The Importance of the Resurrection
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Transcript
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The Importance of the Resurrection
The Importance of the Resurrection
We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ this morning. We celebrate it every year, and therefore we know that it is important to the Christian faith.
But have you ever stopped and wondered why we celebrate it? The age-old objection to anything new is “We ain’t never done it that way before…,” and perhaps your reply to why we celebrate the resurrection is “We’ve always celebrated it! Jesus rose again!”
Our focus this morning is on why it is so important that Jesus rose from the dead. We are going to consider six reasons (and there are many more) why the resurrection is important with two goals from the 15th chapter of First Corinthians.
One: if you are a Christian, understanding the importance of the resurrection should cause us to celebrate earnestly and worship fervently our gracious Triune God.
Two: if you are not a Christian, understanding the importance of the resurrection should cause you to mourn desperately and call out repent-fully to the saving Triune God.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to our salvation.
I. The Resurrection is part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- 15:1–4
I. The Resurrection is part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- 15:1–4
Paul begins this chapter with astounding claim that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is part of the Gospel. If we were to summarize the Gospel briefly this morning we would say it involves four things: God, man, Christ, and response.
God is the creator of all, including humanity. Nothing existed before creation (except God, He is eternal), and all that exists now does so by God’s will.
Human beings were created in God’s image and were originally without sin. Adam and Eve were placed in a literal paradise in the Garden of Eden and given a few commands and one prohibition: don’t eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If they did, God told Adam he would surely die. Adam disobeyed the Lord and through his willful choice plunged humanity into sin (Ephesians 2:1–3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” )
But God, being eternal, knew what would happened, and before He ever spoke anything into existence planned the redemption of His people through Christ. The Bible is a book, as Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum write, “centrally about what our triune Creator-covenant God has done to redeem us and to make everything new in Jesus Christ out Lord. But this involved Christ’s sacrifice for the unrighteous. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but in Christ we can be made alive.
That is where a response is necessary. You must believe the Gospel of Jesus. That Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again to give you new life!
The Corinthians, the individuals to whom Paul was writing, “received” this gospel. In other words, if Christ is not raised from the dead, we have no gospel.
But the gospel is also a historical fact!
II. The Resurrection is a historical fact- 15:3–8
II. The Resurrection is a historical fact- 15:3–8
Paul lists out several witnesses: Cephas (or, Peter), the twelve, 500 at one time, and then again to the apostles. It is an undeniable fact of Scripture that Jesus really rose from the dead.
We won’t go into detail with this, but it isa part of the Gospel and a fact of history.
III. The Resurrection is Essential to the Christian Faith- 15:12–19
III. The Resurrection is Essential to the Christian Faith- 15:12–19
Since it is a part of the Gospel, this point is similar, but I want to follow Paul’s line of thought here and expand the importance of the Resurrection in three significant points.
A. If Christ did not rise, Our Preaching is in Vain- 15:14
A. If Christ did not rise, Our Preaching is in Vain- 15:14
Paul’s focusing primarily on the preaching of the Gospel for salvation, not preaching in the sense of what we are doing this morning. If Christ did not rise from the grave, our preaching, our work to offer hope in the name of Jesus is vain, it is worthless.
We have no hope, we are dead in our trespasses and sins (15:17). Indeed, we are as Paul says to be of all men most pitied.
B. If Christ did not rise, Our Faith is in Vain- 15:14, 17
B. If Christ did not rise, Our Faith is in Vain- 15:14, 17
The second significant reason it is essential is that our faith would be in vain. Our belief in Jesus would be worthless if Christ did not rise from the dead.
Like kids bragging about how rich their parents are though they may be poor, it is worthless. Our faith, too, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is worthless.
C. If Christ did not rise, We are Misrepresenting God- 15:15
C. If Christ did not rise, We are Misrepresenting God- 15:15
Finally, Paul says that if Christ did not rise from the dead, we are misrepresenting God. How terrifying this thought is as well!
The resurrection is a part of the Gospel, a historical fact, essential to the Christian faith, and demonstrates Christ’s victory over death. *FALSE WITNESS*
IV. The Resurrection Defeats Death- 15:20–28
IV. The Resurrection Defeats Death- 15:20–28
The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates His defeat of death. Notice Paul’s line of thought: the last enemy to be defeated is death (15:26). Christ has defeated sin through His righteous life and sacrificial death. Christ has disarmed Satan and put them to open shame in His victory (Col. 2:15)
I imagine that all of us have had family members or dear friends die. Death separates us from our loved ones in this life. We will never be reunited in this life.
But the resurrection of Jesus Christ defeats death. It is, as Paul says in 15:26, the last enemy. We no longer fear death; its sting is gone. Paul touches on this in another letter he wrote.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
V. The Resurrection Guarantees Our Resurrection- 15:50–57
V. The Resurrection Guarantees Our Resurrection- 15:50–57
One of the reasons death has lost its sting is because Christ’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Christ is called “the firstfruits,” a levitical term that harkens us back to the sacrifices of the OT, of which we do not have time to discuss.
Paul expands and connects the resurrection of Jesus Christ with our resurrection. We will be raised, Paul says, just as Jesus was raised. We, the corruptible, will put on incorruptibility.
We will be changed! Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead.
VI. The Resurrection Enables Us to Live Confidently- 15:58
VI. The Resurrection Enables Us to Live Confidently- 15:58
Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important?
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is part of the Gospel that tells us how to be saved from sin.
The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. Our faith is built on a solid, undeniable event.
The resurrection is essential to the faith—our preaching and our faith is worthless and we are to be pitied.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ defeats death and guarantees our resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, among these, enables us to live confidently. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Be steadfast—do not be ashamed, be firm, like a 350 pound linebacker
Be immovable—do not be inconsistent, be like a rock that cannot be shifted
Be abounding…always—like a pecan tree overloaded with pecans, be abounding in the Work of the LORD, be a fruitful Christian
Why? Because your labor in the LORD is not in vain…why? Because Jesus Christ is alive!
One: if you are a Christian, understanding the importance of the resurrection should cause us to celebrate earnestly and worship fervently our gracious Triune God.
Two: if you are not a Christian, understanding the importance of the resurrection should cause you to mourn desperately and call out repent-fully to the saving Triune God.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to our salvation—and our daily lives.