Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Have you ever heard of a man named Harry Houdini?
Many of you have.
He died in October of 1926.
But, his claim to fame was that he was a magician who specialized in spectacular escapes.
As a matter of fact, he was said to have laughed at locks and to have sneered at fetters.
They said of Harry that he had the flexibility of an eel; he had the lives of a cat.
They did all kinds of things to try to incarcerate him.
They would seal him in coffins—he would escape.
They riveted him into a boiler—he escaped.
They sewed him up in canvas bags—he escaped.
They locked him in a milk can—he escaped.
They sealed him in a beer barrel—he escaped.
They put him in a maximum- security prison, and old Harry somehow got out.
But then, in October 1926, Old Man Death laid his hands upon Harry Houdini, and put him in a grave; and, he has yet to escape.
As a matter of fact, he told his wife, "If there is any way out, I will find it.
If there is any way out, I'll make contact with you—and, we'll do it on the anniversary of my death."
For 10 years, she kept a light burning over his portrait.
At the end of 10 years, she turned out the light.
Death had Harry, and he couldn't escape.
Death laid his hands on the Lord Jesus Christ, also.
And, Death put Jesus in a rock- hewn tomb.
And, there was a stone in the mouth of that tomb, and the seal of the Roman government was placed upon that tomb.
But, on the third day, Jesus Christ stirred Himself.
He rose from the sleep of death.
And, He left those grave clothes that were wrapped around him like a butterfly would forsake a cocoon.
And, Jesus Christ passed through the walls of that rock-hewn tomb.
By the way, the stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out—it was rolled away to let the disciples in to see that Jesus had come back.
And, Jesus Christ is alive.
He is not behind us in a tomb; He is before us on a throne.
We thank God for that.
But, I want to ask you a question: Suppose that had not happened.
Suppose Death still held Jesus, like it does Harry.
Then, what?
Suppose there had been no Easter.
Well, the Apostle Paul talks about that, and I want you to see what he's talking about here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:12-20.
The Apostle Paul ask a question:
Now, the Apostle Paul mentions a thing unthinkable.
The thing unthinkable is this: suppose there had been no Easter; suppose Jesus Christ is still in that grave.
If that is true, he says there are six tragic things that you need to consider—if there is no Easter.
1 Corinthians 15:
Now, the Apostle Paul mentions a thing unthinkable.
The thing unthinkable is this: suppose there had been no Easter; suppose Jesus Christ is still in that grave.
If that is true, he says there are six tragic things that you need to consider—if there is no Easter.
Now, the Apostle Paul mentions a thing unthinkable.
The thing unthinkable is this: suppose there had been no Easter; suppose Jesus Christ is still in that grave.
If that is true, he says there are six tragic things that you need to consider—if there is no Easter.
I. Preaching Would Be Profitless
The very first of these is that preaching is profitless.
Look, if you will, in
1 Corinthians 14
Now, the word vain means, "empty; futile; with no purpose; a colossal waste of time."
Listen.
Ladies and gentlemen, if there is no Easter, then you and I are wasting our time by being here; I'm wasting my time by preaching, and you are wasting yours by listening, and we all ought to do something else.
Our preaching is vain.
It is futile.
It is worthless.
It is profitless.
There is no profit in it, if Christ is still in the grave.
Why is that?
Because, ladies and gentlemen, the heart of the gospel is this—do you want me to tell you what the gospel is? You'll find it in the first few verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
It is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was raised again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
And, the Apostle Paul says, friend, this is the gospel.
And, there is no preacher who can preach the gospel, unless he preaches the resurrection of Jesus.
And, without that, preaching it's profitless; a man might as well not preach.
We'll just close up shop and go home.
One poor, misguided, benighted preacher stood in his pulpit and said, as some try to say today, that the body of Jesus Christ still lies in a nameless tomb grave, but His deathless spirit marches onward.
Do you know what that man ought to do?
He ought to get out of the pulpit and get an honest job.
That's what he ought to do.
If he doesn't believe that Jesus Christ came out of that grave, then his preaching is vain, vacuous, empty, meaningless, and futile.
If Christ be not raised, then our preaching is vain.
II.
Faith Would Be Foolish
And then, he mentions something else, in verse 14: Not only is preaching profitless, but faith is foolish, if Christ is still in the grave.
Notice he goes on to say, in verse 14:
1 cor
That is, you're trusting something that doesn't deserve your trust.
I mean, who wants to put his faith in Jesus, if Jesus is dead?
It's not enough to believe that Christ died for your sins, if you don't believe that God raised Him, also, from the dead.
Your faith is vain.
The Bible says,
But, if you don't believe that God raised Him from the dead, then your faith is foolish.
You see, this is the difference between Jesus Christ and the other founders of the other religions: They lived; they died; they are dead.
Jesus lived; He died; and, He rose again.
Friend, there is no need to follow a loser.
Jesus has escaped death.
And, the Bible says—the Apostle Paul said it in
Romans 1:4
How do I know He is the Son of God? How do I know that He can save me?
How do I know the Bible is true?
How do I know the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus Christ
()? I'll tell you how: God brought Him from the dead, and that was God's stamp of approval on all that He said, and did, and taught.
He was shown to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.
We don't serve a dead Savior.
A dead Savior is nobody's Savior.
A little boy was in the classroom, and the teacher gave this assignment: Write an essay on the world's greatest living man.
Some wrote about the President.
Others wrote about members of Congress.
Some wrote about people in the entertainment world.
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