€¦  · Web view10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.12 All have turned away, they have together

February 21, 2010 Pastor David King

Part 29 | THE RESURRECTION: By This Gospel You Are Saved | 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

First Corinthians…Sinners Yet Saints“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

1) THE GOSPEL IS THE GOOD NEWSa. εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion) | eu=good and angelion=message or news

used 81 times in the NTKey passages: Rom. 1:16, Gal. 1:6ff, Eph. 6:19, Col. 1:5-6, 23, 2 Tim. 1:8-10

Romans 1:16 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Galatians 1:6-9 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Colossians 1:5-6 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.

Colossians 1:23 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

2 Timothy 1:8-10 8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in

Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

b. What was the bad news? We are sinners deserving hell (Rom. 3, 6:23)

Romans 3:10-23 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16 ruin and misery mark their ways,17 and the way of peace they do not know.”18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

c. What is the good news? See the next two points!

2) THE GOSPEL IS JESUS CHRIST DIED TO PAY SIN’S PENALTYa. Jesus Is God (John 5, 10:28-31 and countless others!)

John 10:28-31 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.30 I and the Father are one.”

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,

b. Jesus Died In the Place of Sinners (1 Pet. 1:18, 2 Cor. 5:21, Isa. 53)

1 Peter 1:18 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,

2 Corinthians 5:21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 53 1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was

numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

c. Jesus Death Satisfied Sin’s Penalty (Rom. 3:23ff, 1 Jn 4:10, Heb. 2:17ff)

Romans 3:23-26 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

1 John 4:10 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Hebrews 2:17-18 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

3) THE GOSPEL IS JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO PROVE HIS ULTIMATE VICTORYa. The Historical Proof-The Empty Grave (Matthew 28:1-10)

Matthew 28:1-10 1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

b. The Historical Proof-The Roman Soldiers (Matt. 28:11-15)

Matthew 28:11-15 11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.”15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

c. The Historical Proof-The Eye-Witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 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.

d. The Historical Proof-The Martyred Apostles and Saints

Question: "Does the Bible record the death of the apostles? How did each of the apostles die?"

Answer: The only apostle whose death the Bible records is James (Acts 12:2). King Herod had James “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading. The circumstances of the deaths of the other apostles are related through church tradition, so we should not put too much weight on any of the other accounts. The most commonly accepted church tradition in regard to the death of an apostle is that the apostle Peter was crucified upside-down on an x-shaped cross in Rome in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy (John 21:18). The following are the most popular “traditions” concerning the deaths of the other

apostles:

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound. John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

James, the brother of Jesus (not officially an apostle), was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club. This is thought to be the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the temptation.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed in present-day Turkey and was martyred for his preaching in Armenia, being flayed to death by a whip. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died. The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there. Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded. The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67. There are traditions regarding the other apostles as well, but none with any reliable historical or traditional support.

It is not so important how the apostles died. What is important is the fact that they were all willing to die for their faith. If Jesus had not been resurrected, the disciples would have known it. People will not die for something they know to be a lie. The fact that all of the apostles were willing to die horrible deaths, refusing to renounce their faith in Christ, is tremendous evidence that they had truly witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Recommended Resource: Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe.

4) THE GOSPEL IS MANKIND’S ONLY HOPE FOR SALVATION—1 Corinthians 15:2, “By This You are Saved…”NIV

John 14:6, “…I am the Way, the Truth, the Life, No Man comes to the Father, but by me.”

Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Acts 4:10-12 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The good news that has been handed down to us from God Himself is that Jesus Christ died and rose again to pay sin’s penalty, once, for all! Jesus Christ loved you and me so much that He willingly died in our place. John 15 says, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for His friends… That indeed is what Jesus did, but Jesus died not for those who called him friend, but for those who were his enemies. Romans 5 says, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God loves you so much that he did not wait for you to call out to Him, but rather in the midst of your sin, He sent God in the flesh, Jesus to die for you and all of mankind.

Let me close with possibly the most quoted, memorized and loved verse of the entire Bible, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God loves you; Jesus died and rose to pay for your sins. Believe on Him today for the forgiveness of your sins!

Small Group Discussion:Question #1—What are the essentials one must believe in order to have eternal life?

Question #2—What does genuine saving faith look like?

Question #3—The word repent is a military word that means to do an about face. You were going, believing or thinking one way and you then change your thinking, direction, belief and head another direction. This word has been highly debated in recent days as being essential for salvation and for a salvation presentation.

The Bible does use this word repent on several occasions, but the essential word used in the Bible in relation to salvation is the greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō) which is translated believe or have faith. This means to put one’s faith or confidence in someone or something.

#3a--Can the gospel be presented properly without using the word repent?

The book of John is the treatise on believing and nowhere in the book is the word repent used.

#3b-Can a person repent without believing in the gospel?

#3c-Can a person believe the gospel without repenting?

Final Question…How does repentance and belief intersect when it comes to believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The term believe as used in the Bible in relationship to salvation calls for a person to reject all other “beliefs” and turn to belief in Jesus Christ’s completed work on the cross. When a child is learning math and they answer the question wrong, we don’t tell them “repent” of your wrong answer. No, we show them the right answer and when they embrace that right answer and

method they must in turn “repent” of their wrong answer. They change their mind on the matter.

Salvation is much the same way. We are calling people to believe in Jesus alone to the exclusion of their former false belief systems.

The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 was written by Paul to establish the absolute truth and necessity for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection there is no salvation from sin because Jesus would not have been God and would therefore not have power over sin, death and the grave. Jesus’ death paid sin’s penalty and Jesus’ resurrection proved His Power over death, sin and the grave!

15:1-2. The gospel Paul had preached in Corinth (2:1-2) had not changed; but he feared that just as there had been declension in the church concerning the message of Christ crucified and its implication for believers, the same was happening with regard to the message of Christ resurrected. As the former message was an essential element in the Corinthians’ experience of ongoing salvation (the pres. tense of the verb saved focuses on sanctification), so was the latter. To reject bodily resurrection eviscerated “the gospel” and made faith vain (eikē, “without cause” or “without success”; cf. vv. 14, 17) because it had an unworthy object (cf. 15:13, 17). Believing the gospel includes holding firmly to belief in Christ’s resurrection. Unless one holds firmly, his belief is “in vain”; cf. Matt. 13:18-22).15:3-5. Paul included himself in the company of all believers

when he spoke of receiving the truth of Christ’s death and His resurrection on behalf of sinful people. These verses, the heart of the gospel, were an early Christian confession which Paul described as of first importance. It was really a twofold confession: Christ died for our sins and He was raised. The reality of this was verified by the Scriptures (e.g., Ps. 16:10; Isa. 53:8-10) and by historical evidence verified by time in the grave and out of it, in the presence of the living. The fact that He was buried verified His death, and the fact that He appeared to others verified His resurrection. Peter, the first male witness, was soon joined by the remain ing disciples who composed the Lord’s immediate circle.15:6. Later a much larger company of believers witnessed His

resurrection. The 500 . . . brothers may have formed the audience who received the commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 (cf. Acts 1:3-8). Since most of those were still living when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, they could be consulted.15:7-8. Some have debunked this Resurrection appearance as

simply the pious vision of believers seeing with the eyes of faith. But Paul could have cited the testimony of two for whom that was not true, James, the half brother of Jesus, and himself. Like Paul, James probably came to faith (cf. John 7:5 with Acts 1:14) because of an appearance of the resurrected Christ (Acts 9:3-6; 22:6-11). Paul considered himself abnormally born because he lacked the

“gestation” period of having been with Christ during His earthly ministry (cf. Acts 1:21-22). It seems that the apostles were a body wider than the previously mentioned Twelve (cf. comments on Eph. 4:11), but were all distinguished by having seen the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 9:1) which made Paul the last of their company.15:9. Because he was the last, like a runt, untimely born, Paul

could call himself the least of the apostles. He felt less deserving of the office because he had been an opponent of the church (cf. Acts 22:4; 1 Tim. 1:15-16) which he now served (2 Cor. 4:5).15:10. He realized, however, that his past was simply a

backdrop on which to display the grace of God (cf. 1:3), the grace to which Paul had been so responsive. Indeed Paul was without peer in his devotion (cf. 9:19-27). The history of the church confirms that his devotion was not without effect (kenē, “empty”; cf. 15:14). He had worked harder than any of the other apostles, as he traveled more, suffered more opposition, wrote more New Testament epistles, and founded more churches. Yet Paul knew and ministered with the recognition that it was not his power but God’s (2:4-5) which produced results (3:6).15:11. In the final analysis it was not the messenger but the

message which was important (cf. 1:18-4:5), and in that regard the apostolic message was that the crucified Christ became the resurrected Christ, which message Paul did preach and the Corinthians believed.1

1Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:542-543