CWC -Epiphany 6 - Epistle Lesson - Kieth Bernard Kuschel
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
(12) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (16) For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. {17} And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. {18} Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. {19} If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. {20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Enumerate blessings of God
Jesus’ Resurrection Guarantees our Blessings
I. Forgiveness of our sins
A. If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven,
what would you tell him?
1. I am a nice person
2. I am a relatively nice person
3. I try harder
4. There is no way He would let me into heaven because of me
B. Christian response
1. #4 above is Christian response
2. Because Jesus took away my sins
3. Because Jesus’ covers me with His holiness
C. How do you know that is true
1. Bible says so, God’s plan, Jesus’ resurrection
2. Without resurrection vs 17= verdict is guilty
II. Resurrection of our bodies
A. What is going to happen to you when you die
1. Nothing. Dead - gone
2. Become an angel - spirit (Medieval, modern)
3. Problem in Corinth
B. Christian response
1.Body is buried, souls go to be with Lord
2. Bodies raised on last day and enter eternity
3. This confidence makes us live our lives to the Lord
C. How do you know that is true
1. Bible says so, God’s plan, Jesus’ resurrection
2. If no resurrection of Jesus, none for us
IA1 If you were to ask somebody on the street, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you get? One category of answers would sound like: “I would tell Him that I am a pretty nice person. I am helpful to the people around me. I take care of the needs of the people dependent on me. I shoulder my responsibilities.”
2 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I am a relatively nice person. I have trouble with my temper, but I don’t beat my wife as my neighbor does. I have a little trouble with self-indulgence but I don’t waste all my money at the casino as my neighbor does. I do try to get out of things once in a while, but I am not a lazy good for nothing welfare cheat like some people. It should be obvious to God that I am better than those people.”
3 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I know that I am not perfect, but I try my best. When I hurt somebody’s feelings, I try to make it up by being extra helpful the next time. When I do something that is damaging to somebody’s physical well-being, I try to not only fix what I have done, but go overboard in taking care of that person the next time I see he or she needs something. When I slip up on my responsibilities, I try to take a double load the next time. It should be obvious to God that I try hard to make up for my mistakes.”
4 Another category of answers would sound like this: “There is no way that God would let me into heaven. Look. I have done some pretty nasty things in my life. Even if other people would say, “That isn’t so bad,” if God has any kind of standard that He holds to, I can’t measure up to it. There is no way that I could point to myself and say, “God, You have to let me into heaven.”
B1 If I were to ask you, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you give? Would any of the categories of answers which I quoted above come out of your mouth? The last one should be in there somewhere. “I have done some pretty nasty things in my life. Even if other people would say, “That isn’t so bad,” if God has any kind of standard that He holds to, I can’t measure up to it. There is no way that I could point to myself and say, “God, You have to let me into heaven.”
2 If I were to ask you, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you give? Your answers don’t talk about yourselves. Your answers talk about Jesus. “Lord, you should let me into heaven because my sins have been removed. They would keep me out of heaven. But You took them off me and put them on Jesus. Jesus then took them to the cross. There He suffered the death and hell I deserve because of my sins. Since You have already punished Jesus for my sins, there is no reason for You to punish me. Since my sins have been taken away by Jesus, there is no barrier to keep me out of heaven. You should let me into heaven because of what Jesus did for me.”
3 But, what would you say, if God then said, “But I only let holy people into heaven.” Again your answers don’t talk about you. Your answers talk about Jesus. “Lord You should let me into heaven because Jesus has given me His holiness. He lived that holiness as a real human being so He could be my Substitute. It is as if I lived that holiness. Since Jesus has lived that holiness for me and given it to me, I am covered with it. You should let me into heaven because of what Jesus did for me.”
C1 Those answers will satisfy God, but what about all the critics we have to deal with now. The critics who say, “How do you know that is true.” “The Bible says so.” “What if they Bible is wrong?” How do you know it is true then?” “It was God’s plan.” “How do you know God’s plan worked? How do you know Jesus’ life was worth enough to pay for your sins? How do you know Jesus’ perfect life was accepted as the basis for God’s gift of holiness to you?” “Jesus’ rose.” Jesus’ resurrection guarantees God’s blessings for us - one of those blessings is the forgiveness of sins.
2 What if Jesus hadn’t risen? God would have been saying, “Jesus’ death is not sufficient payment for the sins of the world. It didn’t work. Jesus’ life is not the source of holiness for people. It didn’t work.” Paul writes: {17} And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile (worthless); you are still in your sins(They are not forgiven. The verdict is: “You are guilty. Go to hell.”
IIA1 If you were to ask somebody on the street, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, what kind of answers would you get? One category of answers would sound like: “Nothing is going to happen. When you’re dead, you’re dead. You stop being a person. The elements which make up your body rot. You go back to being a part of the dirt. That’s it. Period. End of story.”
2 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I am going to become part of the spiritual world. Like an angel. I won’t be limited by my body or anything physical.” If we were still living in the middle ages, people might think in terms of the disembodied spirits floating free in the world and influencing events in the world. Ghost and goblins kind of thinking. Today people might say, “This will be such freedom. All the negatives of the present have to do with the physical. I sure hope I don’t have to come back and be an embodied being again. I want to just stay a spiritual being.”
3 The people in the congregation in the city of Corinth were struggling with the question: “What is going to happen to you when you die?” Some didn’t believe there was a physical resurrection of the dead. They were influenced to believe that by the prevailing attitude in Greek philosophy which said everything spiritual is good and everything physical is bad. They believed that Jesus was their Savior who had risen from the dead, but that there was no resurrection from the dead available to humans. Thus the question from Paul: (12) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Paul gives his answer to his own question in verse 16, pointing out the inconsistency of their belief: (16) For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
B1 If I were to ask you, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, what kind of answers would you give? Your answers would sound something like this: “My body is going to stop functioning. It will gradually erode into the basic elements of which it consists. But my soul, what makes me me, will not die or go out of existence. That soul will be taken to be with the Lord. It will continue to be with the Lord until Judgment Day. No free floating disconnected spiritual existence.”
2 If I were to ask you, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, your answer wouldn’t stop there. You would probably continue: “But that is only a temporary situation. On the last day the Lord is going to gather up all the souls of the people who have died and reunite them with their bodies. In most instances that means He will have to reformulate their bodies, because their bodies will have decomposed totally. At that point then He will make a public declaration about all the reconstituted people and all the other people who are still alive on Judgment Day. Those who trusted that Jesus lived and died and rose for them and gave them forgiveness and holiness will be welcomed into eternity in perfection with the Lord. Those who didn’t believe in Jesus as their Savior God will send away from Him and His blessings forever.”
3 If you are really talkative your answer might continue: “That’s why I live the way I do now. I live to the Lord now because I am going to live with Him forever. I make sacrifices to insure that I stay close to Him now so that I will stay close to Him forever. I put up with ridicule now because I know my relationship with Him is forever and my relationships with people are temporary. My future shapes my present.” Paul comments from the negative: {19} If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
C1 And the critics say again, “How do you know that is true.” “The Bible says so.” “What if they Bible is wrong? How do you know it is true then?” “It was God’s promise.” “How do you know God’s promise will be kept?” “Jesus’ rose.” Jesus’ resurrection guarantees God’s blessings for us - one of those blessings is the resurrection of our bodies. Paul’s comment is:{20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In other words, Christ rose first, that means we will follow.”
2 What if Jesus hadn’t risen? God would have been saying, “Jesus’ didn’t conquer death. None of His promises are any good.” Paul writes: {18} Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” {20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In other words, Christ rose first, that means we will follow.”
Conc: We Christians always have the same answer to “How do you know?” The answer is: Jesus rose