Proper Theology is Practical
Not in Vain - 1 Cor 15 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsA right understanding of God and the gospel changes the way we live.
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If you have your Bible, please open them to 1 Cor 15.29
We are continuing our series through 1 Cor 15 that we are calling Not in Vain…
This chapter is all about the resurrection from the dead, and it’s with this subject in mind that we know that the Christian life is not in vain… that is to say that every suffering that we endure, every effort put forth, every sin that is denied, every good work that is done… everything in the Christian life, is not meaningless, for there is a reward that will be recieved by all those who are in Christ… and our reward is this: death will not have the final word, because we will be resurrected in the last day with Jesus.
Proper Theology is Practical - 1 Corinthians 15:29-34
Proper Theology is Practical - 1 Corinthians 15:29-34
29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 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.
Let’s pray
Proper Theology is Practical - 1 Corinthians 15:29-34
Proper Theology is Practical - 1 Corinthians 15:29-34
If we knew everything that what would happen tomorrow, it would likely affect what we might do today.
Let me illustrate this with and example that is familiar and common and then an extreme example that would that most of us have never had to consider.
First the common example
When you check the weather for tomorrow, it will influence the way you will dress
if it’s 100 and muggy,
then you’ll want to wear shorts
but if its a high of 50 and going to rain all day
then you’ll likely wear a sweater and should bring a rain coat with you
We are familiar to an extent with how a knowledge of the tomorrow will influence us today right?
But let’s push idea to a more extreme example
If you knew that you only had a month left to live, then this knowledge would change the way that you spent your last month living:
for starters, you probably wouldn’t be too concerned with going back to school
And if you did go back to school it would likely be for social reasons, but it certainly wouldn’t be in an effort to get good grades
Regardless, if you had a month to live, you probably wouldn’t want to waste any time…
Working out wouldn’t be a priority if you don’t enjoy doing it
Eating healthy meals wouldn’t matter at all, instead you would probably eat only the things that you enjoy
And you would probably want to surround yourself with the people who matter the most to you like your family and friends
If it’s true in this life, that knowing what will happen in the future will affect what we do today, then how much more true should this reality be when we have eternity in view.
Tonight’s passage has a few confusing parts , but just so we all get the big idea, let me be clear on what Paul is writing about:
Big Idea: Knowing what will happen in the future will change what we do in the present.
Big Idea: Knowing what will happen in the future will change what we do in the present.
or to give this idea more clarity: A right understanding of God and the gospel - that is proper theology - changes the way we live.
The study of the nature of God is what we call theology.
Every week we when we hear the word preached, we participate in theology
Every time we read our Bibles, we are participate in theology…
for every time we hear God’s word, we do so to know God more
And there is a particular study within theology called eschatology. And let me define what eschatology is: the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the last day
This is what 1 Corinthians 15 is all about… it’s looking at what will happen in the end of history... specifically for those who are saved and in Christ because they have placed their faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. And we know that because Jesus is alive and risen from the grave, we too will be raised with him. That’s what we saw last week:
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
So, with this truth in mind, that those who are in Christ will resurrected from the grave, we must remember that everything we do in this life should be done in light of knowing that there is life beyond the grave.
With this in mind let us look at tonight’s text:
29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
Now this passage is very confusing for multiple reasons… for one we aren’t told who are the ones being baptized, whether it’s those in the church or those outside the church… and furthermore, we don’t see the this kind of baptism on behalf of the dead nowhere else in Scripture.
And while this verse is very unclear, the Bible is very clear on what is required for salvation:
First of all, what is needed for salvation is grace and faith… and not work
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Or take it from Paul in
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
There is no external act that we can do to contribute to our salvation… including baptism
Furthermore, one cannot be forgiven after they die…
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
or the story of the rich man and poor Lazarus
The rich man wishing to have relief from his torment in Hades is told:
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
That is to say, that after one dies, there is no redo… if you die apart from Christ, you will be eternally separated from God in hell.
With this in mind let’s go back to our text
29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
Paul doesn’t correct those who are practicing this baptism on behalf of the dead, even though it runs strongly against the gospel that Paul preached… so what is going on here?
Well, this is likely a reference to a common practice that the Corinthians were familiar with that was being practiced by those who had no knowledge of God or the gospel…
With this in mind:
1) Even those who have no knowledge of God or the gospel at least know that what they do in this life matters if there is life after death.
1) Even those who have no knowledge of God or the gospel at least know that what they do in this life matters if there is life after death.
Paul isn’t condoning this practice, or any other practice that runs contrary to the gospel… but what he is showing the Corinthians is how even those who have no knowledge of God, still know that what is done in life counts for something.
There is more than… nothing… after death…
There is either judgment and eternal torment and separation from God… for those who have not put their faith in Jesus
Or there is eternal life and the resurrection from the grave.... for those who put their faith in Jesus and repent of their sins
But to be clear…
we are not saved by any works
we cannot be saved after we die
But Paul brings this before the Corinthian church, because they are denying the resurrection… they are denying that there is life after death… they are denying a doctrine that virtually every other religion acknowledges.
And further, Paul uses this in his argument to show the church that their poor theology is producing in them a tolerance to sin.
Paul has been addressing these sins throughout 1 Cor… but take 1 Cor 5.1 as just one of many examples where this is seen
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
This sin, that the church in Corinth was okay with, was such a gross sin that even the pagans who have no knowledge of God would never ever allow it or put up with it.
Paul is showing the Corinthians and us that proper theology is practical, and it should change the way that we live.
And if it isn’t clear by v 29, he makes it very clear in v 30-32.
Paul is going to show us this: that
2) Poor theology leads to unrighteousness.
2) Poor theology leads to unrighteousness.
Paul here shows us the effect of what happens if we have poor theology - Remember, theology is the study of God and his nature… specifically Paul is hi-lighting poor eschatology that is the study of what happens in the end after we die…
30 Why are we in danger every hour?
Paul asks this question in relation to the Corinthian’s denial of the resurrection.
You all should know this… Being a Christian is not a walk in the park…… it is not easy… but if being a Christian is a danger
Because following Jesus is not guarantee that you will prosper, or have a life that that is not marked by loss or tragedy. If anything, following Jesus is marked by suffering.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Do you know that is what it means to follow Jesus?
Deny yourself - deny your sinful desires… your sinful delights… even dreams if they are outside the will of God…
Take up your cross - The cross is tool of death and suffering… the cross was a Roman instrument of crucifixion that perfected punishment that was reserved for the worst of criminals. The cross was intended to inflect the most painful, slow, excruciating and humiliating death that one could possibly imagine.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
It’s with this reality in mind that Paul writes
30 Why are we in danger every hour?
… why should one actually follow Jesus if there is no resurrection
For being a Christian was especially dangerous during the first Century when Paul wrote his this letter...
We today have little to no idea what it means to suffer for righteousness sake.
But Paul, he knew this suffering full and well…
31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!
Paul put his life on the line for the sake of Christ…
and not only for the Lord Jesus… but also for the Corinthians, and for all those that he brought the gospel to.
Paul elaborates on the kinds of suffering and near death experiences he went through:
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 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; 26 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; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
And it was not just Paul who suffered for righteousness sake, but every apostle minus one died a martyr’s death...
meaning that they were killed for preaching the gospel…
In fact, God even said of Paul at the beginning of his life in Christ:
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Paul elaborates on this suffering in v 32 of tonight’s text
32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Now if whether Paul is being literal or figurative about having fought beasts, we cannot know for sure… It’s possible that Paul be was put before wild animals to be killed similarly to Daniel, who was thrown into the Lion’s den, for Christians were often killed by all sorts of animals as a form of sport for those who wanted to watch Christians die in arenas much like the Roman colosseum…
But Paul might also be referring men who wanted to kill him as being beasts as well. Regardless, the emphasis is not who who fought, rather he is talking about his reward for his efforts:
“what do I gain” Paul says… for putting his life on the line
Paul is saying, that if there is no resurrection from the dead, then all his suffering is in vain…
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Why?
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
But if we have no reward… if there is no resurrection… then:
why try so hard
why work and labor
why deny yourself
why would you pick up your cross
why do anything at all that will cost you your life and your comfort if there is no resurrection?!
32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
What is described here, is a life that is only concerned with gaining all the pleasures that we can possibly experience in this life...
He is saying, if all there is for us is this life only, then we may as well live our best life here… Eat.... drink… indulge in the pleasures that we can… for tomorrow we die.
This is what we call hedonism… (not to be confused with Christian Hedonism)
But hedonism is this: it’s the though that argues that seeking pleasure and avoiding suffering are the only components of well-being.
This is a poor theology - and it leads to all sorts of unrighteousness
This hedonistic mindset is the mark of those who have no knowledge of God or the gospel....
This quote comes from Isa 22
12 In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Notice - they ignore God and do the very opposite of that which he commands.
God says weep and mourn… man says have joy and gladness
God says shave your head, wear sackcloth… man says eat drink, and be merry
This mindset comes from those who have no knowledge of God or the gospel.
It is a demonstration of those who are ignorant about the resurrection and judgment. This kind of life is lived by those who believe that this life is all that there is… and so they indulge in the maximum pleasure that they can find in this life while they have life left in them…
And this mindset produces all sorts of sin
While it is true, that the Christian life is one of great sacrifice, it is also one of an even far greater reward
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
But take away the reward, and all you have left is sacrifice and suffering
But this simply is not true the reality for the Christian… for we have a great reward
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
We need to know about this marvelous reward
We need to have good eschatology
You know why right?
B/c
3) Proper theology leads to righteousness.
3) Proper theology leads to righteousness.
A right understanding of the resurrection becomes a weapon in the hand of those who love Jesus and are waiting for him to return:
For by it we repent of our sins
by it we deny every temptation
By it we cling to Christ, knowing that he will complete the work that he has started.
33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
First of all… he says do not be deceived…
they are being tricked…
conned
and mislead
This is what Satan does… for he is a deceiver
This is his same same old trick that he has been playing since Genesis 3
And Satan still does this today through false teachers…
So Paul continues:
33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
Paul is telling them, that this poor teaching from is bad company, is destroying their righteousness… that is their good morals…
This is why Ps 1
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
I’m curious, do you take your righteousness seriously… or is it compromised because you surround yourself with those who do not love God…
For those who do not love God, will deceive you if you are not careful… They will pull you into their sin… And know this, even a little sin is not good… for
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
That is, just a little bit of leaven that is placed in a batch of dough, will cause the whole batch of it to rise…
So too, a little bit of sin defiles your whole body…
Paul continues
34 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.
Wake up from your drunken stupor…
for those who have been busy eating and drinking… from v32
and he says do not go on sinning.
Paul is calling the Corinthians to repentance.
that is turning away from our sins.
And we must take repentance seriously, for God
for
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
34 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.
Those who have no knowledge of God… live like fools indulging all their sinful habits…
But we, who have a proper knowledge of God should be ashamed of our sin… because we do have know that in the end, God will punish every enemy under his feet…
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Do not be deceived, and wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right and do not go on sinning…
Good theology is immensely practical, for by it comes strong motivation for killing sin and denying every temptation.
Good theology is a weapon against sin in the hand of every theologian.
And not only that, but good theology produces hope in the promises of God, such that we who know God grow in our love for him and obedience to him…
for we know, that God will reward those who love him and have obeyed him.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
1. What is the gospel? What is theology? What is eschatology?
The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ death for sin, his burial and his resurrection on the third day. (1 Cor. 15:3-4) This news is good news because even though all of us have sinned against God and deserve to die, those who have faith in Jesus and repent of their sins will be saved from the just wrath of God.
Theology is the study of the God.
Eschatology is a part of theology that is concerned with death, judgment, and the last day.
2. Why is proper theology practical?
Theology often seems boring and impractical to many people. This is unfortunate, for theology helps us know the nature of God, that he is good, gracious, and loving, but also in his goodness, he is just and will punish all sin either through the cross of Jesus Christ for those who believe, or by eternal torment for those who do not believe.
Theology gives Christians hope in times of hardship. It gives joy when life is full of sorrows. It gives us a motivation for righteousness. And it gives us a peace in knowing the God who sustains rescues his people.
3. How does a knowledge of the end when we are resurrected with God motivate you to live for God?
Paul described the many dangers and pains that he and every Christian will face in life. Being in Christ doesn’t mean that this life is free from sorrow, but it does mean is that God is working all things together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. We can be confident in this, that even though we will die, those who are in Christ will be resurrected and will enjoy eternity with God free from all the sorrows that we experience in this life.
4. Poor theology leads to a life that is full of sin. Paul summarizes like this: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” What is the error in such thinking?
If students are struggling to answer this question, then read Luke 12:13-21.
5. In 1 Cor 15:33 Paul writes “Bad company ruins good morals.” Do you compromise your righteousness by surrounding yourself with those who do not love God?
Read Ps 1:1-2 with your students.