Because He Lives…
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
There are certain truths in life that everything else depends on.
If the foundation of a house is weak, it doesn’t matter how nice the paint is… the house won’t stand.
If the engine in your car is gone, it doesn’t matter how shiny it looks… unless you have a whole in the floor big enough for your legs to get through… you’re not going anywhere.
If your phone battery is dead, it doesn’t matter how advanced the phone is… it’s not doing anything.
If the heart stops beating, it doesn’t matter how healthy the rest of the body looks… life is gone.
And the same is true when it comes to Christianity.
There is one truth that everything else stands on…
One truth that, if removed, causes the entire faith to collapse.
And that truth is the fact that…
Jesus Christ is alive.
That’s what Easter is all about.
not bunnies,
not eggs…
but a Savior who walked out of the grave alive!
It’s not just that Jesus died… because many people have died.
It’s not just that Jesus was buried… many people have been buried.
But that three days after Jesus was dead and buried, He got up and walked out of the grave.
And here’s the main point that I want you to see this morning:
Because He lives… everything changes.
That’s exactly what Paul is dealing with in 1 Corinthians 15.
Some people were saying there is no resurrection and There are still people who say…
Jesus didn’t really rise…
it’s a myth,
a legend,
or something symbolic…
but not something that actually happened.
So Paul does something powerful—
He shows them what life would look like if Jesus had NOT risen…
…and then he reminds them of the glorious truth, by making the statement…
“But now Christ is risen from the dead…” (v. 20)
And so I want to spend some time this morning and look at some of the things that change… Because He Lives…
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-22…
Meat:
Lets dive right in this morning…
Number 1… Because He Lives…
1. Our Faith is not Empty
1. Our Faith is not Empty
v.14… Paul says
1 Corinthians 15:14 “… if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.”
Paul is laying the facts right out there…
“If Jesus is still in the grave…
Then everything we believe is empty.”
Some versions use the word vain… which means
useless,
pointless,
without substance.
In other words:
Preaching is just noise
Church is just a gathering
Faith is just wishful thinking
If there is no resurrection, Christianity is nothing more than a nice idea.
Let me put it to you this way…
If Jesus didn’t rise, then
we’re not celebrating a victory today…
We’re remembering a tragedy.
We’re not standing on truth…
We’re clinging to a myth…. …
Aren’t you glad that the Christ’s resurrection is not a myth?…
The Empty Tomb
The Testimony of hundreds of different people
The ones who were martyred because they would not deny what they saw…
All point to the fact that our faith is not empty… …
Jesus is alive!
That means when you trust Him,
you’re not trusting a dead religious leader…
Our faith truly is, in a RISEN Savior!
Secondly… Because He Lives…
2. Our Sin is not Final
2. Our Sin is not Final
v.17…
1 Corinthians 15:17 “… if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”
If Jesus didn’t rise, then we are still stuck in our sin…
Which is a huge problem for us!
Sin…
separates us from God
brings guilt into our lives
Ultimately leads to an eternity in Hell…
If Jesus stayed in the grave, then…
There’s no forgiveness
There’s No cleansing
There’s No hope…
No wonder Paul says that our faith would be “futile”… or useless…
But the resurrection proves that the payment for our sin was accepted…
Think about it this way…
When a man is on death row, serving a sentence for his crimes—
the moment that sentence is carried out…
the debt is paid.
Justice has been satisfied.
There’s nothing left to owe.
So, when Jesus died on the cross, His dead body was proof that a price had been paid for sin.
But when He walked out of that grave three days later…
that was proof the payment was accepted.
As Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death…”
Jesus took those wages for us.
And because He lives…
you and I are no longer under that sentence.
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”
He served our sentence in our place…
And now, because of the resurrection…
we’re not waiting on judgment…
we’re walking in freedom…
Sin has been paid for
Justice has been satisfied
Salvation is complete
Your sin is not final…
You can be forgiven.
You can be made new.
You can be set free.
Not because you’re good… … But because He Lives.
Now we get to the point in the passage where Paul shifts from the “What if’s” to the “What is”.… and I want you to see that,
Because He lives…
3. Our Future is Secure
3. Our Future is Secure
Paul says in v.20…
1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
firstfruits were the first part of the harvest… They were a guarantee that more was coming.
So when Paul calls Jesus the “firstfruits,” he’s saying:
Jesus’ resurrection is not the end… it’s the beginning.
And for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Christ…
The death of our physical body is not end…
The Apostle Paul made that very clear when he said in… 2 Corinthians 5:8
8 … I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
For those of us who have put our faith and trust in Christ…
The grave is not the final destination
Later in the chapter, that we looking at today, Paul speaking of believers, says… 1 Corinthians 15:52
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The grave was not a final resting place for Jesus and it won’t be a final resting place for His followers either…
We live in a world filled with uncertainty.
Health can fail
Jobs can disappear
Life can change in a moment
But because Jesus lives… Our future is not uncertain… it is secure.
Because the same power that raised Jesus… will one day raise us as well…
And finally… Because He Lives…
4. We Have Victory Today
4. We Have Victory Today
v.22…
1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
Paul is comparing two realities…
Every one of us is born into Adam.
That doesn’t mean just physically… it means spiritually.
Adam was the head of the human race.
And when Adam sinned, sin didn’t just affect him… it affected all of us.
Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”
I am not sure if you have ever noticed this… but,
you don’t have to teach a child how to sin.
You don’t have to train someone to do wrong.
Why?…
Because it’s already in us… We are born with it…
Because of Adam:
We are born sinners
We are separated from God
We are under the sentence of death
But here’s the good news…
Just like Adam represents one family…
Jesus represents another…
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, something changes:
You are no longer “in Adam”
You are now “in Christ”
And everything that comes with Adam…
sin,
guilt,
and death…
… is now replaced with what comes from Christ…
Life
forgiveness
and righteousness…
Because Jesus lives:
You can have victory over sin
You can find strength in moments of weakness
You can have peace in the middle of chaos
Closing:
Because He lives…
Your faith is not empty
Your sin is not final
Your future is secure
And your life can have victory
But all of that comes down to one very personal question…
What have you done with Jesus Christ?
Not what do you know about Him…
Not what have you’ve heard…
Not what did you grow up around…
But have you personally repented of your sin and trusted Him as your Savior?
You see, Jesus didn’t just die as a good man…
He died as your substitute.
He took your place.
He paid your debt.
And when He rose from the grave…
He proved that everything He said was true.
Romans 10:9 says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
But this isn’t just about words…
It’s about a heart that truly believes…
A life that is truly changed.
Because a real encounter with a risen Savior… will never leave you the same.
So let me ask you plainly this morning…
Does your life reflect the Lord you claim to follow?
Are you still dead in your sins from Adam…
or have you been made alive “in Christ”?
If you have any questions or doubts about what you’ve heard this morning, you can come and talk with me…
Or if someone invited you here this morning… a friend or family member… I encourage you to ask them, how their life has been changed because of Jesus’ Death, Burial and Resurrection…
I am certain they’d be more than happy to answer that question for you.
Remember…
Because He Lives… Everything Changes!
