t you glad that is there!
§ God so loved us even while we were sinners and under the wrath of God
· Romans 5:8 – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
· 1 John 4:10 – In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Ø God is Satisfied by Jesus Christ- the satisfaction we could never achieve is achieved by the Lord Jesus Christ. For each characterization of sin in the Bible, Jesus plays a crucial role.
§ Christ our Surety
· When sin is depicted as a debt the New Testament calls Christ our Surety.
¨ Hebrews 7:22 – by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
· Surety is an economic term, just like debt is. With this language the Bible tells us that Christ is the one who cosigns the note. He is the One who stands there, backing up our indebtedness, taking on himself the requirement of what must be paid. Death.
§ Christ our Mediator
· With respect to the characterization of sin as an expression of enmity, the role Christ plays is that of a Mediator.
· In human conflicts, the mediator stands in the middle in order to bring the two opposing parties together. We call that reconciliation, and that is exactly what Christ does. He reconciles God to man.
¨ 2 Corinthians 5:19a – “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.”
§ Christ our Substitute
· When sin is characterized as a crime, we see that Christ is the One who actually comes under judgment in the drama of the atonement. He functions as the substitute, the One who stands in the place of the true criminals. He has born the weight of our transgressions, he has cleansed us from our guilt, and he has satisfied the wrath of God.
§ The Lord Jesus Christ, then, is the One Who made satisfaction. By His work on the cross, He satisfied the demands of God’s justice with regard to our debt, our state of enmity, and our crime. By his resurrection from the grave, he showed His power to put to death death.
§ 1 Corinthians 15:54 &57 – “Death has been swallowed up in victory….But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
§ Illustration
· It was of pioneers who were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow. One day they were horrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly. They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them. One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it.As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror, "Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?" The leader replied, "My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!"
· What a picture of the believer, who is safe in Christ!
¨ "On Him Almighty vengeance fell,
Which would have sunk a world to hell.
He bore it for a chosen race,
And thus becomes our Hiding Place."
· The fires of God's judgment burned themselves out on Him, and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for they are now standing where the fire has been. God is satisfied with Christ’s sacrificial obedience on the cross.
Ø New Life (v.22)
§ In Christ
· Parallel phrase to this is “in Adam.” Paul conceives of two races of human beings. Either you are in Adam or you are in Christ. Adam is the head and representative of the old race, Christ is the head and representative of the new humanity. In Adam came sin, disobedience, condemnation, and death; in Christ comes righteousness, obedience, acquittal, and life. Those who are in Adam belong to the old age with its bondage to sin and death; those who belong to Christ belong to the new age with its freedom and life.
¨ Romans 6:1-11
Ø Baptism into Christ means union with him in his death, which in turn means death to sin
Ø When Christ died we died in him, when Christ rose from the dead we rose from the dead in him.
Ø In Christ’s death and resurrection we died to sin and were made alive to God in Christ Jesus.
· Therefore to be “in Christ” means to have entered into new life by salvation from sin through faith and to be “in Adam” means to still be in your sin and bondage to death. We are by nature “in Adam” and are by faith “in Christ.”
¨ 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”
¨ Romans 5:10 and 11 – “for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Ø Because of this newness of life in Christ there is…
§ deliverance from the present evil age (Gal. 1:4)
§ no longer a need to be conformed to the old age (Rom. 12:2)
§ nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:39)
§ righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17)
§ encouragement in Christ and in humble service (Phil. 2:1-5)
§ the peace of God guarding the heart and mind (Phil. 4:7)
§ contentment in every kind of human situation (Phil 4:13)
§ redemption from sins and sanctification (Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 1:2)
§ reconciliation of the world (1 Cor. 5:19)
§ justification comes to men and women in Christ (Gal. 2:17)
§ access to God is available in Christ (Eph. 2:12)
§ forgiveness of sin occurs in Christ (Eph. 4:32)
§ we can speak the truth in Christ (Rom. 9:1)
§ we are proud in Christ (Rom. 15:17)
§ Paul even stated his imprisonment in Rome was in Christ (Phil 1:13)
¨ Without Christ being raised from the dead there is no faith, there is no church, there is no Christ! The totality of our faith and salvation is in Christ Jesus! Praise God from whom all blessings flow that Christ is risen from the dead, he is our surety, our mediator, our substitute and his is the victory and that in Christ there is new life, abundant and free.
¨ 1 Corinthians 15:58
Ø stand firm
Ø let nothing move you
Ø give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord
Ø you know your labor is not in vain
Ø Stay strong in the Lord and in the power of his might!
¨ Live the Gospel! Be the Gospel! The gospel of Jesus Christ is not something that you simply believed at some point in your life and that you share with others at every opportunity, it is your life. Rejoice in it, glory in it, take strength in it, build up those around you in it, use every ounce of your God given strength, talent, and ability to work for the Lord it is not in vain!
¨ Is this “of first importance to you?” Make the gospel central in your life. Be passionate about it.