Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon audio available [[here|http://www.firwoodchurch.com/podcast/the-most-important-thing-part-1-gospel-foundation/]].

! 1. INTRODUCTION – THE GOSPEL FOUNDATION

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!! a.

A Call for Believers to Remember

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1 Corinthians 15:1-11 is perhaps the most systematic Gospel presentation in the whole of Scripture and is, therefore, of great benefit to non-believers.

It is important to note, however, that this passage is addressed, not to unbelievers, but to brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul will begin with a reminder,

'Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you…' (1 Corinthians 15:1a)

It would seem, therefore, that there is a need for believers to be reminded of the Gospel we received on coming to faith.

Paul has a greater application in mind in calling believers to remembrance.

We must first, however, consider the shape and structure of his gospel summary.

!! b.

The Need for Urgent Application

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1 Corinthians 15:1-11 presents the would-be preacher with an unusual prospect that appears to defy traditional sermon structures.

The revealed wisdom is that sermons should be structured thus: exposition of the text, explanation of the text and then application of the text.

When we read this passage of Scripture, however, we find that Paul peculiarly chooses to begin this section with the application up front.

A number of years ago I was living with some student friends in rented accommodation.

One day I was working from home as the landlord was undertaking some electrical repairs.

There was a switch not too far from the front door that had been causing minor electrical shocks and the landlord had disconnected this until he had opportunity to repair the faulty wiring.

This was his opportunity.

I remember him shouting me part way through the job and telling me that he was nipping home to get some tools, he warned me not to touch the switch as it was now live and dangerous.

Shortly after this one of my housemates arrived home unexpectedly early.

I remember shouting like some lunatic from upstairs, ‘Don’t touch the switch’.

You see what I did there?

I led straight off with the application.

A couple of months ago when my now 19 month old son, Gideon Thomas, was just beginning to toddle, I arrived home from work as Caroline, my wife, was preparing dinner.

The oven was on and I stupidly left the gate between the living room and the kitchen open.

As Caroline was asking me about my day, I caught movement in my peripheral vision and looked just in time to see Gideon toddling towards the oven, water steaming away in pans on the hob.

Can you guess what I did?

Yes, I moved straight to the application: ‘Caroline, watch Gideon!’

Now, I could have handled both of these incidents somewhat differently.

I could have begun with explanation, ‘You will never guess what happened today’, or even outline the implications behind my intended application, ‘Do you know what, electricity can be very dangerous, deadly even’.

The problem with this is that the situation poses immediate danger.

Immediate action and application is required in order to prevent serious injury or even death.

!! c.

The Reason for the Need for Urgent Application

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!!! i.

In Corinth

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The situation in Corinth circa AD 50 is similarly dangerous.

Picture the scene, Paul arrives in Corinth in either 48 or 49 AD and spends 18 months preaching the Gospel, discipling new converts and establishing the church.

He then embarks on a third missionary journey and arrives in Ephesus around 53 AD.

He writes this letter from Ephesus between 53 and 55 AD.

The question we must ask is what happened in the intervening period that should require an intervention as stark and even harsh as this letter to the Corinthian church.

In reading 1 Corinthians, a number of themes reoccur.

Paul addresses their apparent confidence in their own wisdom and knowledge and in their social superiority and writes,

'For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."'

(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

In seems that in Paul’s absence an arrogant spirit has infiltrated the church and that this has manifested itself in rival camps (‘I follow Paul or I follow Apollos or I follow Cephas’, 1 Corinthians 3), hyper-spirituality fed by an over-realised eschatology and outright immorality.

!!! ii.

Today

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Fundamentally, things do not change: Evangelicalism in 2009 feels very much like Corinth in the middle of the First Century.

Similarly, the church is under attack from high profile distortions of the gospel resulting in the health, wealth and prosperity gospel, the self-help gospel and charismania.

All of this results from an over-realised eschatology and an unhealthy fixation on the now.

I want prosperity, health, comfort, solutions, influence and authority NOW.

!! d.

Application Explained: Receive, Stand, Hold Fast

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'Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.' (1 Corinthians 15:1-3)

The object is the gospel, Paul will return to this and define the fundamental of the gospel in a moment, but he leads off by instructing the Corinthian believers in terms of the application of this lesson.

The application of the gospel as set forth in these two verses forcefully resist any gospel-distorting emphasis on the now.

!!! i.

The Gospel must be received

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Paul begins with the truth that the gospel must be received.

If you are believer in Christ you will know this to be the case as you will have experienced this receiving of the gospel in your own life.

Someone somewhere proclaims the gospel and, as you hear, it becomes more than an idea that is out there, it becomes a reality which takes root in your soul.

This is more than believing it is receiving.

We do not simply believe that the gospel is propositionally true, but we accept it as /the/ truth.

!!! ii.

The Gospel is the thing in which we stand

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To receive the Gospel inevitable leads to a life that is then grounded upon the Gospel.

It is not possible to genuinely receive the Gospel and then continue to live life as before.

The Gospel changes everything.

We receive Christ as Redeemer to live a life of freedom, hating and fleeing from sin.

We receive Christ as merciful Saviour and are call to show forth the mercy and love of Christ.

We receive Christ as the light and are called to walk in the light as he is in the light (1 John 1:7).

Everything changes.

We received the Gospel and we stand in the Gospel.

It is the thing that keeps us secure, that enables us to live the life Christ calls us to live.

The Gospel is more than just a prayer, more than just a momentary – even emotional – response.

It is a decision that results in a life change and the evidence of this life change is seen in fruit in keeping with righteousness.

And so, this standing in the Gospel is evidenced in a love of Christ, a love of Scripture, a love of our brothers and sisters in Christ and the fruit of the Spirit made manifest in increasing measure.

!!! iii.

The Gospel must be held fast

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The outworking of the Gospel is salvation for those who believe.

In this sense, the Gospel is conditional, believers are exhorted to ‘hold fast to the word I preached to you’.

All Christians are called to hold faithfully to the Gospel, indeed more than this, Jude urges us to ‘to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).

Those who stand firm to the end will be saved.

! 2. THE GOSPEL DEFINED

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'For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.'

(1 Corinthians 15:3-7)

!! a.

The Origin of the Gospel

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The Gospel did not originate with Paul.

Paul, like us, received the Gospel.

Paul, unlike us, received the Gospel directly from the risen and exalted Christ.

This is important in that it elevates Paul to the same position as the Old Testament Prophets; he speaks on behalf of God.

Indeed, in the previous chapter, Paul defines true spirituality as recognition of his apostolic authority,