Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning,

Please turn with me this morning to the book of Christianity is either real or it’s not real.

This is either fact or its fiction.

Christianity rises and falls with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul is addressing a group of people who are arguing one one hand that they are part of this community of faith, but on the other hand that somehow they do not believe not just in the resurrection of Christ but they dont believe in resurrection at all.

They are opposed to the idea, they are convinced that resurrection does not exist, that resurrection cannot happen, that resurrection will not happen.

So they deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However even though they deny this concept of the resurrection and denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they dont wanna neccesarily deny Christianity, and that may seem odd to you, and it should.

It used to be that if you believed He did then you declared that you believed it, and declared yourself a Christian and stood up for your beliefs and if you believe He didn’t then you would declare yourself an athiest and you would go out into the world living courageously as a nonbeliever.

Why would someone claim to be a follower of Christianity and deny THE essential element of Christianity?

This is not just a first century thing, we have people in our day and our time who claim on one hand to be followers of Christ and then on the other hand deny the resurrection of Jesus.

For example

John Shelby Swan in his book entitled “A New Christianity for a new world” says these words

“I do not believe that Jesus was born by the miracle of the virgin birth, nor do I believe that virgin births happen anywhere except in mythology.

I do not believe angels sang to hillside shepherds or that he fled to Egpyt to escape the wrath of kingherod.

I do not believe the event that Christians celebrate at Easter the resurrection of the three days dead body of Jesus.”

Now you may think why does it matter what that guy says?

Well heres why it matters…

He spent 30 years as a pastor, was a lecturer at Harvard divinity school claims on one hand allegiance to Jesus and on the other hand denies the historic Christians faith.

Now the first question that comes to mind is how can this be?

But there is another question

How do we respond to that?

Is it right for us to just sort of say, ok well thats what works for you I guess thats your interpretation and your position is that what we should do?

What would Jesus do if someone made that kind of denial well we dont have to wonder what Jesus would do.

In

:

when Jesus said who do people say that I am John responds some people say that your Elijah some say your Abraham.... but then Jesus says cool who do you say that I am?

He said your the son of the living god… Jesus says thats great Pete flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father in Heaven.

But the next thing that happens in that story is this He tells them He had to be crucified.

Not just killed executed, not just executed but executed by the scribes and Pharisees.

Teachers of the law Peter comes and rebukes Him WHY?

Because that doesnt fit with what is supposed to happen with the Messiah.

So he rebukes Him, He says never Ill go to death with you before I let anything happen to you, and Jesus says get thee behind me Satan.

Jesus does not accept multiple views on who He is, He says there is one that is correct, and one that is from the pit of Hell.

How does Paul deal with the same issue with people who claim to followers of Christ but deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Responds From Authority

That isn’t the question anymore, the main question is..... SO WHAT?

If He did rise from the grave then so what?

What does that mean for me and my life?

Do I care?

This is Paul’s argument from authority, and to understand this argument you have to understand this

Imagine there were a couple of guys and they just kind of come over and they are like hey you know where you from all this small talk stuff, and the one guy goes hey Im great Im from so and so I came here to go to school, REALLY?

Yeah I went to Auburn, really you went to Auburn I went to Auburn, yeah!

Thats awesome!

SO I say what did you get your degree in?

That guy goes I didn’t really have like a degree, “really what did you study while you were there?”

The guy says you know study thats kind of a broad term, really?

Who was your favorite professor when you were there?

Well I didn’t really have any proefessors… but you wold me you were a graduate from Auburn, but you didn’t get a degree form there, you didn have a major and you didnt take a class?

yeah…

How does that work?

I mean I really like the place.

Now we laugh at that why?

Because all of us understand that wherever you go to school has the right to grant degrees to people who meet their standards.

We all agree that you cant just go around saying that you are a graduate of a school if you didnt meet the requirements that they set.

Thats called a lie.

Nobody would disagree with that.

That is what the argument from authority is all about Paul is making an argument and heres what he is saying.

OK YOU ARE SAYING YOUR A CHRISTIAN, SMALL PROBLEM THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU MUST BELIEVE IN ORDER TO CALL YOURSELF A CHRISTIAN AND YOU ARE DENYING THOSE THINGS WHICH YOU GOTTA BELIEVE IN ORDER TO BE A CHIRSTIAN.

Therefore you are lying, you ARE NOT A CHRISITAN, your claiming that this is who you are but you have not met the requirements neccesarry to be categorized as one.

Thats what He is doing.

look at it again

1 Corinthians 15:

IN WHICH YOU STAND mean this is the foundation on which you based your life.

In other words if you believed the gospel I proclaimed is what you believe then you are standing firmly and you are saved but if you do not believe the gospel as it was proclaimed you are not saved because you have believed in vain.

Its useless, its like saying you graduated from Auburn and you never even went there.

Now he is very clear about what they need here.

OF FIRST IMPORTANCE

This means the basic bedrock truth of Christianity.

He means these things cannot be left out if you call yourself a Christian.

THAT CHRIST

If were wrong on Jesus were wrong on Christianity.

you cant be wrong on Jesus and be right on Christianity.

Jesus is who the Bible says He is.

You dont get to form Jesus into your own image, you dont get to take the things you like about Jesus and take those sayings of His and leave everything else out.

CHRIST DIED FOR SIN!

Let’s be more clear Christ died for your sin and mine.

Some people believe one thing, and some people believe another thing and if you believe that and it gives you some help to live a full life then bless you just dont pressure anyone else to believe.

Listen to me this morning, if you are in here and you are playing church then you need to know something since you have never truly surrendered your soul into the hands of the Son of God, then your sins are not forgiven.

That means that one day when you pass away that you will stand before god and I went to church will not be good enough to wahs you clean from your sin and you will pay for it with eternal separation from God.

I AM PLEADING WITH YOU THIS MORNING, THIS IS NOT A GAME REPENT AND TURN TO JESUS HE LOVES YOU AND HE WAS SEPARATED FROM HIS FATHER WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS HE TURNED HIS FACE AWAY SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO BE SEPERATED FROM HIM.

HE MADE A WAY PAID FOR WITH HIS OWN BLOOD FOR YOU TO BE FORGIVEN AND SET FREE, AND RECIEVE PARDON FOR THE SINS YOU HAVE COMMITTED AGAINST GOD!

Christ died for sin, thats the gospel, and He was raised on the third day.

He didn’t stay dead, you cant be a Christian and not believe Jesus is alive today!

Argument from Evidence

This is amazing Jesus dies He is crucified then He is resurrected and then we have eyewitness accounts of His resurrection.

Those eyewitnesses include Peter who saw Him, and then it says the 12

Now if your sharp you might have caught that.... isn’t there a problem there?

It says that Jesus appeared to the 12 but one ole boy had hanged himself.

Judas the betrayer, so that would have only left 11.

Thats a contradiction right there.

Really?

Let’s imagine the Iron bowl is coming on Alabama versus Auburn, and Alabama is about ready to just beat them down.... but wait a minute somethings wrong theres a player who is missing.

He was academically disqualified I’ll tell you what the announcer is not gonna say now introducing the Alabama Crimson tide minus Bo Scarbourough he aint gonna say that.

Because the unit is still the Crimson tide regardless of whether bo is in the Lineup or not.

when you talk abou the unit you call them by the name of the unit.

If you remember the very first thing they do on the day of pentecost before they do anything else they replaced Judas why?

Because the number 12 is significant there had to be 12 of them.

We read about the 12 in tribes 12 elders, He is talking about the unti here.

Then Jesus after He rose from the dead appeard to more than 500 brotheras at one time.

You know there are theories that try to explain away the resurrection.